Without coming across as self-help-ish in tone, Attenberg offers frank, sound advice on building a mindset conducive to jumpstarting or resuming a creative practice. Her guidance is interspersed with pep talks from guest authors who have contributed to the summer events over the last several years, gathered here in a thoughtful, thematic arrangement. The overall effect is a sense of commonality and community in the struggles and joys that writers experience. This is a book that a writer could pick up again and again when in search of kind but firm encouragement at any stage of the writing process.

Simon Element provided an early galley for review.

Running the monthly writing group at our library, I know how important inspiration and motivation can be for those trying to get their stories out of their heads and on to the paper. This book provides quite a bit of that.

While many writers will likely have heard much of this advice before (it is not rocket-science), we all often need to be reminded of these things to help keep us focused and on-track. Hearing from other writers adds to the supportive foundation. Knowing that even published professionals struggle with the process now and again can actually be encouraging for the rest of us.

I followed along with the 1000 words project when it was done in emails, so some of the essays were re-reads for me, and no less helpful for that. Indeed, in its expanded capacity, I can see myself going back to it again and again whenever I need a pick me up, no matter where I am in my creative process.

I am in the middle of National Novel Writing Month, and I have been in desperate need of some inspiration. Luckily, I think NetGalley heard me, because earlier this month I was gifted an ARC of 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg. In 2018, Attenberg created the social media movement #1000WordsofSummer, which challenged writers to write 1,000 words a day. The trend took off, with writers joining in on the movement to share their progress and inspire others. In 1000 Words, Attenberg expands her thoughts on writing, with a chorus of over fifty contemporary writers discussing their writing advice and writing process.

1000 Words is broken up into chapters of short author essays along with Attenberg’s advice for each “season” of writing: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Each author’s contribution varies in length and topic. This work has such a variety of writers, and there is bound to be one of your favorites included. Roxane Gay, Jasmine Guillory, and Andrew Sean Greer were some of the names I recognized.

I felt that Attenberg’s sections of advice were average. Not terrible, just pieces of advice I have read from other books about the craft of writing. Instead, I found the most value from reading about contemporary authors discussing their approach to writing or what inspired them to write. It was ironic that Attenberg and many other authors mention the futility of offering writing advice in a book advising writers. But their claims are correct: most writing advice can be boiled down to the sentiment “just write.”

What I found most rewarding was less about the writing advice and more about reading about why each author loved to write. Most of this boiled down to, “I just like it,” but I still relished reading about my favorite author’s attitudes toward their writing processes.

I would recommend this book less for beginning authors craving advice and more for seasoned writers and readers who want to read more about their favorite authors. This is the perfect to ignite your passion for writing again, especially if you are suffering from writer’s block.

1000 Words will be published on January 9, 2024.


READ IF:
+ You want to participate in #1000WordsofSummer and want a companion work as you begin.
+ You are a writer suffering through writer’s block and need some inspiration.
+ You love reading about your favorite author’s writing process.

This series of inspirational essays from Jami Attenberg and more than fifty authors including Megan Abbott, Roxane Gay, Attica Locke, Carmen Maria Machado, Benjamin Percy, and Bryan Washington provides encouragement for writers. This book was born after Attenberg and a friend planned to write 1000 words a day over two weeks and tweeted about their progress with the hashtag #1000Wordsof summer while trying to avoid any kind of judgment.

The book is divided into to the following sections: introduction, choosing to write, the seasons, winter, spring, summer, fall, and year round. Each section includes several essays from Attenberg and the other authors.

I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and the way the book was organized, which provided a palatable structure. In a moment of serendipity, I found myself reading Brian Washington’s essay soon after I finished his wonderful story “Foster” in The Best American Short Stories 2022. His essay, which advises a writer to trust themself and give themself grace, happened to be exactly what I needed to hear at the time.

