A Writer's Book of Days: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life

by Judy Reeves

Playwright and editor Judy Reeves has taught writing, led creative writing workshops, and participated in writing groups for years. A Writer’s Book of Days is a compilation of all that she’s learned from getting together to write with other people. She says, “the book came about because I saw the difference ongoing, regular practice could make in a writer’s life.” Practice makes perfect, and this book makes practice easy by providing writers and would-be writers with stimulating topics, helpful instruction, monthly guidelines, dozens of inspiring quotes, writerly lore, and tips for special writing sessions such as marathons, cafe writing, and other ways to make the work of writing more creative and fun.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Poetry, Self Help, Spirituality, How To

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a terrific source for writing prompts and and especially a great book to give people who have just started writing. Any time people ask me what are my five top writing books, this one will be on the list--companionable and beginner-friendly, talking about writing in community and writer's block, the struggle as well as the craft. But you'll keep using the prompts forever.

[Amanda Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I carry this book with me everywhere I go. I teach people how to write books - novels, memoirs and works of non-fiction. Even writing teachers need help, and Judy Reeves provides perfect content for a writer's soul. I have found that most aspiring writers don't write - or even have a daily writing routine. This book helps you establish one.
Filled with writing advice and writing insight, inspirational quotations and daily prompts, this is a book that every writer should own.
I have more than 300 books on writing. There are only three that I take with me when I travel and this is one of them.
Amanda Patterson
www.writerswrite.co.za

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it's not John Gardener or anything, this book has a lot of excellent quotes from established authors about the often frustrating creation of this art. My favorite, via Lynn Sharon Schwartz:

"It's impossible to be a 'good girl' and a writer at the same time. When I was about 32, I decided to be a writer."

(Note to Ms. Schwartz—after finding that quote, I decided to read everything you'd ever published.)

[Cathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had the tenacity to do every prompt. Alas, I am human.

[Inés De Hueso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro es imperfecto y perfecto. Como mi Biblia si fuera creyente, pero Dios me ha regalado escribir, parece. Da lo mismo si escribes mucho o poco, si eres un máquina o un primerizo, te ayuda seguro. Combina un montón de consejos de cómo vivir como escritor, cómo pensar ciertas cosas de la escritura y también tiene muchíiiisimos ejercicios prácticos, así que puedes usarlo para escribir (yo lo usaba así desde hace cuatro años) o para leerlo como libro de consejos.
No es un libro de autoayuda, es un libro de, hola, ¿quieres escribir? Pues espero que esto te sirva.
Un poco triste que sea un libro descatalogado de los noventa en inglés, espero que si alguien me lee y tiene dinero para comprar los derechos y publicarlo, lo publique en español. Seguramente le haría un favor a mucha gente que lo necesita y no lo sabe.

[kirkesque · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was more beneficial than any other to my writing. It provides daily writing prompts for an entire year plus about a dozen extra for each month. Unlike numerous other writing prompt sort of books I've seen over the years, this one really struck well with me--the prompts coming in the form of a single descriptive sentence (some culled from writers/poets/artists work/sayings).

The way I did it was to not look ahead to any given day and wait until I was ready to sit down, then look at the day's suggestion and write for at least twenty minutes (mostly 30-40).

In about 200+ days of using it, I found three or four short stories and about a dozen scenes for a novel from using this book as a starting point for prompt-suggested writing sessions.

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to be a writer, you have to write. You can’t just think about writing or dream that someday you may put words down on paper. You also can’t expect that you’ll sit down and in three weeks you’ll have the next great American novel. No, you have to write.

A Writer’s Book of Days looks to create a writing habit. Writing needs to be done everyday, a regular writing appointment so to speak. Pen to paper. Write to write, not necessarily working on one particular piece but writing whatever happens to be on your mind, without editing or judgements. In the process, you will learn about how you write, your writing style, and what you have to say to the world.

A Writer’s Book of Days is a wonderful resource for those dreaming of becoming a writer. It gives them a place to start and encourages them to practice and play with words. I think it also teaches them the important lesson that good writing comes in cycles and spurts.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my writing life. I struggled for years to get in any kind of writing habit and doing the daily prompts finally got me there. It was hard at first to get the thoughts flowing when I would read the prompts but now I can't write fast enough.

The advice given each month has been easy to read, understand, and incorporate into my life. That is a rarity in and of itself as most books that give writing advice aren't as straightforward. Most of the advice is about writing PRACTICE and not meant to be a rule book for how to write, which is what I needed most at this point in my career.

More and more I found ways to use the prompts to further my progress in my manuscript. Sometimes through character exploration and sometimes the prompts resulted in scenes that could use. I also found myself experimenting with genre more and stepping outside my comfort zone. I can look back on this year knowing that I have grown thanks to Judy Reeves and her book.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book ! I bought this for my kindle last year and I have been using a writing prompt every day. I like how it has 12 chapters, one for every month chock full of tips, hints, and fun stuff. and each chapter has writing prompts for every day of the month. I truly believe this book has kept me writing all year.

[Paula Hagar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has long been one of my favorite writing books. I first worked with it after a writing workshop with Judy Reeves in 2000. Today she guided another workshop and I enjoyed it so much I pulled this out and decided to work with it again for a while.

[Hermetic Kitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love writing but struggle with motivation and constintency, this book is the one for you. The author is wise, positive and gentle. This book it the perfect push every writer needs to get the writing done, day after day. Seriously, if you like writing this book is a must have!

