Rating: 
Summary: One of the Finest Books for Jump-Starting New Writers
Review: This book breaks through writing blocks in a friendly, relaxed way. It's sort of like a daily meditation book, but, instead of meditations, it gives tiny daily writing prompts that encourage your imagination to go in any number of directions. For example, on February 5 you're encouraged to write something after, "When I woke the next morning ...." Then, on February 26, you are given this writing trigger: "The last time." On March 19: "You're in the backseat of a taxi." September 8: "____ is the color I remember." November 14: "The window had other views." November 7: "Secretly, I know my name is:_______." November 26: "This is what was left when he was gone." December 16: "I walked into the Maverick Bar in Farmington, N.M...." I once used a single four-word prompt seven days in a row and got a huge diversity of stories/essays out of those four words! That's what I like about this book. You learn to how to find your own creative triggers in the process of using Judy Reeves' suggestions. Judy Reeves gets the creative juices flowing without imposing an open-ended discipline that might intimidate new writers (such as Cameron's insistence on daily morning writing). The only other books that offer equally helpful writing prompts, in my opinion, are Elizabeth Bern's "Escaping Into the Open" or Beth Baruch Joselow's "Writing Without the Muse." But I seem to turn to this book more often. Prompts aren't the only attraction. Reeves talks about getting past your own internal critic, on locating or creating your own writing community, on writing habits of famous writers, and so forth. Reeves makes you feel as though you are part of a large, wonderful community of writers. You are no longer a fledgling writer, trembling in awe of The Great Ones. Reeves makes you feel as though you are already part of the team merely by participating: "Jump in, the water's fine!" Overall, a great book, laid out in armchair fashion. If you are too rigid with yourself and need structured prompts that will give you permission to be creative without cowering before your internal critic's towering agendas, then A Writer's Book of Days is really a must. It's the equivalent of a big, comforting hug in a small, cozy kitchen over a pot of tea.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring, Motivating, Wonderfully Entertaining
Review: Whether you are a novice writer or an experienced author, a blocked writer or one whose words are flowing, there is something in this book for you. The structure Reeves employs is useful: for each day of the year there is a writing "prompt" to jump-start one's writing ("Write about someone who sinned." "You are in a motel room..." "This is what she said."). For each of the twelve months, there is a series of essays about scores of topics, including tools for writing practice, writing from the senses, dancing with your shadows, telling secrets, the writing life, honoring yourself as a writer, imagination, and much, much more. And Reeves has packed the book full of inspiring quotes from famous writers, unusual facts about authors, and tactics to use to keep on writing and for improving one's craft. Whether you use this book on a daily basis or as a periodic stepping-off point, there will be something in it to inspire and motivate. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to try new ideas and to grow as a writer. ~Lori L. Lake, author of Stepping Out, Different Dress, Gun Shy, Under The Gun, and Ricochet In Time, and reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Golden Crown Literary Society's The Crown, The Independent Gay Writer, The Gay Read, and Just About Write.
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