Rating: 
Summary: Just an Observation
Review: "The Observation Deck" is a cute boxed set from Naomi Epel for writers who suffer from writers block or other inspiration malfunctions. The set from Epel contains 50 cards meant to inspire thoughts, stories or other ways of thinking during the writing process. A little book is also included that contains techniques that have worked for other writers such as "Eavesdrop" a little trick apparently used by famous writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eudora Welty and many others. The book is more effective than the cards and I would like to see that thought continued in larger volume by Epel. This set is a nice handy tool to have at hand when doubting your worth as a writer. Grab it for inspiration but rely on your own observations.
Rating: 
Summary: Handy tool, although I would have liked more...
Review: "The Observation Deck: A Tool Kit for Writers" includes a portable carrying box, a small, 160-page booklet, and 50 cards with short phrases on them. The idea is that you go through the cards (one at a time, at random, several at a time, or however else you like) and, if you need more inspiration than the simple phrase, you pull out the book and look up the card. Most of the cards are meant to inspire ways of writing, rather than content. I had been expecting the latter, so I was slightly disappointed to have gotten the former. However this is still very useful stuff. You might also be able to adapt some of these cards to inspire content instead of methods, as long as you use the cards and not the book. Each card's description in the book starts off by giving specific examples of how the technique is used by one (or usually several) well-known writers. Then it goes on to suggest some ways that you could apply it to your own writing. A few examples include: Observe a Ritual, Locate the Fear, Take a Walk, Write a Letter, Think Architecturally, and Conduct an Interview. Much of this isn't terribly new--mostly what you're getting out of this is the deck of cards that makes randomization easy, and the booklet that includes examples, interpretations, and so on. My only real problem with this product was the cards themselves. They're plain, with a phrase in olive green on a white background, sans artwork. Unfortunately, they give the impression of someone who has just recently discovered that you can make nifty font-sizes and put words in odd places with a word processor, and who went a little nuts with it. In other words, it alternately comes across as pretentious and silly. If you already have a method of working that you enjoy then these cards will probably be of limited value to you. On the other hand, you can use the book like a series of exercises if you need to expand your range a bit, break through a case of writer's block, or get started on your writing. They can be handy when you're having a bit of a creativity drought, and they could be quite useful to aspiring writers who could use a little help.
Rating:
Summary: Handy tool, although I would have liked more...
Review: "The Observation Deck: A Tool Kit for Writers" includes a portable carrying box, a small, 160-page booklet, and 50 cards with short phrases on them. The idea is that you go through the cards (one at a time, at random, several at a time, or however else you like) and, if you need more inspiration than the simple phrase, you pull out the book and look up the card. Most of the cards are meant to inspire ways of writing, rather than content. I had been expecting the latter, so I was slightly disappointed to have gotten the former. However this is still very useful stuff. You might also be able to adapt some of these cards to inspire content instead of methods, as long as you use the cards and not the book. Each card's description in the book starts off by giving specific examples of how the technique is used by one (or usually several) well-known writers. Then it goes on to suggest some ways that you could apply it to your own writing. A few examples include: Observe a Ritual, Locate the Fear, Take a Walk, Write a Letter, Think Architecturally, and Conduct an Interview. Much of this isn't terribly new--mostly what you're getting out of this is the deck of cards that makes randomization easy, and the booklet that includes examples, interpretations, and so on. My only real problem with this product was the cards themselves. They're plain, with a phrase in olive green on a white background, sans artwork. Unfortunately, they give the impression of someone who has just recently discovered that you can make nifty font-sizes and put words in odd places with a word processor, and who went a little nuts with it. In other words, it alternately comes across as pretentious and silly. If you already have a method of working that you enjoy then these cards will probably be of limited value to you. On the other hand, you can use the book like a series of exercises if you need to expand your range a bit, break through a case of writer's block, or get started on your writing. They can be handy when you're having a bit of a creativity drought, and they could be quite useful to aspiring writers who could use a little help.
