Customer Reviews

Write from the Heart : Unleashing the Power of Your Creativity

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Before I read Write From the Heart, I had a book trapped inside me that was screaming to be written. I've been a creative mentor for years, but never had published a book, and didn't think of myself as an author. This book helped me to find and unleash my own unique voice, and the exercises acted as guideposts along the way that kept me on track. My confidence level went from very low to very high in a short amount of time, thanks to the practical tools that Hal Bennett offers. I was able to kick out my inner critic and let my imagination knock over the blocks that had been running my inner dialog. The insights I gained from this book provided the discipline for me to keep writing and not get distracted, and I can safely say that without the help of this creative and wise man, my book would not have been finished. Not only is it finished, but as of September 2002, it is published! I am so grateful for Write From the Heart.
Katherine Q Revoir, author of the recently published book "Spiritual Doodles & Mental Leapfrogs: A Playbook for Unleashing Spiritual Self-Expression (published by Red Wheel/Weiser)

Hal Zina Bennett believes that becoming a good writer involves much more than mastering the techniques, although those skills have their place. He says writing is a way to "share our humanness," and that "being true to ourselves is what gives our writing fire." In the Revised Edition of Write From The Heart: Unleashing The Power of Your Creativity, he shares the insights he's gathered over a long career as a prolific writer and creativity coach.

He delves into the sources of creativity, noting that for many people, this requires a certain amount of solitude. He then discusses language itself, saying that "it is the marriage between language and the deep mysteries of the human mind that excites me." Writers write to tap into that connection, for themselves and for others. The creativity is within--we only need to learn to recognize and utilize it.

Some people don't have the resources to have a private place of their own for thinking and writing. Bennett explains how the perfect place can be created through guided imagery. Writing can help complete the imagery and the imagery helps to make the writing possible.

Early in his career, Bennett learned that having an "imaginary reader" brings life to writing, whether fiction or nonfiction. The imaginary reader is the one special individual to whom the writer directs his words. He explains how to create an imaginary reader and use it to bring humanness and sharing into the writing.

All of us have intensely joyous times in our lives, called peak experiences, and time of deep suffering, which Bennett describes as "essential wounds." Both are a source of personal growth and creativity. Dreams are another source of creativity--sometimes they lend themselves better to stories than to interpretations.

Writing has the ability to transform the writer and the reader. In Writing From The Heart, Bennett provides the advice, exercises, and guidance that beginners and experienced writers need "to overcome blocks, unleash their inborn creative voice, and channel their creativity toward becoming happily published."

Hal Zina Bennett's profound advice from his prolific writing career (over 30 published books) is, "write from the heart". As wonderful as that sounds, most writers know it's not an easy thing to do. Hal takes us to another dimension by sharing his personal process and showing each of us how we can remove the blocks to our expression and creativity by learning how to speak from our heart to the heart of our reader. I can speak from my own personal experience, having attended his workshops and received personal counselling from him in the process of writing my book, "Sacred Woman, Sacred Dance: Awakening Spirituality Through Movement and Ritual". "Write From the Heart" also offers practical guidance in several areas. This includes such things as the need for solitude. However, he is not just talking about having "a quiet space", he goes beyond the physical to the inner - a state of mind. He says, "Once we know what it is, what it looks like and feels like, we can create it for ourselves, almost--I say "almost"--regardless of where we happen to be." I would certainly recommend this book to anyone writing for personal expression or looking to be published.

You'll find plenty of interesting material in this book. 13 chapters are included, each beginning with the obligatory cool quote and ending with a single detailed exercise. Many include a paragraph somewhere indicating the "core concept" of the chapter, set off with a gray background. Finally the book ends with a bibliography--which doubles as a rather nice reading list. A fair amount of time is spent on the emotions and feelings involved in writing, which is entirely appropriate to a book with a title like "Write from the Heart"!

You'll find material on making peace with your inner critic (a subject discussed in "Pencil Dancing" but dealt with in greater depth here). There's a chapter on creating a system of supportive critiquing with other writers, and a chapter that deals with the subject of small, independent book publishers--something I haven't seen talked about in many places.

While I do very much like this book, it did suffer from some balance problems. As the title indicates, it's a book for writers. In large part, however, it's a memoir. It's also a book on spirituality. I felt as though Mr. Bennett lost focus now and then--forgot what his main topic and audience were. I sometimes felt as though the bits of memoir scattered throughout weren't adequately related back to the topic at hand and went on for longer than they needed to. While Mr. Bennett did make fascinating connections between elements of spirituality and elements of writing, sometimes he failed to connect them well enough. A few chapters seemed to focus almost entirely on spirituality with writing concerns added as an afterthought.

