Customer Reviews

The Writer's Book of Matches

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As an aspiring writer, I have picked up many, many books on how to write, what to write and what to do with your writing when you're done. I've tried prompt books with "inspiring" photographs and quotes from other authors and general questions to ask yourself that, while somewhat helpful, didn't really start any sparks in my mind. But, from the moment I opened "The Writer's Book of Matches" and turned to a random page, I was hooked.

Besides the introduction (made up of information on coming up with your own prompts and on how to use the book), the book is comprised completely of writing prompts. The intro is only twenty pages long, so there are A LOT of prompts in this book.

For example: pg 146-- A woman with an eating disorder visits an all-you-can eat buffet with her coworkers.

This is the first type of prompt presented: a character that is involved in a conflict. When jotting down ideas, I often write them out in this exact format, which is helpful when searching for ideas in this book. It provides you with a character and a conflict that, while detailed, are also open enough to provide your own interpretation. Just looking through the prompts for a few minutes is enough to get my brain flowing. And a LOT of the prompts are a lot more thought evoking than the one I listed. Some can be downright chilling.

Not all the prompts are listed in this format, there are also lines of dialogue that are quirky enough to be the first lines of some good stories.

Example:Pg 186 "Why does your boyfriend have a tuxedo in the back seat of his car?"

A third type prompt presents unusual situations that are specific enough, but are left open to be interpreted in many, many ways.

Example: Pg 213 While filling up her car with gas, a woman finds the words "help me" and a license plate number written on her passenger door.

All in all, this book was EXACTLY what I had been searching for for a very long time. I highly recommend it if you struggle to come up with interesting ideas often, or if you just need a jumpstart into a story.

This book is filled with so many fun, creative, useful ideas for storytelling and writing. It has helped me further my ambitions of becoming a novelist and it totally helps when I'm fresh out of ideas or motivation for a story.

I haven't even used the book yet, but having flipped through the pages... I can see this is a Godsend for any serious or even non-serious writer! The prompts are usefull and have so many directions. Any of the ones I read can fit into any genre depending on how the writer spins it. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! Perfect for writers who need a bit of poking and prodding because of writer's block.

I have bought two copies of this book. I gave one as a present to a writing buddy. She loves it as much as I do. Very inspirational, a lot of fun! Wonderful book to help fight writer's block, and just give you topics for writing exercises.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I like to know what I'm getting into."

This prompt from the book is ideally suited for leading into the description. With quotes, situations, photos, and drawings there is plenty to get the imagination going. It's 250 pages of things designed to get you thinking and putting those thoughts on a page. For those who write professionally, those who just enjoy writing, those who keep blogs/journals and sometimes get stuck on what to write about - this is a good book to have handy. I keep it on my desk along with a few others to reach for on those days that "Where do I start?" is the only thing in my head. Quirky, situations you don't normally think of and some that may be a bit shocking but can be written about from many perspectives. WELL worth the money!

The book arrived in excellent condition but it took quite a while to ship and then nearly a month to arrive.