The Write Time: 366 Exercises to Fulfill Your Daily Writing Life; 2nd Edition

by Robert Yehling, Melissa Jenkins (Compiler)

Take the year-long journey plotted in these pages, give yourself over to its process, and behold the inevitable transformation. Robert Yehling's collection of 366 writing exercises for people of all ages and skill levels guides you to explore aspects of yourself through daily experiences, nature, your personality, your character, and your soul. "Each time you sit down to write you will be encouraged to expand your awareness of your environment and your place in it. "You will find concrete and esoteric aspects to your writing that enable you to write your way into an experience. In so doing, you will be able to connect to the world around you through reflective observation. Bob challenges you to see through your eyes what cannot often be seen with them. Here, you will find yourself deepening your respect for the life you view outside yourself and what is held sacred within you."( Cleveland Book Review)

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2009

About the author

I am the author of 10 books and ghostwriter of 7 others. Titles include the just released 'Just Add Water', biography of autistic surf star Clay Marzo; 'Writes of Life,' which won the 2007 Independent Publishers Book Award; and 'When We Were The Boys,' written with Stevie Salas, a rock and roll romp on Stevie's year of touring as Rod Stewart's lead guitarist.

I write and edit books in all genres, both fiction and non-fiction. I also teach writing workshops, and am a former college writing professor.

My love of writing streams from the subjects that most interest me: reading, running, fitness/conditioning, meditation, sports, environment, the ocean, music, and social issues.

After growing up surfing in San Diego County, I began writing professionally in 1976, when I was 16. Spent eight years in the newspaper business and 15 in the magazine world before focusing on book writing and editing at the turn of the millennium. Now, I live to write, write to live -- and always enjoy interacting with readers.

Reviews

[Kathleen Pooler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writers are a tormented sort, always searching for the story within that will give life to their human experience. It has been said that “ being a writer is like having an assignment every day of your life” (Author Unknown). Writing prompts can be met with mixed reviews, not embraced by all writers. Suffice it to say each writer finds his or her own way to tap into their own creative well. The Write Time: 366 Exercises to Fulfill Your Daily Writing Life by author and educator Robert Yehling offers a unique blend of daily writing exercises and quotes by published authors to help the writer of any genre dig more deeply into their life experience. Engaging and thought-provoking, Yehling invites the reader to explore one aspect of their life on a daily basis with tangible and esoteric tasks:

“ January 7: The Spirit of Me”

What is your spirit like? What feeds you, motivates you, seizes you, propels you to reach higher, dive deeper and stretch for the sun and stars? What touches every cell and fiber of your being?...

Write the journey into which you and your spirit are walking hand-in-hand.

Quote: “The heart of the atom, the heart of the word, blazes with pure spirit. It’s all material and it’s all spiritual. George Leonard, author, The Silent Pulse.”

This interactive format guides the writer in finding and releasing the stories within. The daily assignments give direction and encouragement to keep exploring, contemplating and “experimenting with the written word”.

Yehling dedicates this work to two school teachers, his grandmother and mother, who nurtured him through “heart-centered teaching.” He pays forward this heart-centered teaching for all writers of every level and age from newbie to professional writer and author in this creative work of art.

I highly recommend this rich writing resource for any writer who desires to take their writing to a new level

[Jimyanni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to give this book a second star, in spite of my natural inclination, because in fairness I have to admit that 2 or 3 of the 366 suggestions encountered in it actually sparked ideas for me. Most of them, however, struck me as being pretty thoroughly worthless, busywork to make a reader and potential writer believe that he/she was actually being given something useful that would help him/her grow as a writer in order to make them believe that the money spent on the book was justified while actually wasting their time and creative energy. The kind of exercises that a mediocre "Creative Writing" professor at a second-rate community college would assign.