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beccak's review
2.0
Robert Olen Butler is a writer of note, particularly well known for his award-winning short stories. He used to be a Method actor, and he employs techniques of Method acting in his writing method (pun intentional).
While there are a few gems of advice in here, this is by far the most pretentious writing book I have ever read and parts were absolutely insufferable. His fault is not that he's a bad writer, in fact much of his advice is good, but that he shows so little respect for other creators and artists. He assumes his way is the only way. He also talks about certain ideas - such as the filmic/dramatic qualities of writing and of achieving FLOW states to write - which were written about previously and more clearly than here. And he confers an unnecessary mystique to writing which I found both hokey and misleading.
Butler makes sweeping generalizations about "entertainment writing" - genre writing, in particular - based on very little evidence of having read quality genre writing. He premises that only "literary fiction" is "artistic," and puts-down overly "intellectual" writers like Sartre along with the "entertainment" authors like Stephen King. He puts dreamy, "sensual" artists on a pedestal and smacks down those who plan and outline and sweat through drafts, yet in the end, he's a planner, too. Also, I found his assumptions about literary writers to be poorly researched. Many of the writers he ascribes "dreamy" and "sensual" qualities to actually outlined, planned, and intellectualized. We have evidence of this through the private papers, interviews, and so on they left behind.
Useful tips Butler offers:
- How to integrate sensory experiences into your writing without providing an intellectual barrier to interpret them for the reader.
- How to achieve a FLOW state through certain healthy writing habits.
- How to organize your writing as it develops.
- How to incorporate memory and flashes of fears/beliefs/hopes into your writing.
But I'd advise that any reader take his advice with more than a pinch of salt.
While there are a few gems of advice in here, this is by far the most pretentious writing book I have ever read and parts were absolutely insufferable. His fault is not that he's a bad writer, in fact much of his advice is good, but that he shows so little respect for other creators and artists. He assumes his way is the only way. He also talks about certain ideas - such as the filmic/dramatic qualities of writing and of achieving FLOW states to write - which were written about previously and more clearly than here. And he confers an unnecessary mystique to writing which I found both hokey and misleading.
Butler makes sweeping generalizations about "entertainment writing" - genre writing, in particular - based on very little evidence of having read quality genre writing. He premises that only "literary fiction" is "artistic," and puts-down overly "intellectual" writers like Sartre along with the "entertainment" authors like Stephen King. He puts dreamy, "sensual" artists on a pedestal and smacks down those who plan and outline and sweat through drafts, yet in the end, he's a planner, too. Also, I found his assumptions about literary writers to be poorly researched. Many of the writers he ascribes "dreamy" and "sensual" qualities to actually outlined, planned, and intellectualized. We have evidence of this through the private papers, interviews, and so on they left behind.
Useful tips Butler offers:
- How to integrate sensory experiences into your writing without providing an intellectual barrier to interpret them for the reader.
- How to achieve a FLOW state through certain healthy writing habits.
- How to organize your writing as it develops.
- How to incorporate memory and flashes of fears/beliefs/hopes into your writing.
But I'd advise that any reader take his advice with more than a pinch of salt.
anndouglas's review
3.0
Some of the advice is useful (about tapping into your creative side), but the author's insistence that you can't think through or plan any elements of a story you want to tell is a bit extreme. Read this book with a critical eye and don't take its advice and techniques as the only truth on a complex and fascinating subject: how the creative process occurs.
writerkboe's review
3.0
I gave this three stars because the first few chapters were great, but somewhere in the middle he kind of lost me. The way he describes his writing process and what he does with it is amazing, but he lost me after that. He also lost me when he started going on about the differences between 'literary' authors and 'genre' authors. I understand there is a difference between the genres themselves, but his reasoning was a little too pretentious for my taste.
But, like I said, the first few chapters were awesome, and perhaps someone else will appreciate the latter half more than I did.
But, like I said, the first few chapters were awesome, and perhaps someone else will appreciate the latter half more than I did.
kevinjfellows's review
2.0
I wouldn't normally comment on a book this dreadful, but I will point out there are a few useful bits of advice, or reminders in the first third of the book. These might be helpful to writers if they haven't learned it elsewhere. I'm speaking mostly about characters needing a purpose; a yearning need for something that drives them. And also eliminate filter words from your prose.
A much better book is Janet Burroway's Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft.
A much better book is Janet Burroway's Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft.
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