Wonderful, beautiful, and encouraging advice from one of the most unique voices in the field. Chuck always makes me laugh, both at his ridiculous analogies and tangents and at myself (which is a good thing). This book is filled with pleasant advice to make a writer feel good enough to carry on. As with most writing advice books, I can't say there is anything particularly new, but Chuck's voice makes it feel new, and it could be just what a writer needs.

Note: While I know this is a prerelease, the Kindle version was atrocious. The paragraphs were jumbled together.

Thank you #NetGalley for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I have always loved to read books about writing. The craft of writing is also evolving rapidly with the emergence of technology integration and AI. I’m excited to see that there are more and more people who still find the importance of writing as a craft.

This book did a great job of talking about things that aren’t so glamorous as a writer and doing so in very energetic way.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Random House, Writer's Digest Books for an advanced copy of a book on writing that gets to the heart of why people write, with lessons on how to make writing worthwhile, without the scolding of other books.

Living in America means always having to deal with success. Success being need that most people have in knowing another's business, and judging that person on it, or giving advice when not needed. You made that quilt, you should sell it on ebay. You fixed that car, you should go into auto detailing, oh you write, people still do that huh, how much do you make. Doing things for fun, or even worse doing things without a social media audience seems like an anathema to many. You do something cause you like it. How do you find the time? I guess that is you are alone and broke. Our society judges art like it judges everything else, money, money, more money. TV ratings, movie openings, bestsellers lists, prizes, hits, views, comments. Nothing is for a person anymore, it has to be content. And the beast always needs content. There are plenty of writing books promising secrets to bestsellerdom, not that many that promote the good things that writing can do, along with pointing out that the effort put in, is sometimes more important than that great opening sentence. Chuck Wendig, is a bestselling author, something that did not happen overnight. Getting to his place in life took time, imagination and lots of work. In Gentle Writing Advice: How to Be a Writer Without Destroying Yourself Wendig offers ideas and guidance that Wendig has learned over the years, along with what to really do, and what to really, really avoid.

The book begins with Wendig reading advice on-line from another writer saying that all the other authors are enemies, and should be treated as such. This bit of click-bait flaming set Wendig thinking about all the terrible advice that writers have been reading and receiving over the years, and how little much of it had on his career as a writer. Wendig started as a writer for adventure games, branching off in horror, fantasy, children's books and other media, and each book was written a little bit different from the last. Wendig's New York Times Bestseller was written in a totally different way, where his editor even told him, take your time and get it right the way your want it. From there the idea of a friendly, more useful, less angry writing book would be helpful. One that didn't promise bestsellers, or fame, but celebrated the small victories. Did one write today, awesome, see you tomorrow. Didn't write today, cool, try tomorrow.

Chuck Wendig has a very good writing style, one that is rare in fiction writers who write nonfiction. Wendig is very clear about his voice. Wendig wants to support not berate, nor nag, because that really doesn't help, nor change anything. Writing is wonderful, great, amazing, but it is tough. Writing takes a lot of work, something Wendig does not downplay. Wendig uses many examples from his own life and experiences which are related well, funny when needed, sometimes a little jarring, but helpful. And even more supportive.

Very reminiscent of Stephen King's On Writing. The clarity of the writing, the gift for both imagination and gab that both men have. The ideas, and practicality can't be discusses enough. Recommended for writers both old and young, professional, or just starting out. I look forward to Wendig's next novel, but I am looking just as forward to his next book of nonfiction. A great graduation gift, and something that will be greatly enjoyed.

