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A review by kaaserpent
I Should Be Writing:A Writer's Workshop by Mur Lafferty
5.0
I have been listening to Mur Lafferty's "I Should Be Writing" (ISBW) podcast since about mid-2006 (and went back at that time and listened to all the backlog, so I have heard every episode), and have followed her writing career as well. I was excited to discover that she was publishing a book version of advice from the podcast. I entered . . . basically a drawing to win pre-release copies of the book for review and was selected as one of the winners.
ISBW (the podcast) was presented as writing advice for wannabe writers by a wannabe writer back in the days before Mur had published much speculative fiction. She was navigating her career, and sharing with listeners the things she was learning along the way, as well as interviewing successful authors to get their take. This book very much adopts that same approach: this is advice for wannabe writers, but from the viewpoint of someone who remembers what it was like to be a wannabe writer.
As I read, I could hear Mur's voice narrating it in my head. Which is great, because it means she captured that same friendly, helpful, honest tone she uses in the podcast. The advice itself is taken from the podcast material, so there's nothing startling or revelatory for those who have listened, but here it is presented in easy-to-read chapters, laid out in a logical form, and all in one place instead of scattered across eleven-plus years of audio recording. For those who have not listened, there may be a few surprises, mostly because she is honest in her approach and doesn't sugar-coat much.
Lafferty "interrupts" the flow of the chapters with interjections by "Bully" and "Muse," the two parts of the psyche of the writer. Bully is full of pessimism, always urging the writer to stop and give up. Muse then chimes in with positive assertions to counter Bully's lies. It's a fun way of representing the Impostor Syndrome that every writer has to do battle with, and ways to counter it. Some of the "conversations" between the two aspects of the writer personality were very funny and I found myself laughing aloud as I read on a plane.
It was a quick read. The book is designed as part advice and part workbook. In the back of the book are a series of exercises for the reader to put into practice the advice learned in the first part. (I personally found that there was not enough space to do the exercises, because my handwriting sucks and I tend to write long, but your mileage may vary.)
Finally, the look and feel of the book. The design is very nice. Retro in both the design and the color palate, full of fun colors and illustrations, and the paper is so thick I at first thought pages were stuck together. The cover is neither hard nor soft, but something in between, much like the cover of a school notebook. It's light enough to put into a backpack or tote bag, but sturdy enough that it won't be ruined by doing exactly that. The thick pages will permit the reader to complete the exercises in pen without any bleed-through to the opposite side of the page, which I'm sure is exactly the point.
I'd recommend this book to beginning writers who are looking for honest, straightforward advice from someone who has been in the trenches and who has had some success, but is still right there in the trenches alongside the reader. And for fans of Mur Lafferty who already like her writing style. :)
If I had anything negative to say about it, it would be that the book is too short, because I wanted more, but it was complete. There are also at least a couple of minor typos. But that's really all I can find to criticize.
Give this as a gift to the "young" writer in your life (young in writer years, which could be anywhere from 8 to 80, depending on how long they've been writing). Buy one for yourself to keep on your shelf to re-read from time to time to remind yourself why you're pursuing writing as a career.
And always remember: You should be writing.
ISBW (the podcast) was presented as writing advice for wannabe writers by a wannabe writer back in the days before Mur had published much speculative fiction. She was navigating her career, and sharing with listeners the things she was learning along the way, as well as interviewing successful authors to get their take. This book very much adopts that same approach: this is advice for wannabe writers, but from the viewpoint of someone who remembers what it was like to be a wannabe writer.
As I read, I could hear Mur's voice narrating it in my head. Which is great, because it means she captured that same friendly, helpful, honest tone she uses in the podcast. The advice itself is taken from the podcast material, so there's nothing startling or revelatory for those who have listened, but here it is presented in easy-to-read chapters, laid out in a logical form, and all in one place instead of scattered across eleven-plus years of audio recording. For those who have not listened, there may be a few surprises, mostly because she is honest in her approach and doesn't sugar-coat much.
Lafferty "interrupts" the flow of the chapters with interjections by "Bully" and "Muse," the two parts of the psyche of the writer. Bully is full of pessimism, always urging the writer to stop and give up. Muse then chimes in with positive assertions to counter Bully's lies. It's a fun way of representing the Impostor Syndrome that every writer has to do battle with, and ways to counter it. Some of the "conversations" between the two aspects of the writer personality were very funny and I found myself laughing aloud as I read on a plane.
It was a quick read. The book is designed as part advice and part workbook. In the back of the book are a series of exercises for the reader to put into practice the advice learned in the first part. (I personally found that there was not enough space to do the exercises, because my handwriting sucks and I tend to write long, but your mileage may vary.)
Finally, the look and feel of the book. The design is very nice. Retro in both the design and the color palate, full of fun colors and illustrations, and the paper is so thick I at first thought pages were stuck together. The cover is neither hard nor soft, but something in between, much like the cover of a school notebook. It's light enough to put into a backpack or tote bag, but sturdy enough that it won't be ruined by doing exactly that. The thick pages will permit the reader to complete the exercises in pen without any bleed-through to the opposite side of the page, which I'm sure is exactly the point.
I'd recommend this book to beginning writers who are looking for honest, straightforward advice from someone who has been in the trenches and who has had some success, but is still right there in the trenches alongside the reader. And for fans of Mur Lafferty who already like her writing style. :)
If I had anything negative to say about it, it would be that the book is too short, because I wanted more, but it was complete. There are also at least a couple of minor typos. But that's really all I can find to criticize.
Give this as a gift to the "young" writer in your life (young in writer years, which could be anywhere from 8 to 80, depending on how long they've been writing). Buy one for yourself to keep on your shelf to re-read from time to time to remind yourself why you're pursuing writing as a career.
And always remember: You should be writing.