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100 Simple Ways to Become a More Inspired, Successful and Fearless Writer:

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As a Christmas gift, I received the book *Dojo Wisdom for Writers* by Jennifer Lawler, a Tae Kwon Do practitioner who makes a living as a freelance writer--largely writing about martial arts (viz, this book, a similar one for mothers, a couple "Dummies" books, etc.). Being as this was given to me, a wannabe writer, by a relative who's taken up a martial art, there's no doubt Ms. Lawler nailed a market niche. Kudos to her on that.

The book itself is a pretty vapid collection of fortune-cookie wisdom stretched awfully thin to connect maxims from contemporary martial arts training to the pursuit of paying writing gigs. I've always found attempts to extrapolate general life lessons--or even worse, business strategies (shudder)--from Asian martial philosophies pretty tedious. An investment banker who quotes Sun-Tzu (and I've met a few) just seems like a yutz to me. Simply because you know what someone said, or what some translator said they said, doesn't mean you understand what was meant well enough to shoehorn it into any context you like. The value of a piece of advice lies not in who said it or why, but in what it inspires you to do (I think I got that from a SpongeBob cartoon).

As for this book, there are tidbits of practical wisdom ostensibly gleaned from martial arts practice that basically boil down to the importance of perseverence, but there's really nothing of concrete value to a would-be professional writer. No technical advice on diction or syntax. No samples of successful query letters. No recommendations for constructing character-defining dialog, or avoiding hackneyed descriptions, or arranging plot points. Acutal disscussion of craft is beyond the scope of this book. Interestingly, Ms. Lawler 'fesses up that she originally wanted to write fiction but gave it up for more saleable magazine articles. She's a writer in the same way that a guy who makes a good living narrating fire saftey videos is an actor. In a nutshell, she's someone who figured out a way to retool her interests into a career pumping out disposable little volumes filled with personal anecdotes and shallow observations--even elevating herself to "brand" status (the Holy Grail of trade publishing) in the process. That's certainly an impressive professional achievement; don't mean her books are all that great.

You could say I'm just envious. Durn right, I am.

Dojo Wisdom for Writers is a collection of maxims derived from Lawler's martial arts experiences and incorporated into advice for writers. Each short chapter follows with an explanation of how each principle applies to martial arts and examples showing methods of how the guidance is used in writing.

A number of the maxims provided in the book contain considerable value while others are simple regurgitations of common clichés. Much of the writing seems forced, often feeling as though Lawler struggled to stretch common inspirational themes into parallel ideas for writers.

The title of this book suggest content that is specific to writers, yet the realty is Lawler could have used the same book and applied it to nearly any occupation without missing a beat. This regrettably speaks more to the material's overly broad scope than to its versatility. There may be ample encouragement found within the pages, however nearly all the value in this book can be found by simply skimming the chapter headings.

"When the student is ready, the master appears" - is the first lesson of this magical little book.. and how true it is. I was looking for a writing coach and this book is it. Each lesson is important and clearly laid out. Read it once,read it again and then make sure you READ IT AGAIN - first time read it casually, second time do the exercise indicated with each lesson and the third time read it to make sure you are still applying the important lessons being taught to your writing. I hope that Ms. Lawyer writes many more such books and that I am lucky enough to read them

Excellent piece of work and very useful not only for new writers but also experienced ones

When I first saw the title of this book I thought, "huh?" I didn't know what a dojo was or how it related to writers. Okay, now I know. I was intrigued throughout the book about how the author weaved martial arts lessons with writing advice. It's a philosophy book, not a "how to" book, and I learned about the writing craft and business from examples that were not just writing related.

The lessons apply to life, as well as to writing, so the book need not be for writers only. The author illustrated the book with examples relating to her own martial arts experience as well as her writing experience (and of course, the experience of others).

It's an easy book to read - each chapter is only a few pages. You can read straight through or skip around.

Some of my favorite lessons were `Be open to what happens next' and `The way is not always straight.' The advice was sensible and presented in a `can do' way.

