Anybody Can Write: A Playful Approach : Ideas for the Aspiring Writer, the Beginner, and the Blocked Writer (Paperback)

by Roberta Jean Bryant (Author) "When I was a pigtailed eight-and-a-half-year-old, I checked out a wonderful old book from the Santa Fe, New Mexico, public library on how to make..." (more)
Key Phrases: Old Man Gloom

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This cheerful little book is full of sensible reminders concerning what its author, Roberta Jean Bryant, calls the "trial-and-error-and-error-and-error process of writing." Bryant does not make light of the difficulties of writing; rather, she believes that if you actually manage to have fun at it, "you'll be more likely to have a deeper experience." Bryant's approach may be playful, but she has her own quiet way of whipping her readers into shape. Toward the beginning of Anybody Can Write, she provides a method for assessing how much of one's writing energy actually goes into writing. "Dreaming of being a writer," she warns, "...is not writing. Thinking about writing is not writing. Getting excited by ideas for stories, plotting out a book in your head, reading about writing--none of these is writing.... Writing is putting words on paper."

Bryant guides her readers from first draft ("a time ... to fingerpaint with words") through rewrites and feedback--"you know you've received good advice," she says, "when, after hearing it, you wish you'd thought of it yourself, or you have a spontaneous and genuine desire to try it out." And she discusses how--if you so desire--to get published (the secret, she says, "is to have the right manuscript on the right desk at the right time"). "Anybody Can Write" leans toward the inspirational, but it is not cloying. Bryant may be trying to embrace and encourage all would-be writers, but she does not invite mediocrity. "Aim to go beyond ordinary limits with your writing," she intones. "Remember that a laborer is someone who works with his hands, a craftsperson is someone who works with his hands and head, but an artist is someone who works with his hands, head, and heart." Oh, yes--and "begin now." --Jane Steinberg

Product Description
A writing teacher with fans across the country shares her joyful approach.

Product Details

• Paperback: 195 pages
• Publisher: New World Library; Revised edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157731056X
• ISBN-13: 978-1577310563
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #749,367 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars impressed, August 2, 2001

By	Shewolfe (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

I didn't want to finish this book -- it was so good, I didn't want it to end. I will definitely be reading this book again and again. If you're new to writing, this book is an absolute must-have. Possibly the only one you'll ever need outside of reference material. If you're trying to decide on which book to purchase -- look no further -- this is the one. If you're thinking of pursuing writing for pleasure or eventual publishing, you should read this book -- it will inspire and free you, and give you a whole new outlook about writing.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Playful Approach!, March 29, 1999

By A Customer

"A wonderfully fresh and inspiring guide for writers just starting out or stuck along the way, this completely revised edition is better than ever!" -NAPRA Review - March/April '99

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read, understand and apply, June 16, 2005

By	John C. Dunbar (Sugar Land, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book for the beginning writer because it is easy and fun to read and covers the important topics. The author, Roberta Jean Bryant, hosts writing seminars and this experience produced this fine how-to book. This book would make a great companion to take on a long airplane flight. It's about 200 pages long.

Anybody Can Write covers many subjects covered by other authors of this how-to-write genre: philosophical, psychological, and practical writing tips. At times it seems to gloss over certain topics without going too deep. But at all times topics are presented with a voice that shows she really cares about you developing your writing skills -- and perhaps the writing habit.

The book is broken up into many small chapters (24) and most end with a set of fun writing exercises. These exercises were well chosen and avoided the crazy ones I've seen in other books. Hers are creative but not stupid.

What I liked most of all was her pulling away the shade cloth on the issue of reading: Reading is (inner-world) passive, writing is (outer-world) active. She shines the light of reality on this whole issue of taking active action to your writing. Only putting words on paper is active. All else is a passive action. This includes reading, researching, etc.

There were several other areas that I enjoyed and they included: her daily writing habits, her definition of writing, her view of Escape Writing.

First, her favorite definition of writing is "A writer is someone who wrote this morning." I don't believe this is original with the author. Nevertheless it becomes the foundation she uses to construct her writing recommendations. Second, Escape Writing should replace Escape Reading. In Escape Reading you find books that fill your vicarious motivations and let you experience new worlds and perhaps escape from this one. Well, this takes you away from writing.

Roberta Jean Bryant recommends that you replace this awful escape reading by getting a life and doing Escape Writing. In Escape Writing you would be writing about things that you find enjoyable and not worry about getting it published or any other practical, monetary motivations. This Escape Writing then develops your talents. An example would be writing material for a possible memoir -- that only your family would be interested in. Or, writing letters to imaginary people or writing a dialog between objects (your paper and pen, you left/right brain, etc.).

The large benefits in this Escape Writing are: developing your writing skills, and developing a self-understanding and an honesty in your writing: baring all.

The book covers more of the philosophy and time-management issues of writing. I does not cover the technical details of how to write a novel, short-story, or non-fiction article or book.

The book's topics are easy to read and include exercises to help burn them in to your brain. The book tends to gloss over certain topics too quickly. It's a kind book and has a soft edge -- compared to a Natalie Goldberg book, which are also terrific but for different reasons. A book like Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones" would tell you how to develop great writing habits then tell you all the embarassing details of her personal life (truly interesting). This book just gives you the instructions and the philosophy behind it in a gentle, kind way -- without baring the life of the author. This is not a Mr. Rogers type of book, but a gentle, kind, drill-sergeant Momma that pushes you along the easier path to develop your writing.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX