verity_lilolia's review
Still Writing is up there with my favourite writing books. She covered pretty much everything that has crossed my mind about the writing life and dealt with so much more. Her writing is wonderful and her advice is inspiring. Loved this book. Different from Lamott's Bird by Bird and a great companion to it.
cabledsweater's review against another edition
The author manages to "show, don't tell" her way through hard-core writing advice by tucking each lesson into an emotionally charged anecdote. Part memoir, part writing life. Very inspiring. Full of thing I want to re-read after I develop my own writing skills a bit further.
pbobrit's review
4.0
A nicely written memoir about the life of a writer. Definitely not a how-to book apart from a few tidbits that if you've read anything on writing before you have already heard. The more interesting aspect of the book is the author's reflections on the life she has led up to the point she started writing and select episodes after. The book is brief so too much detail would give away spoilers but the book is well written and insightful. One for fans of memoir and also the life of writers.
melissamcallisterbookishgirl's review against another edition
5.0
I would read anything she writes. It’s always pleasurable—soulful.
raven_morgan's review against another edition
Lots of inspirational stuff about writing in this. My one irritation is Shapiro's constant affirmation that pantsing is the *only* way to write, and if you're outlining, you're ruining your story. It may be the only way for Shapiro to write, but it's not going to be the only way to write.
Caveat: I am a pantser of old, tired of writing several novel drafts in order to figure out what the hell my book is about, and currently learning to outline. So I am slightly biased ;)
Caveat: I am a pantser of old, tired of writing several novel drafts in order to figure out what the hell my book is about, and currently learning to outline. So I am slightly biased ;)
lola425's review
4.0
While I generally eschew books of advice for writers--simply because what works for one writer will often not work for another--I did enjoy this one. I did not necessarily enjoy it for the advice, but simply because I enjoy glimpses into the lives of real women and how they navigate the real world. Shapiro suffers from what many artists who choose a life of art suffer from--how to make a living doing what you love while still being true to yourself, how to reconcile your need to write with the competing needs of family and friends, the general shifting financial sands of artistic endeavors, but make no mistake she does so from the relative comfort of a chaise longue covered with an antique Tibetan blanket, not shivering in a garret. Which does not take away her considered and honest look at her writing practice, her writing life, but might make it aspiring for fledgling writers rather than inspiring. A joy to read, nonetheless.
jhq's review
5.0
At the risk of sounding dramatic, reading this book feels like it's changed my life as a writer. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
While I generally eschew books of advice for writers--simply because what works for one writer will often not work for another--I did enjoy this one. I did not necessarily enjoy it for the advice, but simply because I enjoy glimpses into the lives of real women and how they navigate the real world. Shapiro suffers from what many artists who choose a life of art suffer from--how to make a living doing what you love while still being true to yourself, how to reconcile your need to write with the competing needs of family and friends, the general shifting financial sands of artistic endeavors, but make no mistake she does so from the relative comfort of a chaise longue covered with an antique Tibetan blanket, not shivering in a garret. Which does not take away her considered and honest look at her writing practice, her writing life, but might make it aspiring for fledgling writers rather than inspiring. A joy to read, nonetheless.
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
5.0
There's lots of awesome writing advice in this book that made me go, "So I'm NOT the only one who feels this way!" Things like post-book depression, pouring everything you have into a book, the writing process, creating a literary life (my words, not hers), etc. Must read for any writer.