[Rob Van velthoven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in writing or starting with writing and looking for a means to spark his or her creativeness.
This book introduced me to the concept of 'writing prompts' - short little sentences to use as starting points for short writing sessions. I started to use them and found that they bring out great creativeness and sometimes surprising results. Through writing prompts I've got to know characters of whose lurking presence I wasn't aware and I've delved into story types I would not have considered otherwise. All because you have to let the words come from the writing prompt when you show up to the paper.
I enjoy the writing prompts and luckily there are enough in the book to keep you going for a long time. I enjoy doing them also as a means to switch from the everyday mind to the writer's mindset without having to produce right away.

Oh, and on top of the writing prompts it just has a lot of fun, practical and hands on writing tips as well.

[Holli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure about this book. It's kind of dry and dull, causing me to skim-read a lot, yet it has a lot of good information in it at the same time. I found it a bit one big info dump, more so than most how-to writing books, which colored my perceptions, I guess. It didn't help that the author used the same words repetitively in both sentences and paragraphs. As well as the same advice over and over. It quickly got in my nerves. What I liked about the book, and why I bought it to begin with, is the prompts. I like them and intend to use them in my writing sessions. Overall though, the book really didn't dazzle me.

COYER: Read a nonfiction book that is not an autobiography. (2 points)

[Castles · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a surprisingly original book in this genre of books about writing. I’ve found it helpful, encouraging and helpful. Every end of an entry gives you a little prompt to think and write about as a exercise for each day of the year (which obviously I didn’t follow as reading it through the year but at one go).

Somewhere in the last third of the book it gets a little repetitive though.

[Roger Hyttinen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book for writers. In addition to the year's worth of writing prompts, the book contains a plethora of valuable information on writing. You might find your muse right in this book as I found it to be a great motivational tool.

[Katherine Marlowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite and most trusted book on writing. I rely on this book every time I have a bout of writer’s block, and I love the fantastic writing prompts. The book is designed to inspire you, to get you writing every day, and to help you get past all the things that are holding you back from writing.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book for anyone wanting to stimulate their writing, I highly recommend this book. If you find it , keep it. Great prompts, advice, and technique.

[Naliza Fahro-Rozi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awakening writing journey that lasts a whole year. Good exercise for new writers.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably shouldn't write a review until a year passes, but.... this is fun. It took me awhile to actually believe that it was okay to start in at some point other than January 1st. In the forward, she tells you to leap in where you are and go look up the topic of the day and then write. So, after a week of waffling, I did. The topics are grouped in varying numbers, which is good because then they don't come of as a week and throw off anyone out there like me who wants the dates and the calendar to line up (which just isn't going to happen). There have been some topics based on a piece of literature that I've skipped, although I did go read some of the poems first before bailing. I highly recommend it for anyone that needs to get their writing chops in order.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book of prompts, and occasionally some bits of writing advice too. The book is divided into twelve months, with each month having a prompt for each day, quotes from different authors, bits of writing advice, and a more elaborate type of exercise with several additional prompts.

The writing advice is, unfortunately, the weakest part of this book. It frequently references future/past passages of writing advice, and I almost felt I would have been better served with a physical copy that I could flip around to follow up on more ideas.

If your preferred prompts are quotes and phrases, definitely pick up this book.

[Aimee Truchan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've used this book for its guidance and great writing prompts on my own and with groups for the last few years. Finally, I read it cover to cover. It is equal parts resource and inspiration. There are several lists of ideas, advice, and fun facts about famous writers. There is a unique tone to it, one not often found in "how to" guides or advice books, using language that is both elegant and humorous.

Judy has been a teacher, a mentor, and a friend to me and I could hear her voice with each piece of advice told with her signature humor and colorful style. An excellent tool for any writer, but also a very charming read.

[Charity · Rating 4 out of 5]

After jumping around through the digital version of this book, I have decided I like Reeves's approach. I'm going to buy myself a physical copy of the book and a couple of notebooks (okay, so I don't need more notebooks, nor do I need more excuses to buy notebooks, but I'm going to buy some anyway) and try to make 2023 the year that I reestablish a daily writing practice. I did Morning Pages for years, but I like the focus of daily prompts.

[Sarah Pascarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great prompts to get the creative juices flowing and a good daily reminder to work on something every day, even if you don't have much time. Reeves offers encouragement without sentimentality or overpromising, and she regularly acknowledges how writing is tricky and often arduous, which I appreciated. Recommended for newbies and veteran writers alike.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, creo que es de los libros para escritores más útiles que he leído. Es el más útil de los libros de este tipo que trata el tema en general (hay algunos especializados en arco de personaje, por ejemplo, pero este es en general de cómo escribir más y más efectivamente). Tiene muy buenos prompts, muy buenas notas y muy buenos tips de edición. Muy recomendable.

[Soulitude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book. I've thought many times that if I ever start a writing group I would use this as the workbook for it. Its filled with many great subjects to write upon, and lots of tips. I also love the quotes in it.
I've read through this book, and now use it as a timely reference.

[Lyndi Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read that provided much affirmation and many creative ideas for different aspects of writing using lively language and unique metaphors. Explores how to start, improve, and move forward with your writing and enjoy the journey.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Low-pressure, actionable, short, often fun, writing exercises to keep the wheels turning!
I'm only about 25% through using them, but have read the book and am looking forward to more consistency ahead.

[Karin Zirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational from cover to cover.

[Janine Toomey]

Yes!!! I worked the whole book through - a prompt for every day of the year with twelve chapters on all sorts of writing themes, tips, and tricks. I LOVED this book. So happy to have met it!

[Carrie Cantalupo-Sharp]

Great prompt book.