Based on Lawrence Block's extremely popular seminar for writers. Discover Block's tips for overcoming writer's block and unleashing your creativity.
Write for Your Life
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More About the Author
Lawrence Block (b. 1938) is the recipient of a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and an internationally renowned bestselling author. His prolific career spans over one hundred books, including four bestselling series as well as dozens of short stories, articles, and books on writing. He has won four Edgar and Shamus Awards, two Falcon Awards from the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan, the Nero and Philip Marlowe Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of the United Kingdom. In France, he has been awarded the title Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice received the Societe 813 trophy.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Block attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Leaving school before graduation, he moved to New York City, a locale that features prominently in most of his works. His earliest published writing appeared in the 1950s, frequently under pseudonyms, and many of these novels are now considered classics of the pulp fiction genre. During his early writing years, Block also worked in the mailroom of a publishing house and reviewed the submission slush pile for a literary agency. He has cited the latter experience as a valuable lesson for a beginning writer.
Block's first short story, "You Can't Lose," was published in 1957 in Manhunt, the first of dozens of short stories and articles that he would publish over the years in publications including American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and the New York Times. His short fiction has been featured and reprinted in over eleven collections including Enough Rope (2002), which is comprised of eighty-four of his short stories.
In 1966, Block introduced the insomniac protagonist Evan Tanner in the novel The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep. Block's diverse heroes also include the urbane and witty bookseller--and thief-on-the-side--Bernie Rhodenbarr; the gritty recovering alcoholic and private investigator Matthew Scudder; and Chip Harrison, the comical assistant to a private investigator with a Nero Wolfe fixation who appears in No Score, Chip Harrison Scores Again, Make Out with Murder, and The Topless Tulip Caper. Block has also written several short stories and novels featuring Keller, a professional hit man. Block's work is praised for his richly imagined and varied characters and frequent use of humor.
A father of three daughters, Block lives in New York City with his second wife, Lynne. When he isn't touring or attending mystery conventions, he and Lynne are frequent travelers, as members of the Travelers' Century Club for nearly a decade now, and have visited about 150 countries.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Block attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Leaving school before graduation, he moved to New York City, a locale that features prominently in most of his works. His earliest published writing appeared in the 1950s, frequently under pseudonyms, and many of these novels are now considered classics of the pulp fiction genre. During his early writing years, Block also worked in the mailroom of a publishing house and reviewed the submission slush pile for a literary agency. He has cited the latter experience as a valuable lesson for a beginning writer.
Block's first short story, "You Can't Lose," was published in 1957 in Manhunt, the first of dozens of short stories and articles that he would publish over the years in publications including American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and the New York Times. His short fiction has been featured and reprinted in over eleven collections including Enough Rope (2002), which is comprised of eighty-four of his short stories.
In 1966, Block introduced the insomniac protagonist Evan Tanner in the novel The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep. Block's diverse heroes also include the urbane and witty bookseller--and thief-on-the-side--Bernie Rhodenbarr; the gritty recovering alcoholic and private investigator Matthew Scudder; and Chip Harrison, the comical assistant to a private investigator with a Nero Wolfe fixation who appears in No Score, Chip Harrison Scores Again, Make Out with Murder, and The Topless Tulip Caper. Block has also written several short stories and novels featuring Keller, a professional hit man. Block's work is praised for his richly imagined and varied characters and frequent use of humor.
A father of three daughters, Block lives in New York City with his second wife, Lynne. When he isn't touring or attending mystery conventions, he and Lynne are frequent travelers, as members of the Travelers' Century Club for nearly a decade now, and have visited about 150 countries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the book that got me writing,
This review is from: Write for Your Life (Kindle Edition)
I'm overcompensating slightly with five stars to counteract that last, negative review. No, this isn't a book of technical tips for professional writers (although Larry Block's other writing books, made up of years' worth of columns for Writer's Digest, contain more specific and pro-level advice). This is a book designed to get wouldbe writers and blocked writers and professionally uncertain writers... writing. It has a simplistic, new-agey approach (relaxation exercises, practice-writing, affirmations, etc.) to light the creative spark in frightened minds. Block has written 70+ books (all legitimately published, not "self-published" as previous reviewer sneers) and knows what he's talking about. This book got me writing in my 20s when nothing else could break through my self-censoring paralysis. His voice is supportive, easygoing, unintimidating, friendly. So if you're already confident & making a career out of writing regularly, yes, this is a 2 star book, you don't need it. But if you're anxious and blocked and want to know how to write more or better or just how to get writing... 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book released my creativity when no other book did,
By A Customer
This review is from: Write for Your Life (Paperback)
This is the best book I've ever read about overcoming writer's block. I want to recommend it to friends, but sadly it's out of print.Please consider re-issuing it. It is too valuable to let slide into obscurity!
2 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What A Waste!,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Write for Your Life (Kindle Edition)
My publisher has me doing more re-writes than usual, and I'm stuck. This morning I downloaded "Write For Your Life" to my Kindle in hopes of finding some inspiration for my necessary changes, but this book isn't about writing. I'm not sure what it's about, and I certainly don't understand how in Earth it made it to Kindle.The author first threatens us (in a childish, joking manner) to read the introduction. It's his method of getting around a re-write of the content of the book itself, which is a 1985 transcript of a 1983 seminar. In the introduction, the author does nothing but talk about himself and his wife, where they've lived, and how he got on the seminar circuit. Okay, I stuck it out through the introduction. Morbid curiosity took me through three more chapters, all of which were about . . . guess what? Giving seminars. The author also continually pats himself on the back about having self-published, about (twenty-some years later) still having a boxful of that first run of 5,000 books, and tells us how people have been cajoling him to re-publish the book. But he doesn't tell us anything about writing. Having gotten some insight into the author's mind, I figure he thought he could make a buck by "re-publishing" his book as a digital download for Kindle users. (You won't find this title in hard copy.) And I'm guessing Mr. Block thought people wouldn't bother returning an eight dollar item. He was wrong. And you'll be wrong if you bother with this joke of a book on "writing."
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