Rating: 
Summary: Handy and useful
Review: ... my husband heard Naomi Epel interviewed on NPR right after The Observation Deck was published. He ordered it for me as an I-love-you present, and I've used it ever since. The cards are a little ratty and dirty at the edges now from so much fingering and fiddling.
Of course, not all of the suggestions for unlocking the Writer Within are useful to a specific individual, but I found at least 75% of them to be applicable to writers of all genres, both fiction and nonfiction.
The success of The Observation Deck is proof of the adage: Writers write - because sometimes it's not so much what you write as it is the fact that you're writing at all...
Rating:
Summary: If you are interested in writing...
Review: ...here it is, the tool that will make your writing better, or easier, or even possible. Here's the deal. The box comes with a book and a set of cards, each with a word or phrase on it. You pull a random card, look up the card in the book, and the one-to-two page chapter gives you some simple writing tasks and ideas. For example, one card might say "Flip it over," and the corresponding chapter might tell you to turn your ideas around, look at the flip side of an issue, see things from another view. A precise task might tell you to write a short paragraph from the perspective of someone completely opposite from yourself or your characters. Not every one works at the time you pull it, but every chapter is chock full of interesting ideas. I can't guarantee anything, but I can say that a ten day journal, pulling one card every day significantly improved my writing. Ideas just seemed to flow much easier.
Rating:
Summary: Clever little set
Review: Bought this shrink-wrapped from Borders and got more meat than I'd expected a few bucks to cover. The cards, linked to the book's chapters, offer specific ideas rather than insipid axioms. The author, a creative writer and literary escort, quotes bestselling authors liberally. She knows her craft, balancing practicality and whimsy. Buy this for further development rather than initial inspiration, and for fiction over non-fiction. Even so, decently well-rounded. Didn't shock me with brilliance, but certainly earned more than its price.
Rating:
Summary: How Cool Is This!?
Review: Brilliant concept to jumpstart and flood the creative consciousness with ideas, energy and direction. Always seeking the quick and efficient fix, THE OBSERVATION DECK, delivers by opening the gates with a nugget. Within a few moments of opening the pack, browsing the booklet and reading just one card, I'm already deep into a new project with joy and courage. Thanks Naomi for being so generous for our sake too!
Rating:
Summary: Very useful
Review: Ever notice how some of your best ideas hit you when you're least expecting it? For instance you might be cleaning your closet and find something that inspires an idea. Or you may be reading the newspaper and find a word that inspires a novel or a poem. Those moments are what this book is all about. It's complete with multiple suggestions of finding those moments. Some of the excercises are simply looking at an everyday object and "inverting" its function. Fipping things upside down....all of these types of activities are useful in removing the brain from a comfort zone or a stagnat position that results in writers block. The great thing about this deck is that it's not only for writers...it really works for anyone who is creative. I could see this deck being useful to the inventor, the designer, the scientist, the novelist, the poet, the artist etc.... Take this Tool kit (a pocket book and flash cards) and actually use them! In fact, use with another person for optimal results.
Rating:
Summary: great teaching tool!
Review: i am a middle school humanities teacher, and my students just LOVE using the observation deck! we have a program at my school where every student has a writer's notebook, and it was challenging to explain to them how it differed from a diary. exercises like the ones in the observation deck (and the accompanying short essays) have been tremendously helpful. my students come to class with their notebooks, begging to use the deck. what's more, they're starting to think of "new cards" to add to the collection. i've even had parents ask where they can by their own deck to have at home. bravo naomi epel!!!
Rating:
Summary: An invaluable tool
Review: I'll make this brief: after struggling with writer's block, lack of inspiration, and listless attempts at writing for months, I picked up The Observation Deck in the hopes that it might jump-start my creative fires. The same night I opened it up and read the book, I sat down and penned three thousand words, with ideas for many thousands more swimming around in my head. I have a feeling I'll soon be wondering how in the world I got along without this little deck of cards. I wholly recommend this deck if your creativity is suffering, you need a fresh perspective, or just want to put a new spin on your writing. I have found it to be an invaluable tool -- some of the best money I've spent in quite a while.
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