Making a Literary Life [Paperback]

Carolyn See (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2003

As Carolyn See says, writing guides are like preachers on Sunday—there may be a lot of them, but you can’t have too many, and there’s always an audience of the faithful. And while Making a Literary Life is ostensibly a book that teaches you how to write, it really teaches you how to make your interior life into your exterior life, how to find and join that community of like-minded souls you’re sure is out there somewhere.

Carolyn See distills a lifetime of experience as novelist, memoirist, critic, and creative-writing professor into this marvelously engaging how-to book. Partly the nuts and bolts of writing (plot, point of view, character, voice) and partly an inspirational guide to living the life you dream of, Making a Literary Life takes you from the decision to “become” a writer to three months after the publication of your first book. A combination of writing and life strategies (do not tell everyone around you how you yearn to be a writer; send a “charming note” to someone you admire in the industry five days a week, every week, for the rest of your life; find the perfect characters right in front of you), Making a Literary Life is for people not usually considered part of the literary loop: the non–East Coasters, the secret scribblers.

With sagacity, a magical sense of humor, and an abiding belief in the possibilities offered to “ordinary” people living “ordinary” lives, Carolyn See has summed up her life’s work in a book so beguiling, irreverent, and giddily inspiring that you won’t even realize it’s changing your life until it already has.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Novelist and memoirist See (The Handyman; Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America) offers a how-to guide for the wannabe writer who can take the time to "write 1,000 words" per day. Viewing writing as a lifestyle as well as a vocation plays to See's strengths as a storyteller: her advice is salted with anecdotes she's picked up in years as the head of a literary household (her daughters are also writers) and as a teacher of university creative-writing classes. Starting at the beginning, she advises neophytes not to tell anyone about their aspirations, as "that bores people to death." Later she suggests sending a handwritten note of praise ("charming notes," she calls them) to someone admired in the literary world each day, five days a week for the rest of your life. Her advice is practical and folksy, and much of it wouldn't be out of place in an upscale women's magazine. The approach is comprehensive: aspirants are encouraged to "pretend" to be a writer, "make rejection a process," set up a travel account for that first trip to New York and deduct part of the cost of their clothing from their taxes as a "costume" expense. Practical chapters on "Character," "Plot," "Geography, Time, and Space" and "Building a Scene" are a little thin, but generally sound. Though not for the experienced writer, this is an easy-to-read beginner's guide, long on chat but somewhat short on technique.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This wonderful book manages to integrate perfectly advice to writers and would-be writers with delightful snippets from See's literary and teaching career she has authored nine books, teaches English at UCLA, and reviews regularly for the Washington Post. Mostly, this is a collection of anecdotes and name dropping (from her family and inner circle to well-known authors), and at times you'll feel as if you were listening in on one of her classes. See offers advice on how to write those "thousand words a day," behave like a writer, and get published after dealing first with myriad rejection letters. There are also sections on character, plot, and point of view, but don't think See approaches any of these topics in a formulaic way. She uses her wealth of experience to offer valuable, and sometimes hilarious insights into the writing process and the importance of revision. Whether you're a writer, a would-be writer, or just a reader who enjoys good writing, this book is a pleasure to read. Highly recommended. Herbert E. Shapiro, Empire State Coll., Rochester, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345440463
• ISBN-13: 978-0345440464
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #628,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As much a guide to Carolyn See as to the literary life., October 13, 2002

By 

Miles D. Moore (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers (Hardcover)

As with another of my favorite books, the late Barbara Grizzuti Harrison's "Italian Days," Carolyn See's "Making a Literary Life" is as much about the author as it is about the stated subject. See's subject, of course, is how to make your way as a writer--not only how to write, but how to get your writing published and make your name known in the literary world. Some of See's advice--such as writing a thousand words a day, five days a week--is eminently sensible; some of it--such as writing cheery thank-you notes to editors who reject your work or reviewers who trash it--is a little more difficult to swallow. But See's basic points are indisputable: the only way to be a writer is to write; the Biblical wisdom of "a soft answer turneth away wrath" holds just as true in the literary business as in any other; being a literary genius doesn't give you leave to abandon common courtesy. Of all guides to writing, "Making a Literary Life" has to be the most flat-out fun to read. You get See's observations on the art of writing ("The passive voice is really good for only one thing: the weaselly notes in committee meetings where nobody wants to get blamed for whatever happened"). You get her first-hand testimony on the damage wrought when the people around you don't support your writing ("My first husband, an elegant, brokenhearted artiste, knew for a fact that if you were smart enough to want to write, you were also smart enough to realize the extent of your own mediocrity"). You get the scoop on the eccentric behavior of all the authors See has met, from Amy Tan carrying two lapdogs in her purse to Harlan Ellison's confrontation with a bookseller at a literary conference ("He howled like a castrated bison; she responded with shrieks from `The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'"). While See says at the outset that "Making a Literary Life" is intended for fledgling writers without connections to the literary world, I think the book is just as useful for journeyman writers (such as myself) who have published a book or two but have no idea how to break into the next level. Quirkily, entertainingly, Carolyn See gives us some ideas how to do so. She's the soft-hearted yet hard-headed friend all of us poor scriveners seek.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most excellent book for the aspiring writer, August 19, 2002

By 

B. Merritt "filmreviewstew.com" (WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers (Hardcover)

Do you want to learn how to `court' an editor? Want to learn how to get with the `IN' crowd within the literary world? Then this book is for you.

Writers, take note. This is another weapon/treasure to keep in your writing world's arsenal.

The upbeat note that it inflicts upon the reader/writer will not be soon forgotten. I'm still impressed with the way Carolyn See dishes out the information in this book. Not only does she give incredibly comedic, heroic and downright interesting information, but she follows most of these up with examples from her own life.

You can get to know your target editors by getting to know your target editors. Sound simple and redundant? It ain't. Amazingly, most of the things you'll need to succeed aren't necessarily in your desk or a computer file. They're in your head and your heart. And Carolyn See shows us how to tap into both areas.

Like `Bird By Bird' (by Anne Lamott), this book has earned a special place on my bookshelves.

A+ rating in my book!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must" for the writer's bookshelf, January 5, 2003

By 

Bonnie MacBird (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers (Hardcover)

Carolyn See is one funny, brave woman. Her experience as a writer and teacher, and even more importantly, her basic humanity shines through this crisp,easy to read slim volume that gives both practical advice (write 1000 words a day!) and a wise philosophical slant on what it really takes to be a writer. A unique combo from a woman who is as natural a teacher as she is a writer.

I've been a pro in the writing biz for over twenty years, and still found amazing bits of stimulating advice - as if from an older, wiser sister, ahead of me on the road, and oh, so smart.

This book works equally well for the novice looking for some tips on shaping a writing life, and for the more experienced writer who may long for a role model for facing some of life's toughest arrows. She delivers on all counts. Highly, highly recommended.