This book covers a lot of ground as it explores myriad aspects of the task of getting words on the page while tackling the emotions and vulnerabilities associated with the process and beyond. The book even delves into ancillary topics such as tips related to knowing when a piece is done, and giving and receiving feedback.

Many of the authors mentioned the effects of the pandemic on their writing, offering hope for those dealing with grief and things that make it especially difficult to meet writing goals.

My only real issue with the book was that every so often an image with writing advice that was included written in a tiny font that I found difficult to read on my ereader. This issue may be resolved in the final ebook version and in the print book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

For writers looking for motivation, creative development and productivity, Jami Attenberg has a program -- it is based in writing 1000 words a day without fail. This is a very useful book for anyone who feels stalled as a writer and wants to push things through to another level. Conversational, compassionate, and upbeat -- this is a writer's shelf must have.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for the ARC of 1000 Words in exchange for an honest review.

Upon finishing I immediately went online to join Jami's newsletter for the 1000 Words Challenge (though I'd love to have this as a habit before June 2024).

The short notes and input from other writers are inspirational, and some of them I really related to from my own journey. Writing can be isolating, and 1000 Words acknowledges this but also shows the commonalities between us all. It's definitely a book that would be good to open on a daily basis for new encouragement.

This was a wonderful surprise. I think reading about the writing process is fascinating and this book was a deep dive into just that. I can see myself returning to this many times in the future and will certainly be buying a physical copy.

Several years ago, I worked with a group of advanced high school writers and we used Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones as our text book. The young writers loved the experience and I loved the combination of writing practice + inspiration the book provided. Jami Attenberg's 1000 Words offers the same deeply felt practice + inspiration as Goldberg. I've been a long follower of Attenberg and used her #1000wordsofsummer to get my own writing done. I will definitely be building a writing course around 1000 Words as a textbook.

Inspired by Jami Attenberg's #1000wordsofsummer challenge, 1000 Words is a writing motivation book reflecting on her and dozens of participating authors' experiences with the experiment and the years afterward. The writing is mainly Attenberg's, but the other authors occasionally pitch in their thoughts to support her ideas and thesis with their own experiences.

The advice is covered in four "seasons" of the writer's cycle (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall), starting from creative mindset, getting motivation to start writing, drafting, and to editing and publishing, this covers the entire gambit of motivation. This is not a "how to" writing craft book or a prompt book (though there's a few prompts in it), but focuses on mindset, which is great for those in creative burnout and ruts, especially for newbies. While at first, I was almost ready to dismiss the book with the long winded introduction, something started to click during the "Winter" chapters, and by the time I got to the “Spring" chapter, I was all in. I was highlighting and taking notes throughout the rest of the read, full of quotes and insights. I appreciate that some of the advice does clash, which is more options for writers to take if one doesn't work. I also love the little notes throughout the book to take quick action. I wasn't a huge fan of the overwhelming references to 2020 events (especially in the latter half), as it took me out of the motivation and made me think more about those events (and made me think of burnout, as 2020 events were a factor to my own spiral), and it also dates the book (book release is 3 years after the end of 2020). However, it does add a historical footprint to the work and some aspects of the lessons can apply at any time of crisis. Overall, this is more of a collection of insights with a cohesive theme than a single book, which makes is easy to just pick a page and turn it to it.

This was a great tool for me as I'm working out my own creative rut (after extended burnout from constant negativity). This is a must for all writers who doubt their own creative spirit and I believe other creatives will get something out of this too!

Books about the creative process tend to be hit or miss for me. This one was a huge hit! The way it was organized and the topics covered made me feel incredibly seen and understood as an author, and I appreciated that Jami's advice was supplemented with letters from other creatives. I felt so motivated reading this that I started aiming for 1000 words a day instead of my previous goal of 500 and managed to stick with it for most of the homestretch of drafting my third book (and then only paused while recovering from a very bad cold). Definitely something I plan on buying for myself and for all of my writer friends!

