Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times (Writers on Writing (Times Books Paperback)) [Paperback]

The New York Times (Author), Jane Smiley (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Writers on Writing (Times Books Paperback) | Publication Date: May 1, 2004

"Glimpses into writers and the circumstances that shape them . . . Valuable gleanings."-Kirkus Reviews

In a second volume of original essays drawn from the long-running New York Times column, Writers on Writing brings together another group of contemporary literature's finest voices to muse on the challenges and gifts of language and creativity.
The pieces range from taciturn, hilarious advice for aspiring writers to thoughtful, soul-wrenching reflections on writing in the midst of national tragedy. William Kennedy talks about the intersecting lives of real and imagined Albany politics; Susan Isaacs reveals her nostalgia for a long-retired protagonist; and Elmore Leonard offers pithy rules for letting the writing, and not the writer, take charge. With contributions from Diane Ackerman, Margaret Atwood, Frank Conroy, Mary Karr, Patrick McGrath, Arthur Miller, Amy Tan, and Edmund White, Writers on Writing, Volume II offers an uncommon and revealing view of the writer's world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 45 writers who contributed to this second compendium of the weekly column in the Times arts section are nearly all A-list names-and highly contemporary, too, as most of the articles originally coincided with the publication of their latest books. The prosaic headlines ("Fiction and Fact Collide, With Unexpected Consequences") obscure the lively tone adopted by most of the authors, who seem to be enjoying the opportunity to wax anecdotal about various aspects of their career. Thus we have Ann Beattie on the book tour, David Shields about reacting to bad reviews, Elinor Lipman on the perils of getting (and giving) jacket blurbs and Stephen Fry's hilarious account of the questions fans ask about his writing methods. Though some of the authors choose to deal with contemporary events, as in A.M. Homes's eyewitness account of September 11 ("not something you want to remember, not something to want to forget"), nobody strays far from the literary, and quite a few offer insights into the creative process. Kathryn Harrison explains how a photograph seen in childhood led to the writing of The Seal Wife, while mystery writer Marcia Muller reveals that she once built scale models of her protagonist's regular haunts to help her understand the character. And Elmore Leonard offers practical advice on how to write better prose, including this gem: "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." Aspiring writers will find plenty of inspiration-and helpful counsel-from this collection, in which the writing is less stuffy and more relaxed than in a similar collection from the Washington Post.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In Jane Smiley's scintillating introduction to the second collection of columns from the exceptional New York Times series "Writers on Writing," she piquantly observes that in writing about themselves and their art, writers both indulge the urge to tell secrets and battle the fear of disclosure, and this tension is, indeed, present in the two dozen essays that follow. Yet the overriding feeling is that of deep and abiding pleasure in putting thoughts into words and words onto paper. Here's Diane Ackerman marveling over the confluence of psychotherapy and poetry; Alan Cheuse pondering late bloomer-hood; and Leslie Epstein musing over writer's intuition. Allegra Goodman writes amusingly about outwitting the "inner critic"; William Kennedy celebrates fiction and the "metamorphosis of experience"; and Shashi Tharoor puzzles over his quandary as an Indian author writing about India in English. Why write, what about, for whom, and in whose voice are crucial concerns addressed by some of the finest living practitioners of this noble art, and readers will love being privy to their ruminations. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Times Books (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805075887
• ISBN-13: 978-0805075885
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-Crafted Collection of Essays on Writing, February 16, 2005

By 

Bohdan Kot (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times (Writers on Writing (Times Books Hardcover)) (Hardcover)

The New York Times weekly column, "Writers on Writing," discusses various aspects of the writing life from the perspective of today's best well-known authors. Jane Smiley collects forty-six of the essays and says, "Read it like eavesdropping or like twisting the knob on an old radio and tuning in stations from far and wide." These brief essays have a confessional feel to them, often declaring writing to be difficult, yet also a worthy task for the truly committed.

Numerous passages detail the obstacles confronted when courting the muse and also offer advice on how to write well. The most entertaining and direct approach stems from crime fiction writer Elmore Leonard and his ten rules to "remain invisible" when writing. He sums them up with the maxim, "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite." There are numerous pitfalls that hamper the writing process - the most common is doing everything under the sun but write.

Ann Patchett, author of the critically acclaimed novel "Bel Canto," hilariously explains her battles with procrastination. "I have already restored my oven to the level of showroom-floor cleanliness, written a small hill of thank-you notes (some of them completely indiscriminate: `Thank you for sending me the list of typographical errors you found in my last novel'), walked the dog to the point of the dog's collapse. I've read most of the books I've been meaning to read since high school."

What this collection does best is humanize our published idols; the most notable demystification being Arthur Miller's piece on relating his early years of being a struggling writer. Miller may have written the classic play, "Death of a Salesman," but how many knew his first play was a flop and he "resolved never to write another play." The honest feel coupled with an inviting tone make Miller's essay a standout.

However, the entire collection is compulsory reading for any aspiring writers. The piece by Alan Cheuse is a godsend for any late-blooming writer or for those skeptical to pursue a dream as middle-age approaches. Overall, "Writers on Writing" is a delight that will leave you feeling refreshed with pithy insights about the writing world.

Bohdan Kot

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fun to read, May 27, 2007

By 

Leela Colorado (Denver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times (Writers on Writing (Times Books Paperback)) (Paperback)

A great sampling of writers whose columns were included in the NY Times arts section. Some of the essays are better than others, but is that a surprise? As a writer, I found it interesting.

5.0 out of 5 stars Where Else Can You Get Such Insights into Writing?, June 30, 2011

By 

Philip Vassallo "Philip Vassallo" (Parlin, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Writers on Writing, Volume II: More Collected Essays from The New York Times (Writers on Writing (Times Books Paperback)) (Paperback)

This companion piece to the first volume of essays previously published in "The New York Times" features another 46 essays by successful writers like Diane Ackerman, Margaret Atwood, Ann Beattie, Geraldine Brooks, Andrew Greeley, William Kennedy, Elmore Leonard Arthur Miller, P. J. O'Rourke, Jay Parini, and Anna Quindlen. The brief articles are highly readable, occasionally instructive, and consistently engaging. My favorite essay of either collection: Edmund White's reflection on music and writing.