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A review by jlennidorner
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
5.0
I didn't really know what this book was going to be about. It was the book club's choice for this month, so I decided to have a go. I liked it far more than I expected to. I would recommend it to anyone who regularly pursues a creative interest. In fact, when I got a copy and read it, I liked it so much that I bought a copy for a friend, who also enjoyed it so much that she too bought a copy for her friend.
I'm not sure I understand the cover, which just looks like splashing various paint to me. The title does make sense after reading the book, but based on just "big magic," I don't know that I would have picked it up if not for the club picking it. I do enjoy reading books about writing motivation though. The book was well edited. Interestingly, the book talks about editing something so that it's "good enough," and figuring out when to stop hunting for every possible error. (*cough* Not that I've ever done that. *cough*) One of the greatest lessons in the book though is the hard truth of living a creative life: That you should quit, unless you can't.
This book does have me interested in the other works by this author. It did inspire me to keep writing. Some of the observations of the book impressed me because I've never thought about them before. It's very informative and entertaining, and it's clear that Elizabeth is an authority on the subject. The lessons absolutely apply to my own life as a writer. I'm sure my fellow writers would also enjoy reading this. The entire book was clear and easy to follow. The author's passion for writing and staying creative absolutely came through. I feel that I benefited from reading this book.
In the "Courage" section, the list of fears, I nodded along several times. "Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them," was a powerful quote included in this book (also in the "Courage" section). I don't know how, exactly, it might apply with chronic illness or family matters, but there it is. The book mentions that projects that don't turn out well can be thought of as just creative experiments -- what a freeing idea that is! The story in the book about the novel that really wanted to be written, the one that Ann ends up doing, that's some serious motivation to write when the Muse comes to call. Very powerful.
Good enough and out there now is better than probably perfect but never out there... that's a lesson I should make my mantra and say daily or something. Pretty good books can sell and be read. Books that are never published aren't selling or giving themselves to the world.
The lesson about needing to love writing (or whatever) with your whole heart, the good and the bad parts, that's an important one. I think that's what weeds out most people. For example, during the #AtoZChallenge in April or NaNoWriMo in November, a lot of people start and make it for the first week. But, by the end of those months, it's only the people who loved doing it enough to keep at it despite the time consumption and dozens of things that inevitably go wrong for anyone who makes plans.
In a post-apocalyptic world, are writers useful? The book suggests that the fact that creativity exists is a gift, proof we are doing well. But I think the worse things are, the more people need the distraction of entertainment. (And if there's no more power or Internet, books and storytellers would go up in value.) That's the one part of the book I disagreed with. Perhaps my ego just wants to feel valuable so I have a fun reason to go on that isn't wholly reliant on another individual?
Being loved by nature and having a place in the world, mentioned in the "Trust" section, perhaps that's a more natural concept for me because of my Lenni-Lenape upbringing. It does seem to be one of the things that separated, or exiled, me from the more "civilized" children. Also in the "Trust" section was the bit about the Martyr and Trickster, which made me think of Batman and the Joker. As for the story of the Court Lobster, that's sort of why I decided to self-publish my first novel. (It was never going to wear the right costume, and I wasn't going to change the mythology just because others didn't know the legends I do. So I went "Court Lobster.")
I'm not sure I understand the cover, which just looks like splashing various paint to me. The title does make sense after reading the book, but based on just "big magic," I don't know that I would have picked it up if not for the club picking it. I do enjoy reading books about writing motivation though. The book was well edited. Interestingly, the book talks about editing something so that it's "good enough," and figuring out when to stop hunting for every possible error. (*cough* Not that I've ever done that. *cough*) One of the greatest lessons in the book though is the hard truth of living a creative life: That you should quit, unless you can't.
This book does have me interested in the other works by this author. It did inspire me to keep writing. Some of the observations of the book impressed me because I've never thought about them before. It's very informative and entertaining, and it's clear that Elizabeth is an authority on the subject. The lessons absolutely apply to my own life as a writer. I'm sure my fellow writers would also enjoy reading this. The entire book was clear and easy to follow. The author's passion for writing and staying creative absolutely came through. I feel that I benefited from reading this book.
In the "Courage" section, the list of fears, I nodded along several times. "Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them," was a powerful quote included in this book (also in the "Courage" section). I don't know how, exactly, it might apply with chronic illness or family matters, but there it is. The book mentions that projects that don't turn out well can be thought of as just creative experiments -- what a freeing idea that is! The story in the book about the novel that really wanted to be written, the one that Ann ends up doing, that's some serious motivation to write when the Muse comes to call. Very powerful.
Good enough and out there now is better than probably perfect but never out there... that's a lesson I should make my mantra and say daily or something. Pretty good books can sell and be read. Books that are never published aren't selling or giving themselves to the world.
The lesson about needing to love writing (or whatever) with your whole heart, the good and the bad parts, that's an important one. I think that's what weeds out most people. For example, during the #AtoZChallenge in April or NaNoWriMo in November, a lot of people start and make it for the first week. But, by the end of those months, it's only the people who loved doing it enough to keep at it despite the time consumption and dozens of things that inevitably go wrong for anyone who makes plans.
In a post-apocalyptic world, are writers useful? The book suggests that the fact that creativity exists is a gift, proof we are doing well. But I think the worse things are, the more people need the distraction of entertainment. (And if there's no more power or Internet, books and storytellers would go up in value.) That's the one part of the book I disagreed with. Perhaps my ego just wants to feel valuable so I have a fun reason to go on that isn't wholly reliant on another individual?
Being loved by nature and having a place in the world, mentioned in the "Trust" section, perhaps that's a more natural concept for me because of my Lenni-Lenape upbringing. It does seem to be one of the things that separated, or exiled, me from the more "civilized" children. Also in the "Trust" section was the bit about the Martyr and Trickster, which made me think of Batman and the Joker. As for the story of the Court Lobster, that's sort of why I decided to self-publish my first novel. (It was never going to wear the right costume, and I wasn't going to change the mythology just because others didn't know the legends I do. So I went "Court Lobster.")