Customer Reviews

Deep Writing: 7 Principles That Bring Ideas to Life

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many potential writers want to write but are stuck on the blank first page. Others write an endless array of words whose content (if there is any) means nothing and leaves one dry. Enter Eric Maisel, a writer's analyst, coach, and encourager who shares with us seven principles of becoming a deep writer. What does he mean by writing deeply? He means for us to be able to write passionately and well about those things that really matter to us. Using case studies of five individual writers, he shows us how to work through the principles of hushing the mind, holding the intention, making choices, honoring the process, befriending the work, evaluating the work and doing what is required. Each principle builds on the other to a point where writing becomes a spiritual exercise. I love this book because it enabled me to reflect and pay attention to my own writing. Its varied principles and quirky exercises stimulated my mind and fostered new ideas for the printed page. Purchasing "Deep Writing" was almost like having my own personal coach to help me become more intentional in what I do as a writer. Maisel is intentional as to what he wants a writer to do and keeps one to the grindstone. He deals with the reality of what encompasses the writing business and how we must make choices in dealing with those realities. I highly recommend this work to all writers who wish to write with integrity and passionately.

I loved this book! I've been a writer for 20 years and I've read many books, but none that helped me like Deep Writing. It's obvious to me that Dr. Maisel knows how the writer's mind works. I especially liked 'Honoring The Process'. '...every piece of writing is a voyage into the unknown, a voyage hard on the navigator and full of potential disasters.' I have literally rediscovered myself. I plan to buy copies for my writer friends.

Deep Writing does not require deep reading. It is an easy read and although it offers very practical ideas and strategies, it is far more than a practical "how to" writing guide. I highly recommend it for beginning writers and those seasoned writers who are experiencing a loss of momentum, flow, focus or blocks to creativity. Deep Writing will give you the tools to get you started on meaningful & purposeful writing in addition to helping you remove any roadblocks to passionate and genuine writing. While helping you enjoy the process of writing, Maisel (who is also a psychotherapist) also helps the you along the process of 'knowing yourself' better. Some case vignettes of writers and artists he has helped along the way richly add to the utility of his ideas.

I love this book! With wry humor, disarming candor and compassion, Deep Writing expertly guides you straight into the heart of the creative process. The book has a wonderfully practical, no-bull way of tackling the problems involved. Its deceptively simple exercises are surprisingly effective, and they pack a real punch. Maisel demystifies both the writing and the publishing process. More than any author I've read, he's unflinchingly honest about his own unvarnished mistakes and experiences as a writer. This lovely, intelligent and powerful book feels like a gift to his readers.

Deep Writing differs from most self-help how to write books in that it has a low key, supportive, and suggestive guide, instead of a know-it-all advisor. The seven principles listed in the table of contents will be familar to fans of how-to-write books, but Maisel discusses these principles in a new way. He hints at how these seven principles can be used to embrace and enjoy the difficulty of writing. Although overly metaphorical/metaphysical for my taste, Dr. Maisel is also pragmatic. His discussion of balancing creativity with commercialism should be read by all starving artists who want to eat. I also like the fictional writers that Dr. Maisel puts in the book, who are also reading the book and doing the exercises. I felt like I had joined a reading and writing group with them. One of them even expressed the same skepticism that I felt towards some of Dr. Maisel ideas. Best of all, this book is a well written and quick read (I finished it in a few hours), important criteria for wannabe writers who need to be writing. I would recommend this book to anyone who knows how to write, but is still having trouble with his or her writing.

"Deep Writing" has become my greatest ally since I read it. I've just left the corporate world after 22 years and launched into a passionate new career as a writer of novels and short stories. My analytical background means I have the biggest "How To Write" bookshelf I've ever found - I read everything! Many books are very helpful. But "Deep Writing" is the book that has most directly addressed how to structure my writing life and how to align my writing with my creativity. This book seems to speak most clearly about my issues, and the suggested tactics are 100% practical. I'm a raving fan of the book and intend to buy a number of copies to give to writing friends.

This is perhaps one of the best books on writing I have ever read. Maisel offers writers exercises to help them tune into their own unique voice while offering encouragement all along the way. Not just a book about technique or "tricks of the trade" this book will address the complicated aspects of living life as a writer and remaining sane at the same time!

This book needs to be on the shelf of every writer regardless of where they are in their career. A moving and "deeply written" work.

This book is just amazing. Maisel is an author of fifteen books, some published, some not. He's also a writing teacher, and a writing consultant, so he really knows how to boil down the issues facing wanna-be writers. This book is short, and deep. I liked this book so much that I recommended it on the self-publishing Absolute Authority site.

As the author of a book about writing myself (WRITING IN FLOW), I really appreciated author Maisel's combination of the practical with the passionate. When he talks about combining writing what you love and making a living doing so, it certainly rings true. How much compromise can you make with the real world and still be congruent with your deepest self? In DEEP WRITING, we learn the value of getting and staying engaged with our writing (getting into "flow," in other words). Maisel is unusually frank, too, about his own successes, failures, and learning experiences (not that you can or should even try to separate those three things!). This book feels like an inspiring chat with a compassionate therapist who understands the challenges of being a writer (which Maisel happens to be).

Eric Maisel turns in a decent effort here-- one that is worth a read. He as an easy, readable style and an obvious love of the craft. Not much in the way of brand-new insight to be found in these pages, however... except for a few goofy exercise straight out of the therapist's office (Mr. Maisel, in addition to being a writer, is a creativity therapist or something along those lines).
Nonetheless, the ideas he does retread - respect the craft, nurture your ideas, etc.-- bear repeating. And let's face it, even a single fresh perspective on an old truth can be valuable.. and you're apt to find at least a couple here.