The spirituality of this book is not what I would consider offensive. It delves into such topics as spirit guides and the "invisible world," but is (usually) careful to remain grounded in reality and anchored to the topic of writing. It will make die-hard skeptics uncomfortable in places, but it is interesting, and some of the ideas are worth a try. They might indeed give you new ways in which to approach your writing. Ultimately this is a very helpful book, and I highly recommend it for people who would like to achieve more with their writing than commercial success alone.

Hal Zina Bennett's book "Write from the Heart" is a must read for any person attempting to embark on a fulfilling literary life. Bennett states it very plainly, or at least to me, that a writer should learn to tap into their mind, via their heart, to find there within the inner peace we all search for. By acquiring the calm and inner peace in the mind, the heart will do the rest, telling the mind what to say. A writer shouldn't have to struggle if they can only learn to attain an inner peace and listen to their heart. Bennett tells that writing about what we know best, and drawing from our own life experiences, is an excellent place to start. He has learned this and gains tremendous recognition through his published writings and workshops. I have always believed that every writer has their own personal muse, whether they know it or not. Bennett holds the same belief. I personally feel that new writers should not confuse a Guide with a Muse, but I do believe writers can draw inspiration from either or both. Good writers, allowing for good plot, great characters, and the ability to put words down correctly on paper (proper editing) can get published. Knowing how to write from the heart isn't about learning how to get published (although Bennett's book does hold some good information here), it's about learning to write period. For me, I find it is sort of like Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About the Bike", only with Bennett, "it's not about the book". It's about the person within to assist the work and to overcome the obstacles. I consider myself to be very lucky because I think I understand what Bennett is talking about in "Write From The Heart". I'd wager there isn't a person, who has had the privilege of attending one of Bennett's workshop, that came out of it without understanding. To any person who is thinking of writing a book, I strongly recommend getting a copy of "Write From the Heart" and reading it first. The quotes, the core concepts, and the writing explorations at the end of each chapter are excellent. I'm placing Bennett's book next to Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style" on my desk. Do yourself a favor and read Hal Zina Bennett's book, then go ahead and unleash the power of your creativity.

This is a good book for writers who already have some experience of the craft, including through personal journaling. Nothing about the techniques of writing or the genres here but rather about the "soul of writing". Hal Zina Bennett shares his development as a writer over the years and his suggestions to reconnect to the being that feeds the act of writing. One writing "exploration" is given after each chapter. The book reads quickly and is motivational in nature. This is a good companion to any book by Julia Cameron.

Hal Zina Bennett lives what he writes and teaches, from the heart. I was fortunate to study writing with Hal and from this met his book "Write from the Heart." The lessons I learned were essential to me in writing, shaping, and bringing to fruition my first book, "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary."

In Chapter 9, "Higher Creativity and the Essential Wound," Hal's Core Concept is: "The writer, like the shaman storyteller of ancient times, embraces his own life experience, tells stories to the community that gathers in a circle around him, a fire blazing at its center. In the telling of what most deeply touched his life, he helps other to see that they are not alone. And in the process both storyteller and listeners are healed." I didn't know how true this was until after my book came out. I thank Hal for seeing deeply into this truth and sharing it.

"Writing from the Heart" has 13 chapters. Each chapter offers a good reason for buying, reading, using, studying, and treasuring this book.

Janet Grace Riehl, author, Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

This is a great book! I was a big fan of the first edition but this new version with the writing exercises added makes it possible to apply the principles Hal teaches to my own wrting. Over the years I have learned many wonderful things about writing from Hal Bennett and this book encapsulates the best of them.

This book is a button-pusher for any of us who write. When Bennett
draws from his own experience at authoring thirty successful fiction
and nonfiction books as well as coaching more than two hundred writers
into getting published, he inspires the rest of us to take a second
look at how we're writing to see if we can do it better. This book
isn't just about how to write, but how to go beyond being a writer to
become a Storyteller. We're provided with a host of exercises, among
them: How to Get Beyond 'Writer's Block,' How to Make Peace with Your
Inner Critic, How to Bring the Present Alive, How to Describe a Peak
Experience, and How to Write from the Inner Wound to tell your readers
they are not alone. He asks us to describe our imaginary reader
before we start work, then he urges us to imagine that person asking
us questions as we go along, telling us how to use our writing to
answer these. While admitting that knowing what he calls the
"craft" of writing is essential, here he assumes we already
know that. The emphasis, instead, is on how to draw from the best we
have within us--what we have in our heart--that we can then use the
craft of writing to communicate to our readers. I'm using it now and
I give it a five-star rating.

For those who love writing but keep encountering blocks, this book is such a gift! Instead of dwelling on the mechanics of writing, Write from the Heart provides effective ways to get in touch with your own creative voice and communicate what is in your heart. Speaking your truth in your own clear voice is the key to successful writing. Readers know when they connect with something real.

If you buy only one creative writing reference, this should be it!