Customer Reviews

The Writer's Life: Insights from The Right to Write

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THE RIGHT TO WRITE was my first introduction into Ms. Cameron's wonderful spiritual world of God and writing. She always has something wonderful to say. This is the BEST inspiration into writing which I have ever read. (If only I could take a class from her!!!) The necessity of writing which can release yourself into a new and wonderful world is so creative and liberating any one who loves life itself should read this book.

This is a great little book. It's sort of a collection of highlights from a bigger book by Julia Cameron, "The Right to Write", which is also fantastic. Both books make you want to sit down and start writing--a book, a script, a poem, a song... Cameron is gifted at writing about writing. She articulates things that are hard to articulate, about the process of writing. And she is very democratic; she believes everyone can write (or create) and should. What's also nice is that each page deals with a different aspect of writing, and is short and sweet. It's not a lot of verbiage you have to wade through--Cameron makes her point easily and effectively. No matter how uninspired you may feel, or how fearful you might be, when you read even just a few pages of this book, or the bigger book, "The Right to Write," you will suddenly feel a strong desire to write. If you don't, then maybe you're really blocked? In which case, you should check out her classic, "The Artist's Way."

To those who it helps this is a good book. There is a lot of positive advice that can help people write, and perhaps feel better about themselves and their lives. This is good.
But I have been a writer for many many writers , and writing it seems to me is a far more painful, difficult, problematic activity than this book suggests. Writing involves coming to terms in some way with what one cannot do as a writer. It involves dealing with one's own failures and one's effort to overcome those failings. My writing life begins in suffering, warding off madness. It continues in trying to understanding the suffering of others I loved, and what such suffering can mean. Writing is so so many different things that I do not wish to generalize or make my own experience the model for anyone. I just would say ' simple formulas help sometimes' but for many writers the search for the truth in writing does not necessarily lead to some world of happiness or greater hope.
Writing has kept me going, helped give meaning to my life, and as with Kafka has been a kind of prayer.
I hope this review does not discourage any reader of this little book. And I also hope my few words have indicated to you what you probably already know, writing can be not so simple and so easy.

I loved and adored The Right to Write, hung on every word and underlined at least half the book, so when I noticed this one, I quickly ordered it. The key word is "quickly", as in I didn't look AT THE SIZE OF THE BOOK! It's the size of my hand, and I have small hands. Okay, I should have read all that, but online it looks just like the first book, and I wasn't thinking that size mattered so much. And if it were filled with more bits of wisdom, I could forgive the size, but it's just random, disconnected ramblings that say nothing new. I'm so disappointed with Ms. Cameron, and I'm almost equally as disappointed in the other reviews. The only saving grace is that I purchased it for 1 cent plus $3.99 shipping, which is more than it's worth but not so much I won't sleep. I guess if I ever publish and reach the heights of Ms. Cameron, I might think of pulling such a joke on my readers......I hope not.