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imiji's review against another edition
informative
reflective
4.25
so glad i picked up this craft anthology (craft anthology! what a thing! i kind of think this is the ideal mode of discussing craft, one that allows for disagreement and dialogue and answerlessness between writers and pieces). i especially appreciated the jericho brown interview, the carl phillips essay ("muscularity and eros," INCREDIBLE, will think about it for a long long time), the tiphanie yanique piece on how fiction writers can utilize form (i didn't entirely agree on the exact take, but i appreciated the thesis a lot!), the tayari jones essay ("craft capsules" -- the idea that you have a novel when you have a moral question you don't actually know the moral answer to is still with me), and the crystal wilkinson piece on approaching your characters with curiosity to excavate their memory.
mellie_trager's review against another edition
3.0
read this for class too. interesting. i really really enjoyed some chapters and then others didn’t speak to me.
kleonard's review against another edition
3.0
This book, made up of both recent and older essays and interviews with Black writers, is ostensibly a craft book. But the idea of craft has recently been undergoing some much-needed challenges, and so the pieces in this collection that resonate the most with me are the ones that push back against craft--especially those by Rita Dove and Nikki Giovanni. Many of the older pieces included here are by authors who, during the majority of their career, were pushed by publishers and editors and others in the industry to "write White;" who were influenced by the lingering ideas of Booker T. Washington, who felt that for Blacks to be taken seriously and accorded rights, they had to be not just equal than but better than their White colleagues--to have better grammar, better vocabularies, better "style." This makes the collection a bit of a museum of ideas about writing and craft. Nonetheless, there is good advice to be found here. For writing instructors, I'd suggest also reading Felicia Rose Chavez's The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop and Matthew Salesses's Craft in the Real World.
shanyeahh's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
5.0
This collection of essays embodied "studying the greats" to me. I encountered more poetry focus than I anticipated but found it inspiration to pen a poem or two. Some of my favorite essays were The “Natives of My Person” or Blood Is Not Enough, Rhythm in Writing, Journal, and Seven Brides for Seven Mothers, among many others!
niyahneal's review against another edition
4.0
How We Do It is a writing book far from other writers' books. As a Creative Writing Major, I'm bound to read many of them--and I have. Many of which I can't help but roll my eyes at.
How We Do It highlighted many perspectives of writing told wrong by White Authors and professors. So many of the tips I wrote down helped me with my writing. In this book, a mixture of essays and interviews helps the reader stay engaged. It hits many different topics and genres, from memoirs to poetry. Even if you're not a black author, I think this book has so many valuable things that can benefit you and your writing.
How We Do It highlighted many perspectives of writing told wrong by White Authors and professors. So many of the tips I wrote down helped me with my writing. In this book, a mixture of essays and interviews helps the reader stay engaged. It hits many different topics and genres, from memoirs to poetry. Even if you're not a black author, I think this book has so many valuable things that can benefit you and your writing.
pensivepelican's review against another edition
5.0
"How We Do It: Black Writers on Craft, Practice, and Skill," edited by Jericho Brown, is a book that deserves a place on the shelf of any aspiring writer. You'll find plenty of inspiration and specific advice on writing challenges like understanding character motivation and how to convey emotion on the page.
But that's only one layer. At its heart, the book is written by Black writers, for Black writers. It's about language and tradition. Family and kinship. Memory and authenticity. About telling stories and being silenced.
The anthology includes 30+ contributors who share their experiences and insights about finding their writers' voices. There are essays discussing survival narratives, colorism, and using the storytelling found in fiction to inform memoir writing to create a cohesive whole with a narrative arc that keeps readers turning the page. How We Do It combines practical, actionable advice with a deeper examination of culture, art, and survival.
I received this advanced reader copy of How We Do It from Amistad and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
But that's only one layer. At its heart, the book is written by Black writers, for Black writers. It's about language and tradition. Family and kinship. Memory and authenticity. About telling stories and being silenced.
The anthology includes 30+ contributors who share their experiences and insights about finding their writers' voices. There are essays discussing survival narratives, colorism, and using the storytelling found in fiction to inform memoir writing to create a cohesive whole with a narrative arc that keeps readers turning the page. How We Do It combines practical, actionable advice with a deeper examination of culture, art, and survival.
I received this advanced reader copy of How We Do It from Amistad and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.