How to Write: Advice and Reflections

by Richard Rhodes

Uniquely fusing practical advice on writing with his own insights into the craft, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes constructs beautiful prose about the issues would-be writers are most afraid to articulate: How do I dare write? Where do I begin? What do I do with this story I have to tell that fills and breaks my heart? Rich with personal vignettes about Rhode's sources of inspiration, How to Write is also a memoir of one of the most original and celebrated writers of our day.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Memoir, Self Help, Linguistics, How To

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Richard Lee Rhodes is an American journalist, historian, and author of both fiction and non-fiction (which he prefers to call "verity"), including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986), and most recently, Arsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race (2007). He has been awarded grants from the Ford Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation among others.

He is an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. He also frequently gives lectures and talks on a broad range of subjects to various audiences, including testifying before the U.S. Senate on nuclear energy.

Reviews

[James Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is simply one of the best books on the craft of writing. One reason for this is the author is one of the best writers of non-fiction that I have ever read. Filled with great examples and references for writing and reading, the book covers the tools, voices, and research necessary for writing. He then spends two chapters outlining the process to take the tools and research and create actual writing. Beyond that the book provides guidelines and principles that may be applied to other areas of your life. This is a truly invaluable book for your writing and reading life.

[Gabriel Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book on writing to make me cry in public.

[Willow (Taylor's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘How to Write: Advice and Reflections’ shares philosophical experiences about writing rather than concrete advice. It was published in 1995, so it also feels like a time capsule of what the writing and publishing world was like before the internet changed everything.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rhodes delivers exactly what he promises: advice and reflections. He illustrates both with examples from his own work, sometimes detailed examples. If you like Rhodes' work, this is a great book to read. If you are a writer or aspiring writer, it is also a great book to read.

[Andria Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tried it and couldn't stick past the first two chapters as it rambled. Yes it had good suggestions and advice but I just couldn't keep focused which means it's a me thing not a book thing. Take my rating with a grain of salt. 3 ⭐

[Vysloczil · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is suited for writers of prose or fiction. Rather than constructing a set of strict rules or guidelines, the author mostly tells anecdotes about other writers and his own writing.
The actual direct advice that Rhodes gives is useful but rather common sense and can be found elsewhere (finding rhythm, journalling, knowing where to start every morning, ass to chair (what he calls the Knickerbocker rule), not to worry about errors in the first place but just write).
In the last chapter the author indulges in the not very useful practice of fitting logistic curves to the productive output of famous writers.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhodes' first sentence is "If you want to write, you can." That was just the inspiration that I needed to push myself to collect all those little scraps of paper torn out of spiral bound notebooks, post it notes, and backs of deposit slips from my purse, and do something with them. The most interesting book I have read on writing. This should be required reading for college writing.

A must read for any writer! Includes notes and index.

[Jacob Hay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the making of the atomic bomb enough to notice this book amid dozens of writing guides in a used bookstore. Just as Rhodes believes that a good writer should live before she writes, a good teacher should do before they teach. Richard Rhodes has written and he is a good teacher in this brief introduction to the undertaking of writing.

[Mary Vogelsong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat dated regarding technology, but the basic information on writing is helpful.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

In writing his masterful The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Richard Rhodes immersed himself in the stories and the collective world of half a century’s worth of world-class theoretical physicists, men of extraordinary and intimidating expertise. The experience seems to have rubbed off on him. His pamphlet on the craft of writing is the work of a journeyman who is tellingly unsure of whether he himself should be considered an expert writer, and who in either case very much would like to be. After a promising start that hovers just below the inspirational, the book consists largely of explications of his own work that attempt to explain helpfully how Rhodes produced them. Rather than instructional, Rhodes’s self analysis is in general self-conscious, most often presenting pragmatic structural considerations as, in retrospect, textually meaningful literary choices.

The effect serves Rhodes poorly. As a writer, we realize, one of his great strengths has been the agility with which he can remove himself from authorial conscience. In his atomic bomb history, the sections depicting the horrors of chemical warfare in World War I and the destruction wrought by the American bomb, achieve a strikingly universal perspective of human outrage. Rhodes forgets himself, and in doing so channels us all. In How to Write, Rhodes attempts to take us behind the scenes, hinting at a promise to show us the technical wizardry that resides there. Instead, he reveals that he’s the sort of writer who leaves it all out on stage.

[John Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some decent tips on writing...

When a Pulitzer Prize winner writes on writing, it’s probably something you should read. There are some decent practical tips on writing here. He addresses the fears that most writers have. I was especially struck by one thing he said. One page a day of writing will produce a book a year. I never thought about that. I also liked his chapter on structure and voice. I felt a couple of the other chapters were a bit wordy or irrelevant (I don’ think I’ll ever plan on writing fiction), thus the 3-star rating. Hope this helps.

[Renato Kogeyama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Palimpsest and writing with multiple layers. Knickerbocker rule, ass to chair. Trollope's cobbler wax and the diary who looks at you and your progressiob. So many ideas that stick. Great insights and a pleasure to read.

[Bauschan Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

'We need stories to live, all of us' 'The book is a emotional experience'

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book I wanted when I picked up On Writing by Stephen King. Clear, concise, direct and helpful.

[Jorun Bork · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written and fascinating to read. However, it's slightly outdated, and chapter 9 could do with a major cutting.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhodes offers personal advice and shares his memories and experiences in the writing world in this all-encompassing writing book. From his first works to the successes he’s enjoyed, Rhodes takes readers through the ups and downs of his writing life, offering advice and tips along the way.

