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A review by jrc2011
Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories by Charlie Jane Anders
5.0
Charlie Jane Anders is insightful, inspiring, accessible and generous. The audio book is narrated by the author - which makes it really special. It's like an extended seminar with the author herself. She shares her feelings and experiences about writing books, her personal life and how to find your own voice. Charlie Jane talks about how to use your emotions to create stories that are vibrant and compelling.
Community and relationships are the secret to success in writing and in life -- without these things, people can't exist happily in fiction nor reality.
Balance is also important - Charlie Jane talks about not torturing or beating up your characters unnecessarily, but also don't go the opposite direction either. That's one of the things that has bothered me about some other books I've read -- characters are subjected to excessively unbelievable things, like it's not enough that you're in the middle of Nazi Germany, but you have to live with the most curable form of blindness for the rest of your life? WHY? Get the cataracts out.
Most importantly - practice writing, write down ideas, save images and dialogue - it's all building material for inspiration later.
She talks about reading slumps and creative blocks, when to listen to other people and when to go with your gut.
Honestly, I think a lot of what Charlie Jane describes can be applied to business writing as well. It's a book well worth re-reading, so I am returning this to the library and getting my own own copy for my library.
I REALLY enjoyed the discussions of how she originally conceived of characters and stories and changed them before publishing, especially having read those books already. It was very illuminating and enjoyable - and I agree with her decisions 100%.
Community and relationships are the secret to success in writing and in life -- without these things, people can't exist happily in fiction nor reality.
Balance is also important - Charlie Jane talks about not torturing or beating up your characters unnecessarily, but also don't go the opposite direction either. That's one of the things that has bothered me about some other books I've read -- characters are subjected to excessively unbelievable things, like it's not enough that you're in the middle of Nazi Germany, but you have to live with the most curable form of blindness for the rest of your life? WHY? Get the cataracts out.
Most importantly - practice writing, write down ideas, save images and dialogue - it's all building material for inspiration later.
She talks about reading slumps and creative blocks, when to listen to other people and when to go with your gut.
Honestly, I think a lot of what Charlie Jane describes can be applied to business writing as well. It's a book well worth re-reading, so I am returning this to the library and getting my own own copy for my library.
I REALLY enjoyed the discussions of how she originally conceived of characters and stories and changed them before publishing, especially having read those books already. It was very illuminating and enjoyable - and I agree with her decisions 100%.