Mr. Wendig has written a book about the rules of writing! I expected some gentle guidelines like “ write every day” or. “Always use an outline” or some description of what constitutes a novel length or number of words you must have…..
Instead he has written a book that should allow the “writer” to use common sense while still employing some fortitude. Tips such as “ outlines work until they don’t” he encourages the writer , casual or serious, to allow theirselves the freedom to actually write without being overly concerned about the RULES. Or the outcome. Maybe you will sell it and maybe you won’t. But someone somewhere needs to read what you had to write.
Very enjoyable to read and even though I have no intentions of writing a book I sure can appreciate his advice.
I highly recommend this even if you never write a book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading this book. I picked it up because lately I've become interested in starting my writing journey and so any book of that nature always interests me. I did not imagine finding one that was so perfect for me! The emotional intelligence in this book is incredible. I think we forget about managing emotions when it comes to creative pursuits and I think that's a mistake. At least, it is for people such as myself. I have no doubt many people will find what is shared in this book deeply resonates with them.

Having read Chuck Wendig’s other books centering on writing advice, including being a longtime reader of his blog, I was curious to see what he would bring to the table with his latest, “Gentle Writing Advice.” The pandemic has unquestionably altered so much of what writers do, not only in terms of process and writing itself, but also promotion, how to succeed in the business and so on, and Wendig’s work reflects that. The book starts with a reflection on a Twitter flamewar about Harsh Writing Advice, and as I write this, a certain despicable billionaire has advanced his implosion of the platform and … although I am furious about that, I’ll bring it back to the topic at hand. Twitter, for all its faults and negative aspects (and there are a LOT), was a sort of writing water cooler, a place to find out about new markets and open calls for anthologies, news about workshops and fellowships, and discussions with other writers—some of them silly and fun, but others not so much fun, and at times, veering into dangerous and painful territory. Nonetheless, as Wendig reminds readers, the endless debates on “you’re only a real writer if you do X, Y, and Z” are fatiguing and harmful. Wendig also mentions that what was good writing advice a decade ago may not be good or make sense for today because everything shifts. One of the examples I can think of is the whole thing from the early 2010s of blog tours. Everything was about blog tours. If you’re not doing one, you’re doing it “wrong.” And even though there are still authors who do blog tours and have fun doing them, it’s a good example of something that maybe 5 or 6 years in, authors like Wendig weighed in on Twitter threads and began to question the usefulness of.

One of the fundamental things that I liked about the premise of this book was that as Wendig discusses, there’s been too much of an emphasis for decades—pre-Internet and into Internet—that have been all about harsh writing advice. This whole thing of “You’re not going to like hearing this, but if you want to be a real writer, then you have to quit whining and do what I say, OR ELSE.” And there are still a lot of writers who peddle this. So Wendig felt it was important to offer a kind of antitode, because the negative reinforcement style of convincing writers to use shame and guilt as motivators causes burnout very quickly.

People who enjoy Wendig’s whimiscal and unique riff on disseminating writing advice will like his latest offering and I would recommend it especially for those who feel surrounded by negativity of social media, and feel hopeless, and feel like they need that burst of hope and motivation to keep going. As with all other writing advice books, it’s not going to magically cure what ails the writer—I don’t think any book or outside force can necessarily do that. But it’s a welcome shift from the constant flood of negativity that pervades every writer’s timeline. We all need a break, and Wendig is a welcome captain on the ship of steering writers toward a less pressurized and frantic sensibility.

Chuck Wendig is someone who has been where I am: burnt out, terrified, hurting from the very writing I crave, making the same mistakes I make, and yet he’s SUCCESSFUL. His advice to those suffering likewise: be gentle with yourself because the mistakes are not preventing your success; they're a step towards your success.

Gentle Writing Advice is the only convincing explanation I’ve read on how to accept mistakes. Intellectually, I know that mistakes are a part of learning and doing, but I still avoid them like the plague. Gentle Writing Advice, though, brings me a step closer to accepting the necessity of failure as a step towards success.

Beyond the advice to be gentle with yourself, Gentle Writing Advice is chock full of practical advice, especially for those of us who beat ourselves up while writing (and, really, isn’t that everyone?). If you write, you need this book.

