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Summary: Where was Julia Cameron when I was in Composition?
Review: Thank God for Julia Cameron's book that frees us from all of the should's and should not's that we learned from composition class. I have enjoyed writing so much when I was so full of thoughts I just had to write them down, but I would go for months and months with ideas that would be stifled by all of the voices of english teachers in my head. Thank you for freeing that voice. I now look forward to writing a couple of times a day.
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Summary: Personal Insights With A Hook
Review: I bought this book a few days ago, and sailed through 100 pages the first day. I have yet to finish it, but I recommend it highly. I especially liked the exercises at the end of each chapter. This is a great book for anyone stuck at a certain level of personal development in any area of life.
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Summary: Essential for all writers and those who wish they were.
Review: "The Right to Write" is an essential tool for all writers, even, or perhaps especially, for those who do not yet realize they are writers. Throughout this very readable book Ms. Cameron encourages us not only to write but to live the life of a writer. The fundamental concept of the work is quite simple: 'show up at the page'. Just the act of writing allows us to tap into our own creativity which will result in a charge of energy with which to write, sculpt, paint or merely live. Those of us who put words to paper but are too humble to take on the mantle of Writer can find solace in this book. This is not a manual of writing, style or grammar. In fact, early in the book the author encourages us to 'write badly': to ignore the voice of our high school grammarians and to allow our words to flow to the page. There will be time later, she tells us, to bother with the mechanics. We will never get to that point unless we learn to start the journey and to live the life of a writer daily. Strictly speaking, this may not even be a book about creativity or writing. "The Right to Write" teaches us about living a life conducive to writing and nurturing the artist in us all.
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Summary: Essential for all writers and those who wish they were.
Review: "The Right to Write" is an essential tool for all writers, even, or perhaps especially, for those who do not yet realize they are writers. Throughout this very readable book Ms. Cameron encourages us not only to write but to live the life of a writer. The fundamental concept of the work is quite simple: 'show up at the page'. Just the act of writing allows us to tap into our own creativity which will result in a charge of energy with which to write, sculpt, paint or merely live. Those of us who put words to paper but are too humble to take on the mantle of Writer can find solice in this book. This is not a manual of writing, style or grammar. In fact, early in the book the author encourages us to 'write badly': to ignore the voice of our high school grammarians and to allow our words to flow to the page. There will be time later, she tells us, to bother with the mechanics. We will never get to that point unless we learn to start the journey and to live the life of a writer daily. Strictly speaking, this may not even be a book about 'creativity'. "The Right to Write" teaches us about living a life conducive to writing and nurturing the artist in us all. NOTE: As webmaster for the Artist's Way mail list I received an advance copy of the book from the editor. I strongly encourage all fans of Ms. Cameron, writers and anyone interested in living life more creatively to get this book! Dave Butler
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Summary: Thank you Julia Cameron
Review: For aspiring writers, there are many books that teach, inspire and train a writer's growth. Julia Cameron's book, "The Right to Write" is the most comprehensive, emotionally attached writing book I have yet to encounter. Honest, direct and understanding, Ms. Cameron provides inspiration by sharing her own with the world. Her experience as a writer never underminds those writers with less experience. She understands that writing is personal, therefore she teaches from her personal perspective.
This is not only the best writing book I have read, it is also one of the best books I have ever read.
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Summary: Some invitations are more like a summons
Review: Some invitations are more like a summons: the family dinner,the company Christmas party, your cousin's baby shower. If writing is your passion, Julia Cameron's "The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation to the Writing Life" is just such an invitation. The former Miami Vice writer's generosity, unflinching honesty, and encouragement make "The Right to Write" an event not to be missed.
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Summary: I get the point already!
Review: I liked Julia Cameron's "The Writer's Way," and found it had a good balance of practical tips and inspirational thoughts and above all a practical program to use on the road to reawakening the creative impulse. But this is getting a bit indulgent when you take one idea that rehash it into variations on the same theme. I don't particularly care that Cameron feels alive and excited while "covering" a rock concert. I don't particularly care what she finds inspiring, and she does too much of that in this book. She lambasts writing guides that say to find the right pen, paper, time of day to write; she advocates demystifying the writing process so that it can be as much of a habit as brushing one's teeth. She basically seems to be saying to other writers who write about writing "I'm right and you're wrong if you have a different perspective." I'm beginning to get the feeling like Seinfeld, her whole show is "about nothing." I suppose if you make nothing seem like something you have a hit. At least Seinfeld had interesting characters engaged in quirky, subversive behaviors. Cameron, at least in this book, sounds like a "hip" school marm. Alas, a school marm is a school marm. Stephen King opens his excellent book entitled "On Writing" with the comment that he plans it to be a short book because there is too much b.s. written about writing; he doesn't use the abbreviation, however. This book adds to the amount; maybe we should be doing some reducing.
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Summary: Julia Cameron: Books are National Treasures - Read 'Em All!
Review: I am an avid reader of Julia Cameron - and I had taken my time in reading this particular title.
The title turned me off - it reminded me of "the entitlement mindset" which annoys the heck out of me... and reminded me of how turned off I had been by "The Artist's Way" at first, until I allowed its truth and glory to shine through and into my heart.
I am so grateful I got out of my way and into this book!
Each delightfully short chapter zeroes in on a simple topic followed by an initiation tool.
What I especially enjoyed was seeing the echoes of Cameron's own tools in the writing itself.
I read this one straight through - hungrily - taking on some of the initiation tools, not all.
I can see myself going through it again, really working with the tools... some of which are familiar and some of which I have been doing intuitively, without Julie C's guidance.
What a blessing Julia Cameron is to the world of writers and creative souls everywhere.
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Summary: Thank you Julia Cameron
Review: For aspiring writers, there are many books that teach, inspire and train a writer's growth. Julia Cameron's book, "The Right to Write" is the most comprehensive, emotionally attached writing book I have yet to encounter. Honest, direct and understanding, Ms. Cameron provides inspiration by sharing her own with the world. Her experience as a writer never underminds those writers with less experience. She understands that writing is personal, therefore she teaches from her personal perspective.
This is not only the best writing book I have read, it is also one of the best books I have ever read.
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Summary: Good for beginners, grating for professionals
Review: "The Right to Write" was the first how-to-write book I ever purchased and that was several years ago at this stage. Back then, this book helped me realise that it was OK to want to write and it gave me the motivation and knowledge to get started. Ms. Camerons own eclectic career inspired me to do what mattered personally in writing terms and not be afraid of making a rough draft a *really* rough draft. However, years passed and times changed. I recently picked up this book, with fond memories mind, having dedicated myself to a writing life and had reasonable success. Unfortunatly, the reread was disappointing and I found her "cult of me" attitude [as eloquently put by another reviewer] incredibly annoying. Ms. Cameron is of the oppinnion that everybody can write. Yes, maybe everybody can, but that doen't mean they should go for a career in it. Her advice that everybody should be authors could dedicate some readers to a live scrimping a living and ravaged with disappointment. Her statements such as "Why don't we do it in the street?" and her "Cups" initiations smack of New Age - the really bad mumbo jumbo kind. In all, this book is excellent for opening the eyes of the "wannabe" writer to what they can achieve, but in cold hindsight after years as a writer myself, I found it too full of "fluff" and incredibly grating. If you want to be a writer that badly then you need a more "grounding" book with a concrete approach to the how's and why's of the process. Unfortunaly Ms. Camerons book falls well short in that regard. - A.
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