Even if you have a library full of writing books like I do, Dojo Wisdom for Writers, by Jennifer Lawler, is the one you need to karate chop those inevitable blocks along the way to certain victory. Or "Pilsung!" shouts Lawler, using the Korean martial arts saying. Other books tell you what to include in a query letter or how to tighten a sloppy sentence. This one identifies what holds you back.

I'd tell you the lessons that struck me most, but you'll be challenged by others. Are you afraid to be yourself on paper? Worried about standing your ground during contract negotiations? Think you'll fail because no one says you won't? To succeed, warriors and writers need to believe in themselves in specific ways, Lawler explains. They have fears to fight, setbacks to survive, and rejections to rise above. "If you follow the lessons in Dojo Wisdom for Writers, you will make your writing dreams a reality, too," Lawler says in her introduction. When she tells you that if she can do it anyone can, you'll believe her.

Had I found this gem years ago when I was a new freelancer starting from nothing, I'd have dog-eared the pages and scribbled on every lesson like an Emerson essay. Now, as a successful full-time writer for national magazines, I can only smile as Lawler nails my strengths and weaknesses - and those of my colleagues - in 100 simple ways.

Kathy Summers
www.healthwriting.com

"Dojo Wisdom for Writers: 100 Simple Ways to Become a More Inspired, Successful, and Fearless Writer" by Jennifer Lawler is a follow up to her very good "Dojo Wisdom." But this time the advice is aimed specifically at writers, and the advice is practical and motivating. Maybe it is because I've been a martial artist since the early 80s that this book resonated strongly with me. Now that I do more writing, and am looking to write full time, I found this book full of practical suggestions and motivation to pursue the craft.

I've been familiar with Jennifer Lawler for many years, and have enjoyed her writing on martial art topics. I wasn't familiar with her writing in other areas, and when I discovered that she wrote a book specifically for writers using martial arts lessons, I had to read it, and am very glad I did. It was a good boost of motivation.

As the title suggests, there are 100 short lessons for writers based on things Lawler learned from her martial art path and writing career. Each lesson starts out with the martial art lesson, with examples from the author's training as well as from others. Then, she relates the martial art lesson to the writing life. I found these transitions to be easy to understand and definitely lessons I could relate to both from my martial art background and the writing I've done and desire to continue.

Take lesson 13, "Discipline leads to strength." Those who train in the martial arts know that discipline is important, and Lawler writes about this, but then she also writes about how the writer needs discipline to become strong also. Other lessons topics include: Know Your Target; Cultivate perfect awareness; Persist even when you are fatigued, Focus on the Way; A warrior must be single-minded; and Do what is right. This is not a writing "technique" book and definitely won't be the only writing book on your shelf. For me, this book was more motivation and encouragement than "how to."

"Dojo Wisdom for Writers" is a simple little book that packs a powerful motivating punch. Many of the lessons are just as relevant for other careers, but they are aimed at writing. Even if you are not a martial artist, the writing advice is clear and solid and will assist you with your creative venture into the world of writing for pay. If, like me, you are a martial artist and a writer, this book is an absolute must and you will enjoy it immensely. Personally, it felt like the book was written specifically for where I am at, and what I believe. I'm sure I'll be reading the lessons again and again for advice and motivation while I travel the path of a martial artist and writer.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of the Lock On Joint Locking Essentials series.

I keep this book on my desk, along with Elements of Style, the AP and AMA style guides a few other reference works. I'll turn to the others when I need to look something up. But if I need to motivate myself, I read one quick lesson in Dojo Wisdom. It's like having a personal trainer on my desk.

Reviewed by Gabriel Welsch for Small Spiral Notebook

A lot of writers look for metaphors for the writing life, or writing task. Myself, I am guilty of waxing on about how gardening is like writing. A friend and serious foodie makes the connection between being a poet and being a chef. Most readers can think of a few more. Jennifer Lawler has given us all yet one more metaphor, comparing writer to a martial artist. Perhaps it is the novelty of the comparison, as most writers I know are soft, couch potato sorts who tend to stay away from places where they can get hit, or perhaps it is simply the force of her case, but she is convincing.

