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Dec 17, 2009

christina rated it:

This is by far and away the best book I have ever read on writing, and I have read a number of them.

Her approach is one of pure enthusiasm and letting go of your notions of writing "well" or worrying about your "style", instead she advocates tapping into what is true and genuine for you and just putting the words on paper, and seeing what happens.

I plan on purchasing her fictional and memoir books, and re-reading parts of this book for inspiration for

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Mar 19, 2008

PhilorChelsy rated it:

If you want to Write, or do ANYthing you are passionate about...draw, paint, teach, imagine, create...this book inspires. I even had to blog it (www.burnah.blogspot.com) To really remember it, I want to put it down here:
My favorite word in the book: "Waggish" Meaning fanciful, whimsy, silly.
Some favorite quotes:
"Van Gogh said: "If you hear a voice within you saying: you are not painter, then paint by all means, lad, and that voice will be silenced, but only More...

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Oct 18, 2007

Leippya rated it:

The author of this book is unbelievably kind, and it really comes out in the book. She constantly focuses on the positive, and I'm sure she had to be a fantastic teacher. It's a nice read, if you currently feel blocked it's probably the best moment to get this book. However, if your only focus in life is to sell your writing, this might not be the book for you (although it might contain answers if you're failing to sell). This book isn't about skills or market, it's about *being*, it's about att More...

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Sep 12, 2007

Jenna rated it:

I first read this book when I was 13, so I can't vouch for how useful it might be to an adult reader. All I know is that no book has changed my life as dramatically as this one did when I was 13. I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say that this book has the power to cure minor mental disorders and to help you find direction in your life. Reading this book was like one long epiphany for me. It is an energizing read, written in simple, clear, vivacious prose by a woman without a shred of po More...

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Jun 29, 2007

Kimberly added it

This is the holy grail of creativity. I read many books about creative people's lives, hoping to glean some knowledge and inspiration. This book is the motherload, the culmination............The author is a writer as well as a teacher, which gives her the birds eye view as well as being a layperson in this field. Although her subject is creativity and imagination in writing, I find that substituting "music" or even just "creativity" for "writing", this book applies More...

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Jan 01, 2008

Rose rated it:

Brenda Ueland spent most of her ninety-three years as a writer. "If You Want To Write", which was originally published in 1938, is her best-selling guidebook to finding your own creative center and expressing it through lively and memorable prose. Carl Sandburg called it "the best book ever written about how to write."

Ueland advises that artistic genius exists within all of us, and awakening it is a simple matter: write about what genuinely interests you, and be h More...

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Feb 10, 2009

Hannah added it

I hate the image of this updated edition, but until I can find the nice image of my edition, this'll have to do. This book is SO GREAT. Brenda Ueland is this little Midwest sassy-britches whose whole bit boils down to "HURRAY FOR YOU! HURRAY FOR YOUR LIFE! HERE'S A TIP: SAY HURRAY FOR YOU AND YOUR LIFE YOURSELF!" It is the perfect thing to read for a little self-hating worrywart like me.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Cindy rated it:

I have read this book every couple of years since I was a teenager. I gave it to my Dad to read and he loved it, and said it was so hard to get through because every line was true and made you sit there in awe wondering about your life. I think it's true you have to forget the blahness of similarly titled books and know this book is as much about how to live as how to write. This author wrote it in 1932 or so, and lived to be an octegenarian swimmer. She constantly quotes Keats, Blake, Dostoevsk More...

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Oct 31, 2007

Michael rated it:

I'm only 25% through this book and it's the most moving thing ever. She talks a lot about the general fraudulence and darkness in the world of art and art appreciation that reallly gets me down a lot and she's very comforting and wise about the heartbreak of that stuff as well as figuring out how to get past it. It's killing me, it's so good. And I can't believe how modern it feels; it was written in 1938! This woman writes about this sort of fraudulence and art-for-money or art-for-fame attitud More...