I read this while working on a book project of my own and it was inspiring, comforting, and useful. I'd recommend writers add this book to their shelf of books on craft.

1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg is a collection of essays intended to provide reasons to write and inspire writing. The author spends a lot of time discussing the why of writing and the obstacles to writing. I expected more daily prompts. Instead, the author discusses writing in each season. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I was one of the lucky ones to receive an ARC copy from NetGalley, (Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster.) but that doesn’t mean that I won’t buy the book. I will buy 1000 Words not only for myself but also for my friends. It will be such a great addition to my shelf of my most treasured books about writing.

Jami Attenberg, with the help of letters she had received from other writers, doesn’t fail to inspire. Actually, she succeeds. She gently motivates us creatives to do better, to do more. But what I love the most is that Ms. Attenberg understands the daily struggles that writers go through, and with much empathy and wisdom, she guides all writers through the process.

As she says, "value your creative self." So let’s write 1000 words. Now. Every day.

Engaging and accessible. A recommended purchase for collections where writing craft titles are popular.

It took me awhile to get through this one because it's jam packed with practical tips & advice. I have an abundance of highlights & post-its from it, sprinkled throughout my home office. As an aspiring writer who loses focus so often, due to outside influences, this book was extremely helpful. It reminded me that I have a story that needs to be heard and helped me cultivate ways to get my thoughts on paper. If you've even thought about writing a book or a blog, I highly recommend this book.

5 ⭐️

Positively bursting with support, encouragement, and practical advice, 1000 Words is a book every writer (aspiring or deeply entrenched in career) should have on their shelves. I can't wait to add a hard copy to my own collection. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in advance of publication!

I am subscribed to Jami Attenberg’s Substack, Craft Talk, and have followed her #1000WordsofSummer almost since its inception, writing good chunks of my new memoir and my current WIP during those two week stretches each summer since 2020. So I pretty much knew what this book was going to be: a lively collection of essays about writing craft, motivation, and inspiration by Jami and other talented and exciting writers. It is all that but it is much more; the book, 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round available for pre-order now, was a revelation.

The pieces written by the other authors are quite excellent, but it is the interplay between those essays and those by Jami herself that make the book such a valuable resource. This is a book for beginning writers, sure, but also for those of us who know all the practical advice (some of us even write that advice!) but who need to hear it from different points of view, using different metaphors and imagery. As with all the best “how-to” writing, it is the way someone writes something tried and true that can make it resonate anew.

I also appreciated the book’s diversity of voices, not just the spectrum of emerging writers to more well-known authors, but people of so many different identities and races that make this book feel so much like the wider artistic community I dream of existing within. I belong to a writers’ group whose members come in a wide variety of skin colors, are gay and straight, married and not, and who range from very religious to atheistic. We not only get along, we love and support each other like family. That caring family of writers is what this book feels like.

This is a book to have on your bookshelf for life, one you will pick up to get that boost for beginning your day’s proposed writing, or to propel your work to new heights during revisions and rewrites. It’s a book chock-full of reminders: of why you have chosen this path in life, how you can live the life you chose in new and brave ways, and why writing—and all art—is important to the world. Yes, community can save us. It will save us. It must.

As a writer, I have a very nice collection of references books, ideas and musings. I will be adding the hard copy of this to my library.

Ms. Attenburg is the voice you want to hear when you need motivation and creativity maybe some encouragement. When writer is right books on writing and they write them this good It's absolutely thrilling. I will be researching more of her books She has a new fan for life.

Fantastic book recommend it for any writers of any kinds.

I have been a fan of Jami Attenburg's 1000 Words of Summer for a while so when I saw she had this book out I jumped at the chance to read and review it. It's everything that my writer's heart desired. Each chapter is encouraging and motivating and honestly, is the pep talk that I need- I cant wait to get a hard copy and bookmark the pages to turn to during those tough hours. I enjoyed reading about the writing life from all the different writers - it's nice to have this unified support. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.