Which says something. Writers do not suffer any shortage of books telling us how to do what we do, books running from annoyingly careerist checklists to breathless would-be eloquence on the nobility of the misunderstood artist's journey. At the same time, most writers stick with an avowed classic for inspiration or guidance, such as Dorothea Brand's On Being a Writer or John Gardener's The Art of Fiction. While the last decade has seen a number of books frank in tone and, in content, a compromise between meditation and checklist, books like Betsey Lerner's The Forest for the Trees, few have come from as deep left field as Lawler's.

A veteran writer on a number of subjects aside from (and including) martial arts, Lawler writes on the craft and profession of writing, for the most part, with some work on creativity, inspiration, the art, and so forth. Her tone stays friendly and concise, but not chatty. As the book's title implies, it is organized in lessons or forms-extensions of the dojo metaphor-one hundred such short pieces, accompanied with exercises, suggestions of actions the reader can take.

The root of Lawler's tone might be the assumption guiding the book, namely that most of its readers look to become freelance writers working across a number of genres and tasks, and hope to support themselves. While she does frequently assert that not all writers have the same goals, the majority of the lessons focus on freelancer issues. For instance, the exercise for lesson 64, "Strive for Mastery," suggests "occasionally, don't settle for competent work," a line that took me back the first time I read it. She clarifies in the next sentences, stating that she means contracted writers should strive for work which is perfect, beyond the pale, before turning it into the editor or publisher who commissioned the job. It's good advice, but advice that makes sense for only one kind of writer.

Then again, Lawler might feel someone who resolutely sticks to a single genre or mode is limiting herself. As she writes, in lesson 42, "The Way is not always straight," avoidance of other genres and other modes of writing may well shortchange you on your particular path to writing success (another notion she qualifies broadly). Other lessons focus on reading books like hers, or style manuals and guides to freelancing, once a month, and on how to pump contacts such as employers and local businesses to sell your talents as a writer for their needs.

But when Lawler is at her best, making clear connections between martial arts practice and corollary ideas in writing, the book surprises and makes very good sense. When she admonishes to seek the "target beyond the target," readers envision the fist moving through a board, aimed at a spot behind it, so that the board breaks easily with the strike. The translation to writing is to think not simply about publishing a piece, but about what the publication might lead to, how the publication helps get a person closer to her writing goals. When she advises "don't give away your moves," she talks about how keeping one's best moves give her the advantage and focus in a sparring match. For writers, it's not chatting up one's best ideas, not talking about writing instead of doing it, letting the tension of withholding help drive the work. When Lawler says "catch sight of your reflection," the literal lesson is for martial artists to practice before a mirror, to understand the entirety of their moves during movements and forms, to ensure the best execution. For writers, she means to have the ability to step back, regard one's work, and understand the moves working within it-a task helpful not only for revision but for conception and composition as well.

One of the most intriguing points is her notion, "don't allow the opponent to control match," in which she details how a martial artist wants not to be on the defensive. In a sparring match, she will try to anticipate, be confident in her ability to react, to let the fight flow without overwhelming her, accepting triumphs and setbacks as part of the whole. If she can't control the tempo and timing of the fight, she will at least not be controlled by it. For writers, it means not letting rejection, setbacks, inconsideration, and other factors derail them from their purposes. By removing the notion that a spar is a fight, and then using that idea to leap to publishing not being a necessarily antagonistic arena, the advice (as well as the other lessons similar to it) can serve to renew a writer's enthusiasm and conception of the publishing world.

Finally, Lawler also takes on the standard bits of advice-heart is more important than talent, other genres can teach you much about your chosen one, teachers and supporters are important, being a writer means sitting down and writing and not hanging out at readings professing your pending brilliance or warbling about how you're so damned interested in process. But just as happens in a good poem or story, the setting and metaphors that accompany an old story or idea make it interesting again. And given the plain-talk of this particular warrior, not only are the ideas new again, they come at you with such force that I have to wonder just what Lawler's target behind the target might be.