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Feb 26, 2008

Brynn rated it:

I want to shout Hallelujah when I think of Brenda Ueland and this book. Like Meditations, this book has gotten me through some tough times. And you don't have to be a writer to appreciate what Ueland has to say, you can be anybody, for as Ueland points out: everyone is talented, original, and has something to say. Her encouragement and wisdom are helpful to anyone looking to unblock themselves and become creators. I would recommend reading this book alongside The Artist's Way. Brenda Ueland More...

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Jan 18, 2009

Douglas rated it:

Good or atrocious, depending.

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Sep 25, 2007

Jenny rated it:

I'm usually a bit gunshy of "how to write" books, but I thought this one came pretty close to being as good as they get. The focus was on fidelity to the self and how to let one's voice out. I liked the image of Christ as the most creative person to have ever lived. I really liked chapter 10: Why women who do too much housework should neglect it for their writing (to set a good example for the children--menial work at the expense of all true, ardent, creative work is a sin against the More...

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Aug 08, 2011

Nura rated it:

I didn't finish this. I picked this up because I like to write, to a certain degree. I thought I would be inspired to progress to another level in writing.

But I now realise that I am not really inclined towards a life of writing. As a hobby, yes but not more.

This book is filled with motivational or inspiration-inducing philosophy. While it may appeal to others, I've had my fill from other motivational writers. She writes very much about how one must write for the love of wr More...

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Feb 20, 2010

Polly rated it:

"This book should be a great help in the freeing of your thoughts and the genius that is in all of us." Great opener, eh? I believe in Ueland's thesis that: "everybody is talented, original and has something important to say." I also believe, as she does, that "this creative power I think is the Holy Ghost." She further thinks that most creativity is "drummed out of people early in life by criticism." I think her philosophy applies to any creative pr More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2009

Ally rated it:

This book was originally written in the 1930s -THE 30s!!- and was a romantically vintage read, bound in the old crackley binding that the library used. Though written seventy-odd years ago, Brenda Ueland was one sassy gal, and full of passion for writing and life that still inspires.

Her advice, always uttered from the very truth of her soul, is sometimes too religious and judgemental for my taste. In the middle of the book, she gives countless examples of "good" and " More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 28, 2009

Julia rated it:

I never had any aspirations of becoming a writer. Writing, to me, was not enjoyable. I did not feel freed, or accomplished, and as though I had created a piece of art when I got done writing a paper. Papers were written for the sole purpose of impressing the teacher and getting a good grade.

Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit completely changed my notion about writing. It made me understand that writing, or painting, acting or whatever els More...

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Jun 30, 2009

Nat rated it:

I'm going to go against the crowd here. I liked the book. However, it was not as life changing for me as it was for the many who have read it.

This would have made a good pamphlet or even blog post. Why? It's repetitious. I do agree with Brenda Ueland's theory that writing (or any type of creative work) must be true to yourself. It's always your own voice that comes out the best in whatever you do.

I also agree with her assessment of critics. What really do they know? I ca More...

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Jun 29, 2010

Sally Maria rated it:

I had to read the book Carl Sandburg said was the best book ever on writing.

The poem that came:

If You Want To Write*
For Brenda Ueland (1891-1985)

I found you in a box,
broken now, mildewed,
packed with the crème,
books read in college
barely recollected,
dog eared pages,
notes in tea-stained
margins, a badge of honor
for any author.

I would have set you aside,
dismissed you as self-help,
More...

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Jun 16, 2011

Carol rated it:

An inspiring book by an amazing author (published in 1938)! This easy read states some of the most profound truths about creativity. She repeats throughout the book the idea that "everyone is talented, original, and has something important to say." Drawing on Blake’s influence, she suggests that writers should "Try to discover your true, honest, un-theoretical self." In addition to Blake, she discusses more of my favorite artists/music such as van Gogh and Tolstoy. Discussing More...

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Dec 04, 2011

Tiffany rated it:

A quote from the Preface to Second Edition:

"At that time when I was writing the book, Carl Sandburg, an old friend, was at our house. Sometimes, looking out at Lake Calhoun in the cold November evening, he would begin to thunder in his mighty voice (so much like Isaiah's, I used to think) about the wild grey waves, the North wind, the new moon, the gunmetal sky. He liked the book.
He said: 'That is the best book ever written about how to write.'"

I agree... Bren More...