As a writer, it is hard to find books that will guide you to a successful writing career. Much of writing is done alone, and oftentimes for very little in terms of payment. For those authors who can learn the ropes and make a name for themselves, writing can be and is a legitimate career. Richard Rhodes, in How to Write, will tell you how this is possible.

“We live by story,” quotes Rhodes early in the book, and this statement sets the tone for the remaining pages. Memories, personal stories, advice, and tips are sprinkled between the covers of this slim work, but a lifetime of experience cannot be so contained. Rhodes offers real-life success stories from his own encounters and pushes readers to take their craft more seriously. He encourages readers to learn to love language, to want to write about anything and everything under the sun—even if you don’t know anything about it—and simply take comfort in the fact that there is a way to succeed by writing.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to write, whether it be part-time for pleasure or a full-time career. The book reads much like a memoir but offers much in the way of guidance and advice for those willing to look for it. Though now a bit dated, the words of any writer are timeless, and this book is no exception. As a reader, I found inspiration within the pages of Rhodes’ text and I am left pondering one memorable statement: “If you want to write, you can.”

[Keolebogile · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am always fascinated by good writers. I think Rhodes' The making of an atomic bomb is one of the greatest non-fiction(or in his parlance, "verity") books ever written. In this book, we get a peek behind the scenes, a scoop of the recipes making up his concoctions.

I found his advice to be pragmatic and practical for would-be writers seeking inspiration from a pre-eminent pioneer. He covers a lot of ground: if you really want to write you can; having proper tools is beneficial to your craft; the research that goes into the work; how to structure your work, both fiction and verity; editing transforms the mere rough preverbal ideas to embody your conceptions better, but it is no less a creative process; the business aspect of the profession; what other writers say about the craft; and, last but not least, writing has less to do with "inspiration," but the workmanship that goes into it, the discipline and the willpower.

The chapter on research was evocative of the pre-00's era—tape recorders, OCRs that are inaccurate, a bulk of research conducted in libraries. I wonder how the author would broach the subject in the contemporary era given the advent of AIs and search engines at the tip of everyone's fingers. Are LLM's going to be detrimental to the craft? That is neither here nor there, but I recommend this book unreservedly to anyone.

[Rhonda Rae Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most comprehensive as well as healing inspirations that I am so pleased to have found. Richard Rhodes has lived life and shares his heart as a writer of what a person can do to find that illusive dream which is buried in all of us.

I couldn't read this fast enough yet didn't want to hurry any piece so made myself put it down and take breaks to ponder what he is really saying. Then I would pick it up again and reread the section or chapter finding new treasures to mine. Whew...so many beautiful tools and ideas here to deepen my skills for writing and living!

You will not want to miss this one! Although it was written in '95, the technology he describes still applies today. I believe that even through there are many new ways to be published these days, his advice is priceless and 'bottomed' as he would say...(-:

Read this...you will be so happy you did.

[Pete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rhodes' book is less than it promises, and his premise is achieved much more effectively by other books than by his. Meant to be a guide to writing and making it as a writer, the book veers too often between the obvious and pedantic, and along the way gets mired in technique, metaphors and generalities that simply didn't strike me as especially keen. The advice about how to write has been offered with greater clarity and usefulness elsewhere, the guidance on technique is so specifically related to the (considerable achievement) of his other books that it's barely portable, and the stories told about how he accomplished what his books do aren't particularly potent either. Sorry, but I think you'll find much better guidance about writing in related books by Stephen King, Anne Lamott, Natalie Goldberg, Steven Pressfield, and so on.

[Karen Douglass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read this book. I feasted on it. It's not new, so a few of the bits about technology are out of date, but the real meat of it is delicious. It's practical as sliced bread and the voice is friendly but knowledgeable. Rhodes has supported himself by his writing from the days when he wrote in-house material for Hallmark to the time he raised and educated two kids, as that rarest of creatures, a full-time, professional writer. In spite of this classification I found no liking to formulaic writing, just a smart use of time to use commercial writing to feed his creative work. I suspect that the two overlap in his case. I am about to recommend it to a friend who is in the final revisions of a long and important novel. Rhodes has advice about working with traditional agent/editor/publisher folks and I believe his experience is still valid. Great stuff!

[Robert Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing is like giving birth you never know what you’re going to get... I like Rhodes for his honesty and taking me to areas that I haven’t thought of like bottom and voice. Not everyone is going to give you the exact process on how to write the great American novel or history. But, I’m closer now than before and on the road.

[Leland William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book on the craft of writing. Rhodes opens it up with a beautiful essay and then delivers thoughtful ruminations about the craft. I particularly enjoyed his inclusion of 'other voices' into the book. A splendid piece of verity.

[Sarah Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the long side but very informative.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is geared more towards writing non-fiction than fiction.

[Timothy McCluskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very helpful in learning how to write. I really found the section on voice to be most constructive

[MisterFweem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review is here.

http://misterfweem.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is good. Rhodes has been generous with his knowledge. He blends the practical with the inspirational.

[Zachary Searles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just in my opinion, too much reflection, not enough advice. Have yet to find a book about writing that is better than on writing by Stephen king.

[Irina Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on writing

[Noladishu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, very practical advice about writing.

"Apply ass to chair..."