Customer Reviews

How to Write: Advice and Reflections

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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this book to be an excellent insider's account of what it takes to make it as a writer today. Rhodes shares many of his successes and failures along the way, and is very honest about the reasons for all of them. He also shares his life with the reader in a way that helps you understand how complex the writer's motivations, interests and, ultimately, his humanity can be.

Rhodes also offers a great deal of practical advice and insight into both the writing craft itself and the challenges a writer regularly faces - whether they be personal, financial, or otherwise. His easygoing, subtle style pulls you effortlessly along and you eventually understand why he has the authority to write such a book in the first place.

You will learn a great deal from Rhodes if your interest is personal, professional, or both.

This solid book will inspire you to pick up the pen and take your muse out for a walk. A pleasant mix that serves up a full course meal for the writer in you. Rhodes uses his own growth, from a young struggling writer of Hallmark Cards to a Pulitzer Prize winning author, to enlight and encourage us. He covers writers block, agents, research, editing and more. His style is accessible, the content practical, with no attempt to be a comphrensive guide. Not a series of writing exercises, ala Natalie Goldberg or Julia Cameron, this book is more like a conversation with someone who's been there, done that.

Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Rhodes has accomplished a rare feat with his book on the art and science of writing. Instead of unemotionally instructing the reader on "how to write," he has opened himself up and revealed the doubts, challenges, inspirations, and disappointments that drive people to express themselves in writing. Throughout the book, he uses his own experiences as examples, often with candor that borders on confession. The result is an amazingly effective revelation on the multi-faceted processes involved in effectively expressing one's thoughts and ideas in an organized written manner. For a professional scientist (chemist) that also loves to write beyond his field of expertise, this book has proved to be an invaluable gift. Richard Rhodes is a man of immense intellect, knowledge, and patience, three ingredients that have created a piece of art from what easily could have become a boring "how to" manual.

Look, when we read a book; how it dovetails with our immediate needs and interests, all very much affects how we rate it. With that caveat, I will say that those who describe Rhodes' as self-advertizing, by my lights, get it all wrong. In this wonderfully helpful book, which covers not only writing but the pain of publishing too, Rhodes uses his own vast experiences to help others, not to pat himself on the back. Anyone who reads it that way, I believe, is mistaken (or in the wrong mood). I found this book up there with Anne Lamott, Betsy Lerner and on the fact of publisher's mentality towards writers, utterly unique, right on target. He also gives a ton of useful tips from one who had ups and downs as a writer before winning the Pulizer prize. I prize this book. It crossed my life and came to inform my writing self at the right time, and is helpful as few other self-help books for writers are. Again, all reviews are subjective but those who think he's not delivering the goods, or not our to really help other writers have got it backwards. It takes courage and grit to go out on a limb, using oneself to let others see clearly. Do buy this if you are : a writer having any sort of problem. Richard Rhodes Knows.

The Pulitzer prize winning author writes exceptionally, regardless of the topic. The first two or three chapters serve as purely inspirational, on the art of writing. The latter chapters aim at more technical ideas behind the work of writing.

The book is full of insights and inspiration on the art of writing. For the beginner, Rhodes makes writing seem possible for all. His extensive work gives the reader a wide menu to pull out a few practical golden nuggets. For example, like the Knickerbocker Rule on how to become a writer -- "you apply ass to chair." This book is an enjoyable read as well as a solid tool.

I can understand the point of view for the more negative reviews citing arrogance and lack of usefulness with this text. At first reading, the text may seem haughty, incomprehensible, and boring to those looking for a step-by-step, paint-by-the-numbers method of writing the next Great American Novel. However, the most valuable and rewarding aspects of this book (for those who take the time to analyze its depths) are the first hand glimpses at writing's business side and the transparent look into the brain of an outstanding author. This isn't Stephen King writing about how he makes best-selling novels. It's a Pulizer prize-winning author carefully and succinctly laying out his methods, insights, achievements, failures, and overall philosophy for writing. Although some of the mechanics of writing are presented, it's the deeper components of the ART of writing, such as word choice and placement, connotative mental imagery, descriptive melding of facts, etc. that make this book truly fascinating to me. Although it comes across in sections as "look at how good I am," ask yourself if you could have re-written those passages to make them sound less arrogant and still get the complete message across. It would be like trying to describe how to climb Everest without ever accomplishing and acknowledging the feat.

Got all sorts of great information out of it including how to focus better, and how to set up my writing process. The author is very experienced, and gives great insight into the thought process that has helped him do such an amazing job over the years. He's a master, and I am his student.

To be succinct, this book is excellent. Richard Rhodes has been down the difficult path of ups-and-downs that all writers of long experience endure. Non-writers and incompetent writers may not understand this work; I suspect only they will criticize it. The book's full title is accurate, this is advice and reflection on how to write by a Pulitzer Prize winning author who had to pay his dues.

Fifteen years ago when this book was published I read it immediately. I don't revisit it often, but I'm reassured that I always know it's on my shelf. I'm grateful that the author shared his experience with us. Thank you Richard Rhodes. Bravo. Applause.

Robert Beattie
New York Times bestselling author

Richard Rhodes' writing chops are unassailable. His majestic "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" combines thorough historiography with a lyrical style that makes reading it educational and enthralling. One learns not only of the history of the single most important invention of the 20th century, but also of the remarkable lives of the men and women involved. Given the pleasure I gained from reading it, I looked forward to reading Rhodes' short primer, "How to Write: Advice and Reflections," to learn more about the author and his writing approach.
In "How to Write," Rhodes provides a succinct overview of the tools and motivation needed to start and complete writing. His chapters progress through topics, in order: motivation to write, tools, research, writing, editing, and publishing. He finishes by providing perspectives from other writers as well. Given his background as a magazine essayist and his drive for fact-based underpinnings, even in his fiction works, Rhodes is best to read for his advice on non-fiction writing. His best section is his chapter on editing where he shows the evolution of a specific non-fiction piece and the author's thought process during writing and editing.
My one issue with this book is that some of his passages come across with a bit of braggadocio -- he often, perhaps rightfully, quotes his own writing, he calls out his extensive publishing history, and even mentions his substantial income level. His pride in how far he has come in life is evident, and yields a somewhat pedantic tone, perhaps stemming from insecurity (a result perhaps of his difficult childhood, noted in the book). This tone is softened somewhat by his last chapter where he brings in thoughts from other authors. My recommendation in the end is to buy this book, less for the autobiographical call-outs, and more for its technical advice and clear depiction of the work and strength needed to truly write well.