A Writer's Book of Days: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life - Judy Reeves

First published a decade ago, has become the ideal writing coach for thousands of writers. Newly revised, with new prompts, up-to-date Web resources, and more useful information than ever, this invaluable guide offers something for everyone looking to put pen to paper — a treasure trove of practical suggestions, expert advice, and powerful inspiration.

Judy Reeves meets you wherever you may be on a given day with:

• get-going prompts and exercises
• insight into writing blocks
• tips and techniques for finding time and creating space
• ways to find images and inspiration
• advice on working in writing groups
• suggestions, quips, and trivia from accomplished practitioners

Reeves's holistic approach addresses every aspect of what makes creativity possible (and joyful) — the physical, emotional, and spiritual. And like a smart, empathetic inner mentor, she will help you make every day a writing day.

Named one of the five hottest writing books by Writer's Digest

Amazon.com Review

Musicians practice. Athletes practice. And so, too, argues Judy Reeves, should writers practice. Her Writer's Book of Days provides a "writing prompt" for each day of the year, and then some: "Write about a time someone said yes"; "Write about leaving"; "Something seemed different." The more you practice, says Reeves, the more you write. And writing from a prompt, she adds, is like having "someone provid[e] the music when you want to dance." The prompts are the backbone of this book, but its pages are fleshed out with advice, inspiration, quotations from writers, encouragement, and a profusion of literary tidbits. Write from the sense, Reeves recommends. Audition words. Take risks. And when all else fails, amuse yourself with these astonishing tidbits from literary lives: T.S. Eliot, we learn, preferred writing with a head cold; Flaubert kept his lover's slippers and mittens in his desk drawer; and Friedrich von Schiller liked to invoke his muse by sniffing rotten apples. --Jane Steinberg

Review

“This book dances around the imagination and makes you take out your pens and journal to play.”
— SARK, artist/author of Succulent Wild Woman

“Any time someone asks me for writing tips — How can I start? What do you do about writer's block? — I suggest they peruse this wonderful compendium of writing lore, empathy, and daily practice.”
— Janet Fitch, author of Paint It Black and White Oleander

“A delightful mix of commonsense and inspiration…I suggest this book to every writing seminar graduate — a way to take the experience home and carry on.”
— Christina Baldwin, author of Storycatcher and Life's Companion

“Sure to quench the thirst for inspiration. Reeves's work will find the creative in every writer, and bring it dancing onto the page.”
— Fiction Writer

“An invaluable guide for the writer…Full of delicious prompts, exercises, insights, and inspirational tips, it will get people who dream of becoming real writers to do what real writers do — sit down joyfully and get to work!”
— Steve Kowit, author of In the Palm of Your Hand