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A Writer's Book of Days: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life
by
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
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Paperback, 176 pages
Published
September 14th 1999
by New World Library
(first published January 1st 1999)
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Start your review of A Writer's Book of Days: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life
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 b ...more
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 b ...more
This book is a terrific source for writing prompts and a great book to give people who have just started writing.
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.) ...more
"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.) ...more
I wish I had the tenacity to do every prompt. Alas, I am human.
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 d ...more
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 d ...more
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.
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 ha ...more
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 ha ...more
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!
Oct 26, 2012
Rob Van velthoven
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in writing :)
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 ...more
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 ...more
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 no ...more
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 no ...more
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
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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.
Somewhere in the last third of the book it gets a little repetitive though.
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.
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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.
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.
An awakening writing journey that lasts a whole year. Good exercise for new writers.
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 calenda
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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.
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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. ...more
I've read through this book, and now use it as a timely reference. ...more
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.
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. ...more
I'm only about 25% through using them, but have read the book and am looking forward to more consistency ahead. ...more
Inspirational from cover to cover.
I have 58 books about writing on my shelf. Judy's Reeves' A Writer's Book of Days is #59. But it's not on my shelf. It's beside my bed, in my studio, in my car, out on the back deck - wherever and whenever I'm going to write, A Writer's Book of Days is with me.
I love all of my writing books. They are inspiring and beautifully written just as you'd expect and hope a book about the writer's life would be. But Judy's book now has a special place in my heart as my #1 favourite writing book of all t ...more
I love all of my writing books. They are inspiring and beautifully written just as you'd expect and hope a book about the writer's life would be. But Judy's book now has a special place in my heart as my #1 favourite writing book of all t ...more
This book is intended to be read over the course of a year: one chapter per month with plenty of writing practice exercises for each month. It's a light-hearted, inspirational, down-to-earth book on writing. It's chalk-full of tips, quotes from famous (and not-so-famous) authors, and methods to encourage your muse and creativity. It's well-organized and well-written. My highlighter just about gave out, and the number of pages I have dog-eared cause the top right corner of the book to bulge. It s
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May 11, 2012
Library Kat
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literature-classes-and-recommended
I would have put this book on my currently reading list but it's taken me several months To get through it. I'm currently still on the section for March even though it may already I will try to update this post when I finished reading it away through the 1st time that it think it's going to be one of those books but more of a reference for writers have found it encouraging but what with very intense classes I have not had a chance to finish
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"Prompts" were mostly so brief and vague that I couldn't get any traction. After awhile I figure out "prompts" were not what I need any more - I don't have trouble getting the pen to move. This book did get me to try pen and paper seriously for the first time in years, pointing out that it makes you slow down and you have a record of every change you've made, unlike the delete key. Other good thoughts here and there but not in the end very useful.
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This book is full of ideas and a daily writing prompt. The problem I had was that many days the writing prompt for that day was a little meaningless and prompted nothing but guilt for failing. When I switched it up and paged through the prompts to try whatever struck me regardless of the corresponding date, it freed me up again.
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This a nice book with some very practical advice for writers. I love the daily prompts. I think this book will stay on my currently reading list. I've attended free write sessions with Judy. She is a good teacher and a believer in writers helping writers.
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This is such a great book for those "in-between" times when you're not working on a project, or when you're stuck or when you just want to spend some time generating ideas or need encouragement for the writing life. Highly recommended!
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