Whether they know it or not, writers and martial artists have a lot in common. People ask 'why do you do that' to both groups. The rewards from each are only partly financial and both groups needs to find something deep within them to motivate themselves. The common predjudice is that you need a lot of talent to succeed at either but accomplished writers and martial artists know that no amount of talent is sufficient without the hard-work basics to convert it into capability. In 100 short lessons, author Jennifer Lawler takes the lessons she learned from years of martial arts practice and applies them to writing.

Some examples: Flexibility is Strength; Self-consciousness prevents action; Protect the Beginner; Overcome fear by encountering it. Some of these are obvious but even there, Lawler provides a writing 'exercise' that goes with each lesson, extending the thought, applying it directly to each writer--whether the writer pursues fiction or non-fiction.

Obligatory note: like Jennifer Lawler, I am both a writer and a black belt level martial artist and have long believed that the two are closely related--two art forms that complement one another. That said, you don't need to be a martial artist to find Lawler's 100 lessons to be useful and fun. DOJO WISDOM FOR WRITERS isn't a 'how to' book. Instead, it's designed as a source of inspiration, little hints from one writer to another, and some thoughts on how to make the lonely journey to becoming a writer (or a warrior) more fulfilling.

DOJO WISDOM is a 'frosting' book. If you could only have three writing books, you'd probably want to start with something like TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER by Dwight Swain or WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL by Donald Mass. But once you've got the basics, you'll want to add books that inspire, encourage, and motivate. DOJO WISDOM is a great choice for that list--and a great idea for a gift to your favorite author.

Firstly, I have to say I'm glad this book was about how to succeed as a writer, and not how to write or how to market a book to a demographic. I also have her martial arts encyclopedia on my shelf, next to two better ones, so I am familiar with her "work".

But I agree with the others here, I do. Jennifer Lawler is giving very good advice, advise that I *will* put to good use as a writer. She obviously has a great wealth of empirical knowledge, has paid dues, and knows her stuff--- So why three stars then, instead of four or five?

Jennifer Lawler writes in a world with no men, and must study martial arts in a dojo without any males. Scroll down and look at all the reviews preceding this one. Notice they are nearly all women? Also look at the "About the Author" section, paying particular attention to where she lives with her daughter--- hmmm no husband.

It is no crime, of course. My point is that the author forgets the male sex exists almost completely in her book of wisdom. I guess in her feminist mind only women are martial artists, and only women are trying to succeed as writers. Or perhaps it is only women she wants to succeed, or gives a damn about? I don't know.

When referring to the writer/martial artists she wrote this book to help succeed, she refers to them as "she" and "her", which annoyed me on every page. She throws us a bone-- a few "hims" and "hes" when mentioning the evil assailant the martial artist/writer must defend *herself* against.

One chapter sticks in my mind where she advises me not to be self-conscious about my writing the same way I shouldn't be self-conscious when an attacker comes to steal my purse.

I am a writer and a martial artist, but the further I read the more I felt that this book was not meant for me, and I know I'll get a few "no help" clicks for expressing this point of view. There will be an argument that this is for everybody, and I'm being overly sensitive. My counter to that shall be that while it may well be for us all, it wasn't written that way, and is that wisdom? Well... I'll cut her a little slack. A black belt is not necessarily a sensei, and a sensei is not necessarily a master. Why was a man's perspective excluded? Is it so hard to say "she/he", "her/him", "purse/wallet"? This would properly illustrate that she's trying to help me too.

I have a ton of martial arts books, written by men, that forget women too. But the majority of martial artists in the world are, in fact, men. Forget feminism or misogyny for one second and look at this from a marketing perspective. Doesn't it stand to reason that more men may pick up this book than women? What publisher or editor of martial arts-related books wouldn't know this? What's Jennifer Lawler trying to say by excluding men from her book of dojo of wisdom?

Don't get me wrong. This is good advice for writers. But she did not factor in the notion that men would be reading it, and the chances of a man relating to this wisdom are greater than that of women, by the numbers, and no other reason. This is not me taking a sexist point of view--- Jennifer Lawler took that path.

She probably has a lot of cats.