Besides being incredibly useful, Gentle Writing Advice is genuinely hilarious. Wendig has the wittiest footnotes I’ve seen since The Bartimaeus Trilogy. I laughed out loud several times, garnering odd looks from those around me.

I wish so very much I could use this in my college writing classes, but the humor does occasionally turn crass, including plenty of swear words and jokes with oblique sexual references.

What a wise, hilarious, encouraging book! I've ready many books about the craft of writing, and one thing that sets this one apart is that it offers something for everyone, from the beginner to a seasoned writer who just needs motivation or inspiration. And did I mention it's really, really funny? I'll be recommending it widely to my writer friends.

I think I'm going to really like this book, but the formatting for the e-ARC made it almost impossible to read.

Gentle Writing Advice: How To Be a Writer Without Destroying Yourself will be published on June 6, 2023. Penguin Random House provided an early galley for review.

As a lifelong amateur writer, I am always on the look out for helpful books about writing. They benefit me personally with my own scribblings as well as give me insights to share with the monthly writing group I moderate at one of our library branches. As a published writer (with a few dozen novels under his belt), Wendig knows a bit about the process and, no doubt, struggling with it. So, I was eager to hear what he had to offer.

I like that the author tempered his advice as "suggestions", acknowledging that what might have worked for him may not work for all aspiring writers. This is the approach we take with our writing group as well. We will often share tips or approaches that, as I like to say, "can be taken with a grain of salt". There are not any writing commandments that will guarantee instant success.

Wendig's delivery and tone work well for me, but I am also a fan of biting sarcastic humor and am not at all offended by off-color language. If either of these set off your alarms, this might not be the guide for you. I like that his approach kept the topic from being dry or boring. I would gather he and I draw from the same sources and influences based on the various comic book, sci-fi and video game references he sprinkled in. I was entertained as well as enlightened by this one.

The message of this book is relatively simple--be good to yourself, whatever process that works for your writing is the right process for you. Simple, but some of us need to hear it from an outside source. Wendig argues against strict writing rules-- there's no YOU MUST DO THIS!

An illustrative point is he never used to outline. Then someone convinced him to and he had success with that approach. In telling that story, the author was surprised by the number of people who took the lesson as--You should outline. No, the lesson is there are no strict rules, so you should be willing to adapt, be willing to change your approach.

Don't beat yourself up for not writing 2,000 words a day, just try to write something. Beating yourself up is a wasted emotion. Wendig also makes the insightful point that many creative people with vivid imaginations are also good at imagining scenarios in which to feel bad about themselves.

This is some advice I needed to hear right about now.

I received a free e-galley of this book in return for an honest review.

This book presents a brutally honest discussion of what the writing life is really like. I appreciated it very much, especially as a published author, still writing, who has sorta figured out what works and what doesn't work for me. Wendig provided a flexible idea of what a writer does, presenting what HE does, but opening the door to showing that his way of writing a book is certainly not the only way to write a book. I particularly appreciated his thoughts on looking at the notion of "time spent writing" as including reading, researching, planning and other essential parts of the writing life (not just daily word count). This book has helped me relax a bit and not beat myself up on days I progress in my writing projects but don't necessarily get words typed on the page.

Highly recommended for writers at all stages of their careers.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to review this book.
His dedication had me feeling that I was home.
This begins in a TedTalk in a book form of a Stand Up Comedy routine. He is raw in telling what this seasoned writer has gone through over his years of being published. I may have fangirl swooned at the Margaret Atwood references.
I recommend this book as a great gift for the writers in your life, or get one for yourself to reference on one of those days.
I will get a hard copy when it is available on June 5.

This is going to be the perfect new book to recommend to all your readers who need writing advice. It is fun, funny, practical and down to earth.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Publication date is 6/6/23.

I enjoy books that discuss and explore the craft of writing, and "Gentle Writing Advice" sounded exactly like a lighter kick-in-the-pants than a lot of other writing books out there. The author uses humor and specific examples from his own writing life to illustrate how a hesitant writer can begin the process. I'd say this book is aimed at the newer writer, or someone who has taken a long break from it. Much of the advice is fairly common sense and general--nothing earth-shattering, but the tone the author uses may just be the gentle push a novice writer needs.