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Jun 26, 2010

Jessie rated it:

Reads like a fast, no-nonsense letter from a sharp-witted friend; similar in tone to F O’Connor’s letters and essays (HABIT OF BEING / MYSTERY & MANNERS); also shares the sensibility of do-it-yourself culture—makes me want to write more truthfully, makes me want to take up banjo and try painting for the first time; incredible pizzazz in Ueland for a woman writing in 1938!; the book is more about imaginative, creative living than it is about the craft of writing (in fact, Ueland stresses that, th More...

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Mar 04, 2009

Donna rated it:

This is one of those writing books that focuses on things like getting in touch with your real writerly self and promoting the "enlargement of the soul", etc, etc. As a result it feels fluffy and ridiculous in places. But there are a lot of good insights in here as well and it was worth reading. I hadn't read this kind of writing book since college (that one was Writing Down the Bones) and I picked this one up because a published author (I forget who now) mentioned it as a "cla More...

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Oct 17, 2007

Jon rated it:

Rocketed to the top of my favorite books on writing along with Bird by Bird : I'm sure I'll reread it again and again as I make the rough journey of writing. I would read 2-3 pages and find my zeal rekindled to write. Brenda gave me lots of practical help in becoming a better writer. Reading it felt like a rare experience of receiving personal spiritual direction through a book!

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Aug 28, 2011

Dave rated it:

Kelly saved this from the donation box, and all I can say is: by such chance circumstance is my life changed!! I loved this book. So simple, so wise. Write passionately, freely, letting first drafts fly. Find joy in self-expression and forget the critics! Write daily. Write from the heart. Be true and honest, catching yourself when you write as if you are anticipating others reactions. Discover, never be satisfied, don't be discouraged, don't be afraid! "Because the best way to know More...

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Jun 21, 2011

Sandra rated it:

This is one of those timeless works with tons of good advice about writing. I love Brenda Ueland's philosphy. Here are a few great quotes. The last is my favorite:

"I learned...that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness."

"No writing More...

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May 25, 2010

Jerry rated it:

In If You Want to Write, Brenda Ueland writes with great reverence for the free, creative energy she believes is the key to writing well. She shows little love for the duty-ridden conscience that is the epitome of conscientious, work-oriented people. She believes that clinging to the duty and anxiety of daily life squelches creative power, and I tend to agree with her. Of course we must get more and more work done each day, but we can still find time to sit, clear our minds, and write.

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Jan 22, 2012

Katie rated it:

Can be repetitive, but the repetition reinforces her message — we're all imaginative with something original to say (genius is as common as dirt), and to be a creator you have to respect yourself and devote time to working. If you want to write, you must strive, in modesty and gratitude (expelling fear and shame), toward a transformative state of perpetual discovery (of your true, divine, creative self). You must learn to love the process. Brenda Ueland has infected me with the belief I too can More...

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Mar 06, 2011

Rosa rated it:

Ueland’s book is a generously kind bundle of encouragement. She wants the reader to know how brilliant and talented they are, solely by merit of being a human who breathes, so that we, in turn, will release more of our untainted creativity, imagination, and raw art into the world — simply said, our “true selves.”

Why? As she explains:

“Why urge everybody to write when the world is so full of writers, and there are oceans of printed matter? ...There could be a great deal more living

More...

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Jun 27, 2010

Charlane rated it:

I picked the book up off the shelf for some inspiration yesterday as my free writing and morning pages have been absent. I remember her words from time to time. I should have known better...that I would not sleep until I finished it. I read it in one sitting through most of the night.

This book makes me want to lock myself in a room to write. Every day. This book makes me want to read meaningful writers. Every day. This book makes me want to step out on a court again and play basketb More...

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May 05, 2011

Kelly Jo rated it:

There are some good things in this little book on writing and creativity, but not enough. It is too dated for a reader in 2011. She appears to be writing only toward women writers, but her primary emphasis is on Blake, Chekhov, and van Gogh as models of creative lives. Not once does she mention a woman writer as a model - and in her lifetime, there were plenty to choose. Her perspective that women's writing is, and should be, simpler and more homespun (my word choice) than great literature was a More...

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