The Observation Deck: A Tool Kit for Writers (Past & Present)

Rating:
Summary: Spark Your Creative Imagination!
Review: The Observation Deck goes far beyond its original intention as a writer's tool kit by focusing and stimulating the creative imagination. The beautiful design and the cards may draw you in, but it is the well-researched book that will engage you time after time. Effective for both individuals and groups.

Rating:
Summary: Your Booker Prize is all in the cards
Review: These pretty cards are an excellent device to jump-start ideas when that sneaky writer's block comes up. Great for brainstorm sessions and getting ideas organized. This is a fun tool for those who love cards - playing cards, tarot decks, and affirmations. Creative minds will have a blast using this "ingredient" in their recipe of book writing!

Rating:
Summary: Great for established as well as beginners
Review: While The Observation Deck is a great tool for getting unstuck, I think it also offers wonderful tips for established writers for whom getting unstuck is not such a problem. I've been virtually a full-time writer for about seven years now. I just completed a book that is a better book for my having read The Observation Deck. I was having trouble getting the right sort of smart alek but lovable voice for the narrator. Thanks to Naomi Epel's book, I learned that John Steinbeck wrote East of Eden as if it were a letter to his two sons. The voice I wanted for the narrator was the voice I used to use in letters to an old college friend. So I began my days typing "Dear Berta" at the top of the page and pretended I was telling my old friend the story via letter. The missing voice soon followed. I also tried the "Read Aloud" tip. Listening to my own words, which Naomi Epel explains other writers do, proved extremely valuable in testing that voice and editing rough spots which I didn't catch in silent reading.