A few things that didn't work for me:
1. The formatting of this digital galley on the Kindle app is almost unreadable. Paragraphs run into each other, different colored fonts, footnotes appear randomly on pages in the middle of other paragraphs, etc. I trust this won't be an issue in the final version, but it made reading the ARC very challenging.
2. While I appreciate the author's sense of humor, there were many times where it felt a bit heavy-handed and unnecessary.
3. Some readers may not appreciate the amount of cursing (does not bother me, but in a book labeled "gentle", this may not be expected.

Overall, a quick read, and I always appreciate an author who attempts to motivate other writers to just begin.

This book is everything every writer needs to hear, no matter where they are in their writing journey, and delivered in the way that only Chuck Wendig can--full of humor, snark, and flat-out TRUTH.

What I enjoyed most about this book was that I didn't proclaim to have all the "answers." I could relate to a lot of the advice he gave and applied some to my own writing. I like the author's style. He's funny and I appreciated that he's honest about his own experience as a novelist. Some of the chapters felt a little redundant and I found myself skipping passages. Overall, I would recommend this to other writers who are looking for advice that is a little different from others in this field.

I laughed when I read the title of this book. If you’ve ever read any of his other books on writing or read posts on his website, gentle isn’t a word you’d likely really expect to see associated with writing advice from Chuck Wendig. His advice has always been over-the-top/in your face, Bobcat Goldthwait screaming at the top of his lungs. (I’m probably dating myself with that reference.) His advice tended to be filled with plenty of 4-letter words and crazy offbeat humor. Before I started reading I was worried what this new ‘gentle’ Chuck might have in store. Fear not, if you liked Chuck’s previous ‘style’, that honestly hasn’t changed. The cursing is still here (perhaps a bit toned down…but then again perhaps not) and his twisted humor is still intact. And he lets you know this is the case right up front. He also lets you know that this advice may work for you or it may not. He definitely dishes out plenty of advice, but I think you can really boil it down his new attitude of…you need to be flexible in your approach to writing. He did things a certain way for so long, believing it was THE WAY (not to be confused with the Mandalorian’s This is the way!) but then he started having trouble around the time he was working on Wanderers. The way he had always done things just wasn’t working, and he had to rethink his approach to writing books. If you weren’t a fan of Chuck beforehand, this book won’t change that. While his advice is now different, less regimental, his writing style hasn’t changed. Those easily offended are definitely advised to steer clear. But if you are looking for what I consider to be sound/well reasoned writing advice, albeit delivered in Chuck’s patented over the top, in your face, occasionally a bit rambling and laced with twisted humor then snag a copy of this book. It’s definitely not a traditional book on writing, but it is vintage Wendig. And I’m a fan of that! I’d like to thank Penguin Random House, Writer's Digest Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Gentle Writing Advice: How to Be a Writer Without Destroying Yourself.

I can honestly say this is the only writing advice book that’s made me laugh, and snort a little, too. It’s also the only writing advice text I’ve read that uses the swears in all their respective glory. Coincidence? I think not! This book has more todo with getting your mind set in the right place to write. I feel like it’s what we need right now. Whether you’re a writer or any kind of creative soul, you need a little reset, a little here-I-am-fellow-human voice to gently push you. This is a pleasure to read,and a reminder of why and how we write.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a non-traditional book on writing. Wendig shares writing advice in a non-linear way peppered with with footnotes. Wendig's tone is informative, sarcastic, humorous, and approachable. The book is broken into multiple sections on what writing is, how to write, how to break rules, and more. Wendig shares his own experiences writing and talks about the importance of finding what works for you. There's also helpful information about burnout, though that may be less accessible to some.

Overall it's an interesting read.