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mrsfligs's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book that all writers – professional and amateurs – should keep and revisit every once in a while. Ueland is like a really supportive and generous friend who coaches you in finding the writer within you and letting go of the fears and insecurities that are holding you back. Like the other books on writing, it is not just about writing but being an authentic and creative person. At the heart of the book is the simple edict: A writer must write. It doesn’t get any simpler (or harder) than that!
sve100's review
3.0
Книгата е писана 30-те години на 20-ти век и има някои полезни съвети и идеи за размисъл. Като цяло обаче - нищо особено. Липсваше ми структура на записаното - може би заради електронния формат, а и може би защото самата авторка обяснява как "нямало смисъл от планиране и структуриране". В общи линии звучеше като една тирада от впечатленията на тази жена как се пише...
annemariewellswriter's review against another edition
4.0
Mostly things I've heard already but it always sinks in a little bit more when presented by a new voice. I particularly liked the advice: if you don't like a story you wrote, write two new ones then go back to the first one.
mickeymole's review against another edition
5.0
This was such an inspirational book for me as an artist. It motivated me to continue to write and paint when I felt my art was worthless. It may still be worthless, but through this book, I began to have fun with the process again. I'm happy to see there are so many people who like this book as much as I did. I recommend it to anyone who wants to create something. I think Miss Ueland had a very nice philosophy of how to live.
matt4hire's review against another edition
4.0
A surprisingly (at least for me) energetic read that doesn't offer steps so much as advice on how to be a better writer. What really kept me reading, in the end, was Ueland's sense of humor throughout.
readings_musings2002's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
5.0
"Your motto: be Bold, be Free, be Truthful. The truthfulness will save it from flamboyance, from pretentiousness."
"So remember these two things: you are talented, and you are original. Be sure of that. I say this because self-trust is one of the very most important things in writing-"
"But I must go back to my subject—writing.
If you write, good ideas must come welling up into you so that you have something to write. If good ideas do not come at once, or for a long time, do not be troubled at all. Wait for them. Put down the little ideas however insignificant they are. But do not feel, anymore, guilty about idleness and solitude."
"Sometimes when I walk I learn a poem, a Shakespeare sonnet, say, as I go along. I have discovered this: if you say a line over and over again, as children do in memorizing, half mechanically, after a long time the nerves and muscles in your brain and jaws will know how to do it automatically."
"And this is the point: if they kept writing new things freely and generously and with careless truth, then they would know how to fix up the pearl and make it good, in two seconds, with no work at all."
"Saint-Beuve said: “There exists in most men a poet who died young, whom the man survived.” And de Musset said: “Know that there is often hidden in us a dormant poet, always young and alive.”
"Therefore when you write, speak with complete self-trust and do not timidly qualify and feel the ice of well-authenticated literary usage and critical soundness—so afraid when you have finished writing that they will riddle you full of holes.
Let them. Later if you find what you wrote isn’t true, accept the new truth. Consistency is the horror of the world."
"So remember these two things: you are talented, and you are original. Be sure of that. I say this because self-trust is one of the very most important things in writing-"
"But I must go back to my subject—writing.
If you write, good ideas must come welling up into you so that you have something to write. If good ideas do not come at once, or for a long time, do not be troubled at all. Wait for them. Put down the little ideas however insignificant they are. But do not feel, anymore, guilty about idleness and solitude."
"Sometimes when I walk I learn a poem, a Shakespeare sonnet, say, as I go along. I have discovered this: if you say a line over and over again, as children do in memorizing, half mechanically, after a long time the nerves and muscles in your brain and jaws will know how to do it automatically."
"And this is the point: if they kept writing new things freely and generously and with careless truth, then they would know how to fix up the pearl and make it good, in two seconds, with no work at all."
"Saint-Beuve said: “There exists in most men a poet who died young, whom the man survived.” And de Musset said: “Know that there is often hidden in us a dormant poet, always young and alive.”
"Therefore when you write, speak with complete self-trust and do not timidly qualify and feel the ice of well-authenticated literary usage and critical soundness—so afraid when you have finished writing that they will riddle you full of holes.
Let them. Later if you find what you wrote isn’t true, accept the new truth. Consistency is the horror of the world."
kecb12's review against another edition
5.0
This little book was such a fantastic read. Brenda Ueland has written a book about writing that is funny, inspirational, truthful, and that reads like a conversation with a friend. There were so many passages that I took pictures of and passed along to different friends because the book speaks to more than just writing: it also speaks to living a life of passion. I loved this book and I will be rereading it for sure!