Customer Reviews

Room to Write

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I don't know about you... but I need a bit of inspiration to write.
I can't just start writing about nothing-

Or could I?

Bonnie Goldberg gives an interesting tool with "Room to Write"
Even writing about nothing can become something!

Four rules"
1. Show up on the page
2. Give up control
3. Make room for your writing
4. Remove the obstacle "FEAR and SELF-JUDGMENT" from your
vocabulary.

That's it! Now write.

Oh, do you need ideas? Bonni Goldberg gives us one for
everyday of the year.

What are your feelings on these subjects?

Snot, Eat it, Lies, Only in your dreams, O God!, Inside out, Mama Mia, What a Joke, Body talk, Breasts, Silence....

WOW! That is only skimming the top.

They get my creative juices flowing... And I had a great time writing about snot.

I remember Sylvia Plath had written about it in one of her
journals and It was beautiful.
Imagine.
A good, imaginative writer can make even snot sound intriguing!

So...every single day you have a new idea for writing...
for instance, on November 5, the assignment was-

"LIES" Today write about lies. Lies you have told and, in
retrospect, what motivated you to withhold the truth.

I've had this book in the car, at work, at the dentist office, on holiday, and in the bathtub! It is waterlogged, shaded in yellows and greens and vivid pinks. It is dated and hung together by paper clips. It has been used and used again. Does a writer ever really get enough writing done!? Even when I was done with the last exercise, I started all over again on page one,
"Diving In"

A different day brings new surprises and ideas. The writing is never the same...or at least, it shouldn't be.

Goldberg says..."Writing, like any spiritual undertaking, has many paths, but only one direction---Deeper."

How deep? As deep as you can go. Drown if you must!

So...
on with your writing assignments...which will build into essays, short stories, and maybe one day a great novel.

"Explore every room. Listen to yourself. Trust what you hear."
---GOLDBERG---

Writer's block will become a thing of the past as you open this pocket-sized book to any page and put your pen to paper or your hand to the keyboard!

While this book is small in size, it is enormous in content...with creative writing practices that run the gamut from intrinsically simple to those that are spiritually moving.

There are 200 exercises to get your mind working, the words flowing, and perhaps develop a few new perspectives.

A must for every writer's library!

"Room to Write" is like having a personal writing trainer that fits in your pocket! The book is filled to overflowing with wonderful invitations to write ... authentic exercises for stretching your imagination and improving your craft. This delightful book is non-linear, so feel free to open it to any page and let your creative energy flow.

Beginning writers, professional writers, and writing teachers will be inspired to stretch their wings and try new experiences in writing prose, poetry, and more! "Room to Write" is a terrific tool for overcoming writer's block, or for warming up when you sit down to write. Bonni Goldberg's collection of inspirational quotes, which close each page-long exercise, is priceless. My personal favorite is from Anne Tyler: "I've never quite believed that one chance is all I get. Writing is my way of making other chances."

Victoria Claire (victoria@accelnet.com)

This is an excellent book for those who want to write but just don't know what to write. For those with the desire, but lack the motivation. For those who think they can't, but can.

Goldberg has provided numerous excercises to get the creative juices flowing. Room to Write can be used with all ages to make writing an enjoyable experience. Goldberg describes the books potential, "Within these pages you can explore your creativity while cultivating it."

The excercises are fun, thought provoking, and challenging. Bonni Goldberg offers the writer motivation, a quotation, and an assignment. Start a writing group or use this book for yourself, you will not be disappointed!

I used the exercises in this little book to freewrite. Once started, I just could not stop writing. Goldberg has given inspiration and freedom to write, to release stories in my head. I just love this book! I wish Goldberg can produce more of these exercises.

-- to get you writing. Sometimes serious, often funny, and always thought-provoking. I use this book whenever I feel dry. Room to Write juices my pen back up again.

This like Anne Bernay's "What If?" and Linda Spence's "Legacy," just gets me writing and keeps me writing. I like the size of the book and the layout. Minor details, I know, but presentation really helps when it comes to pushing writers to write.

The exercises are great, thought provoking. The kind that prompt you to pry into your head and squeeze out every last drop. In most books the writing prompts are presented as flat suggestions:

Write about your favorite dinner.

Write about your first kiss

In this book, like Natilie Goldberg's "Writing Down The Bones," the author puts the questions into a context. I think it adds flavor to the question and sows a richer seed in the reader's creative garden.

Bonni Goldberg is an award-winning poet and writer, whose passion for the sound and sense of words has led her to commit herself to a life of writing and teaching writing.

In Room to Write, she shares that passion, showing us how daily writing practice can lead us into new worlds of the self. "Writing, like any spiritual undertaking," she observes, "has many paths, but only one direction--deeper." The book offers two hundred "studies," short writing practices that you can pick up and do whenever the spirit moves you. What I like about it is its versatility (you can dive into it at any point and come up wherever you like), its portability (it is a small-format book that will fit into your purse), and its easy-going, companionable style. Goldberg is a friend who speaks to us softly, encouragingly, urging us to listen and trust our passion and never fear it. She has offered us a valuable resource. Treasure it!

Susan Wittig Albert
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviews.org