Rating: 
Summary: WRITING WITH PASSION
Review: Many potential writers want to write but are stuck on the blank first page. Others write an endless array of words whose content (if there is any) means nothing and leaves one dry. Enter Eric Maisel, a writer's analyst, coach, and encourager who shares with us seven principles of becoming a deep writer. What does he mean by writing deeply? He means for us to be able to write passionately and well about those things that really matter to us. Using case studies of five individual writers, he shows us how to work through the principles of hushing the mind, holding the intention, making choices, honoring the process, befriending the work, evaluating the work and doing what is required. Each principle builds on the other to a point where writing becomes a spiritual exercise. I love this book because it enabled me to reflect and pay attention to my own writing. Its varied principles and quirky exercises stimulated my mind and fostered new ideas for the printed page. Purchasing "Deep Writing" was almost like having my own personal coach to help me become more intentional in what I do as a writer. Maisel is intentional as to what he wants a writer to do and keeps one to the grindstone. He deals with the reality of what encompasses the writing business and how we must make choices in dealing with those realities. I highly recommend this work to all writers who wish to write with integrity and passionately.
Rating: 
Summary: Writing to sell
Review: The author is a very good writer, and I would say from the tone of this book, he is probably also a very good therapist. However I think a book titled DEEP WRITING ought to be deeper. For instance, a great deal of time is spent in advising writers to write toward a market which seems to me to be the opposite of DEEP writing. If you are a writer, you are already wrestling with the demons Maisel identifies -- it's nice to find that you have company and nice to hear that it is possible to overcome but I bet most people who buy this book want R-E-L-I-E-F, and you won't get it here. Still it's a small book and an excellent gift for a beginning writer you know. If I'd read this book 10 years ago when I just starting out I could have saved thousands of hours in Writers Groups.
Rating:
Summary: Writing to sell
Review: The author is a very good writer, and I would say from the tone of this book, he is probably also a very good therapist. However I think a book titled DEEP WRITING ought to be deeper. For instance, a great deal of time is spent in advising writers to write toward a market which seems to me to be the opposite of DEEP writing. If you are a writer, you are already wrestling with the demons Maisel identifies -- it's nice to find that you have company and nice to hear that it is possible to overcome but I bet most people who buy this book want R-E-L-I-E-F, and you won't get it here. Still it's a small book and an excellent gift for a beginning writer you know. If I'd read this book 10 years ago when I just starting out I could have saved thousands of hours in Writers Groups.
Rating:
Summary: good quick encouragment
Review: What I liked best about this book was Maisel's use of composite sketches of different writers, at different stages, with different goals, to illustrate the process of creating and completing a book. His illustrations convey the depth of his experience in counseling others and his own writing experience in pointing out how we can go deeper within ourselves, with clear intentions, to produce better work. Excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: But, if you want to eat, shallow is okay, too...
Review: Whether the vehicle is a poem, love letter, letter to the editor, the next great novel or merely a review on Amazon.com, the ability to effectively convey one's thoughts and ideas is an often elusive skill. I picked up Eric Maisel's book with anticipation he could impart some insights to further propel me along the path to cogent writing. Only time and feedback from others will determine how much I may have progressed; since all supplements to one's base of knowledge and experience will eventually actualize in any form of communication, this book will certainly have contributed to any enrichment of texture in my writing. *However* DEEP WRITING: 7 PRINCIPLES THAT BRING IDEAS TO LIFE is not nearly as evocative as the title would imply.There is unquestionably value for the neophyte seeking a guide to the structure of the creative process, or for the seasoned writer mired in the ghastly abyss of "writer's block." Via discussion of personal foibles and case studies of five aspirants, Mr. Maisel outlines a methodology to successful completion of long format works. Each principle is highlighted by a number of exercises, typically simple and sometimes embarrassing if performed in mixed company (i.e., where it is feasible for anyone to see what you're doing). The book is somewhat of a non sequitur as there is significant discussion of the relative merits of commerical viability versus creative integrity, with the tacit implication the former option, although a reasonable and justified alternative, generally constrains passionate writing. It would not be entirely facetious to state Mr. Maisel's seven principles unearth few new revelations. Musically, George Clinton has been offering the same advice - free your mind- for decades, while philosophically many of his recommendations are a new coat of Socratic method wax to a well worn floor of practice, practice, practice. The chief weakness of the book is the underlying assumption the reader has an adequate foundation of grammatical skills. Only superficially does the author address areas like syntax, word choice, sentence structure or any other requisite accoutrements of the written form. It is understood that is not the focus of his book but while concern for the work and dedication to it are essential, without the basic ability to coherently express the sensation on the blank page or screen, the objective cannot be realized.
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