Customer Reviews

Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kelly L. Stone's THINKING WRITE is unique among writerly advice books in that it speaks to the part of us that is our most powerful ally in the creative process: the subconscious mind. Stone teaches how to not only access this bottomless well to drive efforts but also direct it toward the achievement of goals. I found the chapter devoted to the "anti-writer" especially illuminating. If you want to know how to neutralize doubt, fear and self-sabotaging behaviors, don't skip this section! After reading THINKING WRITE, I came away with a better understanding of how the mind can help or hinder. I also learned many new ways to tap into the power of the subconscious and to steer it to achieve my "Vision of Success." Although Stone's advice is writer-specific, anyone can benefit from a read. THINKING WRITE rates a permanent place on my shelf.

I'm not easily swayed by a lot of self help books, but as a writer - and an artist - I was surprised in a nice way by Kelly L. Stone's latest book THINKING WRITE. Based on the title, it's obviously geared to writers, but I feel anyone with a creative nature will find this book extremely interesting and useful. We're told we use a very small percentage of our intellect based on what the human mind is capable of - using this book will help tap hidden resources we develop from the time we open our eyes as a child.

Think of all the incredible things you've seen along the way since birth and how many times you've had an idea that escaped you later. Wouldn't it be nice to delve back into your mental storage files and pull up something when you need it? Writers often go to sleep thinking on a story and find the answer to a problem while asleep when their minds are free to roam. Kelly explains how brilliant creators like Thomas Edison used the hypnagogic state to find solutions - a method she shares in the book. Lightning didn't automatically end up you light socket. <grin> THINKING WRITE teaches you how to do that at will, not just when it happens to hit. And...the book comes with a meditative CD for writers.

Kelly brought us a terrific book with TIME TO WRITE that answered how all level of writers up to best selling authors find the time to write. Now she's brought us a gift for our muse with THINKING WRITE.

NYT best selling author Dianna Love

Thinking Write is an excellent tool to help overcome writer's block and connect with your inner creativity. Her approach is unique and fun. This book has become a valuable resource to me.

True to the title of the book, Thinking Write, makes you do just that. Ms. Stone offers plenty of helpful advice and useful exercises to get your creative juices flowing. From meditation, to keeping a dream notebook, to using a pendulum, the list goes on as to the different ways you can tap into your subconscious to get the productivity you seek. The CD included with the book is a nice bonus and also helpful.

Kelly will teach you how to use your brain. If you want to jump start your creativity or just want to think clearer this is the book for you. I've read the book and taken her workshop and highly recommend both.

I decided to read and review this book to see if there were any new ideas out there to improve my writing and was pleasantly surprised to find so much helpful information. If you're ready to tap into your subconscious (which is like a giant computer system with multiple input sources), then Thinking Write is just what you're looking for.

Stone starts with an insightful explanation of how our brain works by storing material that we can use in our writing--even though we don't know it's there until we look for it. Since our attention span is limited, we can only focus on one thing at a time. However, everything that passes through our minds is stored permanently. By making the most of our subconscious, we can finish our novel, or collection of poems, or our book of family memories.

Some of the suggestions for creating our ideal writing life are these: remember and keep a dream journal, spend time in nature, have the color green in our writing space, focus on our breathing, use different styles of music to create moods, be silent, and most important, have our own place to write, filled with items that are special and inspirational. We should establish a routine before we write that will help us move from "world mode" to "creative mode." We should get mundane tasks out of the way before we begin writing. However, the key is that we must spend time with our writing every day.

Stone says, "How you conduct yourself on a daily basis impresses upon your subconscious what you believe about yourself. Making a commitment to write and surrounding yourself with people who reinforce this is a powerful way to become a creative, talented writer. To get genuine intent you first need genuine belief."

A CD is included that's designed to help put the tools that you read about into practice--such as basic relaxation techniques and creative visualization.

by Doris Anne Roop-Benner

for Story Circle Book Reviews

reviewing books by, for, and about women

She does offer some great advice about the issue of morale, training your subconscious, etc. However, this book is poorly written. Most of the book is wasted by belaboring her points. It looks like this book was not edited. It's 200 pages, while she could have relayed the relevant information with 50. If this were simply a self-help book then it wouldn't matter much. But if your target audience for a book is other authors, you should clean it up.