Never Say You Can't Survive

Necessary reading for any creatives out there, whether writers or just livers-of-life. It's inspiring, it's helpful on a craft level, it's just nice to be in the community that CJA has built (and continues to build!), particularly when things don't exactly feel at all light or hopeful most days.

This wonderful writing book includes five sections which cover getting started, what to write about, what constitutes a story, feelings, and writerly tricks. Some of the individual topics include imposter syndrome, uncertainty, creating characters, voice, ideas, endings, emotion, revision, plotting, common story problems, character change, world building, weirdness, writing about other experiences, and relationships.

The book is a compilation of writing essays written for Tordotcom to share advice for writing despite obstacles such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The book includes plenty of examples and exercises and Charlie Jane Anders’ encouragement is like having a personal cheerleader. Each essay has a conversational tone making the information more palatable than a typical writing craft book. I especially liked the chapters on keeping writing fun, writing about different experiences/cultures, and writing the story only you can tell.

While Anders is a speculative fiction writer and some of the craft advice relates specifically to storytelling, NEVER SAY YOU CAN SURVIVE is an excellent resource for all writers whether they write genre, literary, non-fiction, or poetry.

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

Thanks to Tordotcom for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

Charlie Jane Anders is one of my favorite authors. This is the first nonfiction book I've read of hers. It is a book about the writing process. Anders focuses on how writing can be helpful during difficult times and then on how to write. I read this on my kindle and found myself constantly bookmarking sections that I wanted to go back and reread. There is just so much practical information about writing: developing characters, revisions, plots, writer's block. But what I think sets this book apart (and above), is how Anders wrote it as if giving advice to a friend. It's as if, she is sitting in a coffee shop sharing wisdom with a friend. Her writing is personal and funny and helps to remove the mystique from writing. I think that anyone interested in writing, either in appreciation of books in general or in writing their own stories would enjoy Never Say You Can't Survive.
I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Never Say You Can't Survive is a lot more than a manual about writing and life – it is solid gold sprinkled with fairy dust.
I am a bestselling published author in three genres, and a totally story structure geek, and I can honestly say that this is the first book that I have read in a long time that made me stop in my tracks, think hard about the writing process, and come out the other side inspired and motivated.
I took five pages of detailed notes on everything from characterisation and the psychology of community support systems to the power of positive literature in a time of international crisis.
It is difficult to select specific examples from a book where every page seems to have a unique thought-provoking insight into story development, but I particularly enjoyed the chapters on using plot devices and turning points and how to leverage the ending to drive the revision process. Also, how to use the power or emotion and sensory description to add layers of interest to any scene. The chapter on worldbuilding was remarkable!
I would heartily recommend this book to any writer who wants to develop their story craft and build amazing works of fiction – and have fun doing it.