Room to Write (Paperback)

by Bonni Goldberg (Author) "DIVING IS A FORM of free writing..." (more)
Key Phrases: current piece, Grace Paley

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Bonnie Goldberg called her compact writing workbook Room to Write, she says, "because each page is a door into one of the places from which creative writing emerges: imagination, emotion, intellect, and soul." The phrase "room to write," she adds, "also refers to creating room for your writing." Goldberg provides 200 of the page-long writing lessons, "designed to be reusable," which offer as many different ways to get into your writing. Each discusses an aspect of life and writing, followed by an assignment and an inspirational quotation from a writer or other creator. Though Goldberg tends toward the spiritual, her assignments involving things such as snot and bathrooms keep the book grounded as well. Among the more interesting assignments here are those that have you "write about the first time words profoundly affected you"; "write only lies"; "retrieve an unspoken exchange and have it out on the page"; "be exhaustive in your detailing of something ordinary, like a teaspoon"; and "write about some quality in yourself you are not proud of." --Jane Steinberg

Product Description
In two hundred ingenious essays, a teacher of creative writing explores the writing process in a series of exercises designed to kindle a writer's imagination, reveal the world through a writer's eyes, and respond to the creativity manifested by good writing. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (April 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874778255
• ISBN-13: 978-0874778250
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,054 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Muse will love this!, April 29, 2002

By	"siammuse" (Duluth, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews

I don't know about you... but I need a bit of inspiration to write.
I can't just start writing about nothing-

Or could I?

Bonnie Goldberg gives an interesting tool with "Room to Write"
Even writing about nothing can become something!

Four rules"
1. Show up on the page
2. Give up control
3. Make room for your writing
4. Remove the obstacle "FEAR and SELF-JUDGMENT" from your
vocabulary.

That's it! Now write.

Oh, do you need ideas? Bonni Goldberg gives us one for
everyday of the year.

What are your feelings on these subjects?

Snot, Eat it, Lies, Only in your dreams, O God!, Inside out, Mama Mia, What a Joke, Body talk, Breasts, Silence....

WOW! That is only skimming the top.

They get my creative juices flowing... And I had a great time writing about snot.

I remember Sylvia Plath had written about it in one of her
journals and It was beautiful.
Imagine.
A good, imaginative writer can make even snot sound intriguing!

So...every single day you have a new idea for writing...
for instance, on November 5, the assignment was-

"LIES" Today write about lies. Lies you have told and, in
retrospect, what motivated you to withhold the truth.

I've had this book in the car, at work, at the dentist office, on holiday, and in the bathtub! It is waterlogged, shaded in yellows and greens and vivid pinks. It is dated and hung together by paper clips. It has been used and used again. Does a writer ever really get enough writing done!? Even when I was done with the last exercise, I started all over again on page one,
"Diving In"

A different day brings new surprises and ideas. The writing is never the same...or at least, it shouldn't be.

Goldberg says..."Writing, like any spiritual undertaking, has many paths, but only one direction---Deeper."

How deep? As deep as you can go. Drown if you must!

So...
on with your writing assignments...which will build into essays, short stories, and maybe one day a great novel.

"Explore every room. Listen to yourself. Trust what you hear."
---GOLDBERG---

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carry your writing coach in your pocket!, April 16, 1997

By A Customer

Writer's block will become a thing of the past as you open this pocket-sized book to any page and put your pen to paper or your hand to the keyboard!

While this book is small in size, it is enormous in content...with creative writing practices that run the gamut from intrinsically simple to those that are spiritually moving.

There are 200 exercises to get your mind working, the words flowing, and perhaps develop a few new perspectives.

A must for every writer's library!

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to write? Get this book!, March 16, 2001

By	Kelly Budd (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This is an excellent book for those who want to write but just don't know what to write. For those with the desire, but lack the motivation. For those who think they can't, but can.

Goldberg has provided numerous excercises to get the creative juices flowing. Room to Write can be used with all ages to make writing an enjoyable experience. Goldberg describes the books potential, "Within these pages you can explore your creativity while cultivating it."

The excercises are fun, thought provoking, and challenging. Bonni Goldberg offers the writer motivation, a quotation, and an assignment. Start a writing group or use this book for yourself, you will not be disappointed!