This is a very accessible, straightforward book that fulfills the commitment set forth in the title "gentle writing advice."

As I embark on an attempt to write my first novel, the advice provided was much needed and appreciated.
The author of the book finds the right balance between recognizing the pressure of writing while reminding the reader that it isn't a high stakes game.

A refreshing reminder of why we write. There are some gems in here for navigating the treacherous world of the creative mind. The footnotes, while fun at first, become tiresome and irritating by the end of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy

I’ll be honest, the wonky format and some mixed up paragraphs almost turned me off of this arc. It made it really hard to read, but the message was still there. Written more like a free write instead of a structured craft book, write in the way that works best for you. This may seem like a juvenile and obvious message, but it’s not. As writers we are given an overload of information telling us that certain rules for writing are the end-all-be-all, but those rules don’t work for everyone. Chuck’s book is more of a guide to living as a writer without killing yourself doing it. And wow is he HILARIOUS.

Huge thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

As a person who identifies as a writer and who teaches young children to become writers, I often find myself reading books on the subject. There are many kinds of books in this area written by small named writers with tiny bibliographies to larger more prolific writers. Everyone has their own take on writing advice and I really enjoyed Chuck Wendigs advice in his new book ‘Gentle Writing Advice’.

I hate any writing program for students that advertises ‘steps to success’ or ‘must use tools’ as if writing is a process akin to paint by numbers. That’s what drew me to this book. As the blurb describes;

“The truth is that all of the "writing rules" you've learned are bullshit. Sure, they work for some people, but the likelihood that they'll work for you--unique butterfly of a person that you are--is slim.”

The advice at times seems to lack the gentleness referee to in the title but sometime that’s what we need.

Instead of providing a formulaic process to writing, Chuck lays the writing process out for the reader in all its messes glory. He realises that he doesn’t hold the key, the treasure or the grail. What he has is the road map and all the available turns that you can make.
Don’t want to turn left, that’s fine, make a right and see where it takes you, if you make a mistake try making a left at the next turn.

Wendig shows that writing is work. You make mistakes, you trial things, you work hard. Being a writer does not make you a master of some mystic art but a person who works hard on their craft, like any other occupation.

This is not a book for anyone looking for the ‘easy way’, ‘follow these steps’, ‘dummies guide’ style advice for writing that is so prevalent in the market today. This is a real look into the writers craft. I loved this book and it’s down to earth advice and would highly recommend it for writers, aspiring writers or teachers of writers.

This was an entertaining read and brought a lot of humour to what can be a draining and stressful process. I appreciated the authors honesty and the fact that they used themselves and the way they write as an example for both 'good and bad' form. Ultimately confirming that there is really no such thing! Writing is a beautiful form of creative expression and we should all be so lucky to get to delve into it at some point in our lives!

Thank you to Author Chuck Wendig, Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with this ARC. This review has been given freely and is my own opinion. Look out for publication on June 6th 2023!

For a book that promised *gentle* writing advice, I was not planning for it to give off the vibe of when you just meet someone and you're thinking "wow, your enthusiasm level is *so high* right now and I'mma really really need you to bring it down...several hundred levels"

Instead of a quiet chat over tea, it felt like the author was running around me in circles, talking so fast that their sentences slur together and I'm dizzy just listening

They also tried *so hard* to be funny in a way that didn't hit for me. Also, I wasn't expecting*so much* language (yes, there's a warning at the beginning. Unfortunately, I had already requested the book on NetGalley, so I decided to try it anyway, because I want to keep my NetGalley score up)

It also just...felt like there was nothing really of substance. It felt like the author was writing an entire book to say "I don't know what will work for you, you'll have to figure it out for yourself" which isn't necessarily bad advice, but notice how I said it in a sentence?

I don't know what I was expecting. But it wasn't this... :/

5 starring because there's no way this isn't going to be amazing, but the formatting of the digital galley makes it absolutely unreadable on Kindle. Sob!!