ovenbird_reads 's review for:

If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland

4.0

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I feel that I would have really liked the woman who wrote this book. She was writing in the 30s, so it's important to read this as a historical artifact, but it remains a solidly good book on writing 80 years later. Ueland's central premise is that everyone has a creative spirit that needs to be expressed, and can result in good art. The key is to pursue your art simply for the joy of expression, rather than with the expectation of social, monetary, or egotistical gain. Ueland writes with a no-nonsense tone that I admire. She believes in writing as a healing craft that will enrich the lives of writers, no matter their background, education, or origins. She has some concrete tips for accessing your creative drive and developing a productive writing practise.

She has been criticized for being too religious and preachy, but her stated aim is to avoid preachy-ness and simply to help others unlock their creative potential without judgement. She sees harsh criticism as a death sentence for creativity. While she does refer to the creative muse as the Holy Spirit, I do not see her book as being fundamentally Christian. Her ideas of the spirit are all-encompassing and not tied to particular religious beliefs. Her choice of the Holy Spirit as a metaphor does not detract from the usefulness of her ideas, even for those with athiestic tendencies.

This is a short, lovely book on writing and I'm glad that I read it. It's available on Amazon as an e-book for $4 at the moment and was well worth the price.