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Title: Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury ISBN: 0-553-29634-5 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 March, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.62 (21 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Zen and the Art of "Ahh, Now I Get it."
Comment: I've just started this book and I have already, by direct inspiration of Mr. Bradbury's examples, taken my earliest childhood dream and created a sci-fi story. In his book he gives simple approaches to inspiration. I often enjoy recounting certain life experiences to friends, (and strangers), but not until I read this book did I realize I'm sitting on an endless source of raw material to mold into speculative fiction- from my own memories.
I felt a bit like a parasite writer when a critic who read my first sci-fi mentioned that my story was "Ray Bradbury-ish". I scrambled to try to change my style for fear that someone would think that I'm trying to copy his style. When I read that much of his inspiration comes directly from the writings of other authors and poets I was relieved. I actually began writing another story that is almost the same as one of his more popular stories from the Martian Chronicles. Yet, I can confidently state that my story is still completely different.
I suddenly find myself with more story ideas than I can possibly write. This book is an absolute inspiration. Reading many of the technical "how to" books for writers has done nothing but make my brain smoke. There are stories all around me now- actually, they were always there. Suddenly I see. "Ahh. This is Zen."
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent book for real writers
Comment: Zen in the Art of Writing is my favorite kind of writing book. One that doesn't tell you how to write, but how to be a writer. Those are the best kind. A collection of essays from various sources and points in his career, Bradbury gives us many glimpses into the kind of writer he is, touching on such subjects as how to keep and feed a Muse, where ideas come from and what it takes to be a writer.
You won't find any discussions of plot, character, pacing, etc. here. Instead you'll find inspiration, ideas, passion and a little bit of who Ray Bradbury is. Just like a story.
A few excerpts:
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
If you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer.
A good idea should worry us like a dog. We should not, in turn, worry it into the grave, smother it with intellect, pontificate it into snoozing, kill it with the death of a thousand analytical slices.
At heart, all good stories are the one kind of story, the story written by an individual [writer] from [her] individual truth.
And finally...
WORK
RELAX
DON'T THINK!
Zen and the Art of Writing remains an excellent book for any artist to read. It would be almost impossible to not catch Bradbury's enthusiasm, running down the pages as it does. Again, just as in good fiction.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Fire of Bradbury's Enthusiasm
Comment: "Zen in the Art of Writing" might not separate out into easy bullet-lists of suggestions the way many writing books do, but there are so many great ideas here. Word associations, letting things percolate through your mind, honestly editing your work... Bradbury couches everything in examples from his own life and work. He loads everything up with context. Perhaps most importantly, he lends his words a vibrancy, a poetry, a life that speaks far louder than any dry essay on writing ever could!
He talks of love and hate, and how emotions drive good writing. He speaks of work and relaxation, and how both are necessary at once. All of this in beautiful, easy-to-read language that you can easily cruise through in a day.
It's hard not to come away from this book without a sense of this man: a whimsical, driven, fire-breathing soul of wit and humor and great understanding. I normally have little interest at all in meeting famous people, but I wish that I could meet Mr. Bradbury. Certainly his work has inspired many a dreamer, and all writers of the fantastic owe him and his work a great debt.
I cannot recommend this writing book highly enough. If you're looking for dry suggestions to help you get published look elsewhere, but if you're looking for inspiration, this is the place to find it. The passion, energy, and enthusiasm that flow through the words are contagious. I cannot imagine a single author that could not be improved by reading this book.
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Title: The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear by Ralph Keyes ISBN: 0805031898 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: April, 1996 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: On Writing by Stephen King ISBN: 0743455967 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within by Dennis Palumbo ISBN: 0471382663 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 06 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer by Bruce Holland Rogers ISBN: 1931229171 Publisher: Invisible Cities Press Pub. Date: May, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande, John Gardner ISBN: 0874771641 Publisher: J. P. Tarcher Pub. Date: March, 1981 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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