Member Review
Review by
Marz H, Reviewer
This book was absolutely fantastic!!! Particularly for writers like myself, who like to plan a little, but also discover our stories as we go. I hope it makes it to Waterstones so I can get a physical copy
I have completed my one week of writing (using my work in progress for the exercises), mostly focusing on the core exercises since I have been quite busy, so I will briefly mention what I got from each of those (but there are also fun warmups and "stretches" to do before and after the core exercises, and there are some that I really want to try out!)
* Day 1 (ideas): got to understand the things that drive me and had a fun time particularly dissecting the life stories that made me who I am today
* Day 2 (characters): felt closer to my two main characters after doing the exercise for each of them. It was a nice icebreaker to start coming up with more vivid details about them, and much easier to get into than, say, a character sheet
* Day 3 (setting): worldbuilding is hard, but this exercise made it simpler and tied it to the characters, which made the setting come alive. My writing has felt much more vivid since I did this.
* Day 4 (plot and planning): i was a bit hesitant about the mini-storyboard since planning has always worked poorly for me, but this was the right amount of planning, and can also be adapted and expanded if you're more of a plotter
* Day 5 (drafting): this was based on the previous work I did on character and setting, pulling from the mini-storyboard, and I could really feel the difference. I ended up writing way more than the suggested number of words!
* Day 6 (rest): loved that the workshop included this! It is very important to let a draft breathe before revising
* Day 7 (revision): for some reason this was what frightened me the most, and it took me longer than any of the other exercises. I need to get better at revision! I ended up changing a lot of what I wrote on Day 5, but the essence was still there (and it's always easier to write when you don't have a blank page staring at you)
All in all, I would say this is the best writing book I have ever come across, and there have been quite a few. I had never been able to complete a writing workshop! Most of the writing books I have read are very plotter-oriented and leave me stuck in "endless planning, no actual writing" mode, but this is applied, and feels simple enough that I found it easy to start, and then the results kept me coming back for more.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC!
I have completed my one week of writing (using my work in progress for the exercises), mostly focusing on the core exercises since I have been quite busy, so I will briefly mention what I got from each of those (but there are also fun warmups and "stretches" to do before and after the core exercises, and there are some that I really want to try out!)
* Day 1 (ideas): got to understand the things that drive me and had a fun time particularly dissecting the life stories that made me who I am today
* Day 2 (characters): felt closer to my two main characters after doing the exercise for each of them. It was a nice icebreaker to start coming up with more vivid details about them, and much easier to get into than, say, a character sheet
* Day 3 (setting): worldbuilding is hard, but this exercise made it simpler and tied it to the characters, which made the setting come alive. My writing has felt much more vivid since I did this.
* Day 4 (plot and planning): i was a bit hesitant about the mini-storyboard since planning has always worked poorly for me, but this was the right amount of planning, and can also be adapted and expanded if you're more of a plotter
* Day 5 (drafting): this was based on the previous work I did on character and setting, pulling from the mini-storyboard, and I could really feel the difference. I ended up writing way more than the suggested number of words!
* Day 6 (rest): loved that the workshop included this! It is very important to let a draft breathe before revising
* Day 7 (revision): for some reason this was what frightened me the most, and it took me longer than any of the other exercises. I need to get better at revision! I ended up changing a lot of what I wrote on Day 5, but the essence was still there (and it's always easier to write when you don't have a blank page staring at you)
All in all, I would say this is the best writing book I have ever come across, and there have been quite a few. I had never been able to complete a writing workshop! Most of the writing books I have read are very plotter-oriented and leave me stuck in "endless planning, no actual writing" mode, but this is applied, and feels simple enough that I found it easy to start, and then the results kept me coming back for more.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC!
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
