The Writing Life

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Summary: Sit back. Relax. Enjoy The Writing Life!
Review: Annie Dillard's The Writing Life, for me, was like having a relaxing conversation with a friend about the pains and joys of writing. I identified with every sentence -- from starting over again on a writing project, to disliking the beginning of a work but loving the middle, to growing in this craft, etc... It is an addiction, and addictions are not easy to explain, so I understand the negative reviews of this book as well. Writing is an unexplainable yet enjoyable frustration. Annie Dillard's metaphores trying to explain the positive and negative aspects of writing -- from painting, to reeling in a log and fighting the forces of nature, to flying -- they are clear-cut, percise views of what writing is all about. This book is great for writers who just enjoy what writng is: annoying, aggrevating, frustrating, soul-searching, creative, self-understanding fun. Read this book. Relax. Enjoy The Writing Life.

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Summary: Science and Writing
Review: As a scientist, Annie Dillard's The Writing Life gave me hope. That a scientist is not much more than a specialist writer became clear to me. The same hopes, frustrations, the testing of ideas, the sometimes total absorption that a writer needs to produce a work that will not crumble to dust, these are the same things a scientist need to produce knowledge that will join what is known to what is not known, without hidden cracks and flaws.

Also, the work you throw away is always the first part, and sometimes the part you spent the most effort on. Your work turns alive in your hands, and what becomes written often is not what you started out on.

It takes years to write a book, Annie Dillard says: she is right. A PhD thesis takes two to five years to write, and that is just the start of a career! We are just fortuanate that we mostly need to write only 'short stories', and that our work is seldom read by a critical public.

Annie Dillard showed me that creativity is a deeply human activity, no matter what field you work in.

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Summary: Do not hurry; do not rest.
Review: Do not read this book if you expect that your motor will be awakened for the first time; look elsewhere if you've not been an exhausted writer, humiliated in your attempts to lay down a long line of text. She didn't write this book for you. This book was written for they who have entered that room and turned their backs on it. To all others, she urges you to go and learn a useful trade. Sorry.
The Writing Life is comfort for the writer: that "It takes years to write a book--between two and ten years. Less is so rare as to be statistically insignificant". In this book, Annie lays out the long labor of writing good work. It's not a text book, it's not 'writing for dummies'. It is beautifully stark and powerful writing, laced with the same brilliance that fills her novels. She doesn't aim to teach you how to crank out 5 pages a day, 25 a week, three books a year, a career of comfort and success--she stares the word white in the face, says it's useless to tame it, it's useless to expect--and still the words come. She says slow at first, and slow in the middle and end. Always slow, one sentence at a time. She says: "Get to work. Your work is to keep cranking the flywheel that turns the gears that spin the belt in the engine of belief that keeps you and your desk in midair".
Tired writers, find some rest here and then move on: inward and upward. This book is so full of joys and wisdom, I read it through once, and opened it again. I'm now on my second read in a week and finding the desire to write ever stronger in my hands and my gut.
It's great. Go read.

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Summary: testing
Review: fjjjlgjgljljsl jjaljldjl v

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Summary: AMBROSIAL FEAST FOR TEACHERS OF WRITING
Review: How did I miss this one when it first appeared? Lyrical, inspiring, full of sound advice and graspable metaphors, this book is a must on any writer/writing teacher's shelf. If you have ever tried to write something or attempted to teach someone else what writing is all about, this book will make your job easier. I was especially taken by Ms. Dillard's deftness on the subjects of audience ("Why are we reading, if not in the hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed?") and revision ("Some of the walls are bearing walls; they have to stay, or everything will fall down. Other walls can go with impunity; you can hear the difference."). And for us Dillard sycophants,what a shock to learn that Dillard wrote Pilgrim at Tinker Creek in a small, dark cubicle while subsisting on "dinner, coffee, Coke, chocolate milk and Vantage cigarettes." Way to be, Annie

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Summary: Simply lovely......
Review: I finished this book in two quick sittings. The language is beautiful, the content is inspiring. This is the first book I've read by Dillard, now I'm purchasing her others...I enjoy the way she presents ideas and her original thinking. Writers will be nourished by this book, and everyone else will enjoy her insights...this book is as much about HOW to live a life, as choosing to live a writing life.

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Summary: A Great Little Book...
Review: I have never read anything by Annie Dillard before, but after finishing 'The Writing Life' I am eager for more. I cannot imagine that many non-writers would be interested in this type of book, but much of what Dillard has to say can easily be applied to other creative outlets as well as to living an inspired life in general. So do not be deterred, non-writers.

At the outset of the book, Dillard offers up her insights into the writing craft. This takes the form of a series of imaginative page-long pieces, many of which materialize into unique, gently-stated, and beautifully written advice. Dillard then goes on to relate a succession of experiences that somehow tie in to the life of a writer. She does an excellent job of combing through her life experiences and siphoning out the right material.

In this short but impressive little book, Dillard charms us with her wit, disarms us with her modesty, astonishes us with her resourcefulness, woos us with her insight, and comforts the writer in each of us with her encouragement. Most of Dillard's encouragement arrives through her expression of the difficulty she has encountered while writing, and it is nice to know that strong and meaningful prose does not come naturally to all great writers... and Dillard is most certainly that... a great writer.

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Summary: WOnderful!
Review: I have read this book at least three times now -- and will read it again yet. An inspiring and poetic piece of work. I am an author myself, and to Annie Dillard I say: Thank you!

This book, however, is not just for writers, it is for all who read. A treasure of a book.

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Summary: My Favorite Book of the Season
Review: I loved this book. I read it slowly, savoring it like dense, good chocolate.
Carolyn M. Jupp, fellow reviewer, wrote that she felt disappointed in the lack of practical writing advice. Certainly, this is not a book filled with writing excercises, stylistic suggestions, or even much in the way of encouragement. Rather, it's a peek into the mind of a profoundly talented artist and I found it infinitely more helpful than the dozens of practical writing guides I've read in the past year.
Dillard's book is filled with gorgeous metaphors, and if you look closely enough, and then maybe look up to see a cloud passing by, you will learn from them. I promise.

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Summary: Definitely not a how to book. But very inspirational
Review: I was in search of books on essays, not so much on how to write but how to go about writing. The approach, the discipline of writing. I have been a writer of technical material most of my life and I wanted to look at non-technical writing. This little book was not what I was looking for at the time, but it is definitely inspirational in unexpected ways.

The book seemed to be unstructured, even though it is. The ideas within each chapter leads nicely into one another and it tells Annie Dillards story of what she fights with daily as a writer and what joys she finds in writing, the joys which continues to propel her onward at her craft. I enjoyed the book thoroughly even though I stumbled onto it by accident. Ms Dillard kind of gave me a "hang in there, I've been there too.." feeling, which is always comforting. She also uses some incredible writing to convey her experience. So you can look at the book on many levels, as a very nice work of writing, as an advice book, and as an enjoyable read.