Rating: 
Summary: Friendly Inspiration
Review: Elizabeth Berg has a wonderful way of befriending readers. This book presented the refreshing message that writing need not be an excruciating experience. Sometimes, writing comes naturally. I am in the middle of writing a novel, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the writing process so far. I agree with Elizabeth--if writing is torture for you, try doing something else!
Among other things, the book discusses how to deal with rejection, and success. The author points out that success may divide people because it invokes the old green monster: jealousy. Elizabeth Berg included a fabulous piece of writing created by her best friend who described the jealousy she experienced when E.B. became a famous, published author.
Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The recipes in the back are a wonderful bonus. Try this one--you won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: More of a memoir
Review: Admittedly a book of a writer's life, and she started out as just another ordinary single Mom. But, supporting your kids by writing doesn't compute for peons like me. I enjoyed this book despite her focus on Her own life, and not on the craft or art of writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste your Time or Your Money
Review: Although it is very true that no one can "make" you a writer, Elizabeth Berg gets to the core of the matter: everyone thinks if they can read, they can write, so don't be afraid to try. Of course, even if you can write, it doesn't mean you can write well. That takes practice (just like everything worth doing!). And Ms. Berg gives some great suggestions as to how to unlock the inner writer with useful exercises. She has a generosity of spirit, and great way of writing which invites everyone to at least give it a try. Berg even includes some recipes at the end (because it's important to eat well when writing!), which I think adds to the charm of the book. This actually lead me to read one of her novels, "Open House", which I truly enjoyed, I just wish it had been a bit longer. Now she's also on my list of "favourite authors".
Rating: 
Summary: Writing Exercizes Bear Fruit
Review: Elizbeth Berg's book is worthwhile for many reasons: her comfortable prose, her reassurances, her authority, but most of all for her writing excerizes. Not that these sorts of exercizes aren't in other books, but Berg's (no relation) way of explaining them is clear and helpful. I used them, and they were, for me, effective. To wit:
two stories I wrote beginning with these exercizes have been published. No higher praise than that is due. Some men might be put off by this book which is excessively sprouty, true, but Elizabeth Berg's writing is worth looking into, and so is this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully motivational!!!!
Review: I am a big fan of Elizabeth Berg's and I was thrilled to discover she had a book on writing. As a stay-at-home mother and published writer myself, it was wonderful to read about how Berg started. I was pleasantly surprised by the recipes at the end and I always enjoy Berg's direct, though quirky, sense of humor. I highly recommend this book, especially to women looking for some writing inspiration. This is the only book that I've read that has writing exercises I actually look forward to doing.
Rating:
Summary: Unconventional; A Good Thing
Review: I enjoyed this conversational, encouraging, somewhat "splashed across the pages" writing book. It is almost like Berg wrote the book as a Stream of Consciousness exercise with one chapter, for example, all writing exercises meant for elminating blocoking and another chapter filled with recipes and other chapters with excerpts from friends and peers. This was vaguely annoying to me and at the same time, it was very worth reading for the tremendous gold nuggets such as this one: "If you have the calling to be a writer, its not going to go away any more than the shape of your nose will. Your need and longing and the ability to express yourself will come back. Like love, you can't force it. Like love, it will find you when it's ready." and "When you write, you need to have a certain willingness inside you, an auto induced mood of simultaneous quiet and energetic readiness that lets your imagination know its ok to come out now." Berg is primarily a fiction writer, so she writes a lot about topics which would be especially beneficial for writers of fiction. All in all a respectable, decent read but not among my favorites.
Rating:
Summary: Unconventional; A Good Thing
Review: I enjoyed this conversational, encouraging, somewhat "splashed across the pages" writing book. It is almost like Berg wrote the book as a Stream of Consciousness exercise with one chapter, for example, all writing exercises meant for elminating blocoking and another chapter filled with recipes and other chapters with excerpts from friends and peers. This was vaguely annoying to me and at the same time, it was very worth reading for the tremendous gold nuggets such as this one: "If you have the calling to be a writer, its not going to go away any more than the shape of your nose will. Your need and longing and the ability to express yourself will come back. Like love, you can't force it. Like love, it will find you when it's ready." and "When you write, you need to have a certain willingness inside you, an auto induced mood of simultaneous quiet and energetic readiness that lets your imagination know its ok to come out now." Berg is primarily a fiction writer, so she writes a lot about topics which would be especially beneficial for writers of fiction. All in all a respectable, decent read but not among my favorites.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste your Time or Your Money
Review: If you are a writer, you'll get nothing from this book except the satisfaction of contributing a royalty to Ms. Berg. She, obviously, was one of the lucky ones. She wrote homilies about her children which she sold to an equally saccharine female Editor of a Woman's Magazine. Duh!
Since she has nothing of value to offer an aspiring author and had a certain number of pages to fill, she wraps up this volume with a "true confession" of a friend she alienated, and FOOD RECIPES, for God's sake! Spend you money on any book by Martin Cruz Smith, Nelson DeMille, Lawrence Block, James Lee Burke, Andrew Klavin or James Hall. Use them as "textbooks" to learn how to write. Leave Ms. Berg's time-killer for any rainy afternoon when you need a sleeping aid. Better yet, it makes a fine door stop.
Rating: 
Summary: Should be titled: you can be a real person and still write
Review: This book is an interesting combination of autobiography and writing advice from novelist Elizabeth Berg. What struck me most forcibly from hearing her story (and reading her recipies) was that you can be a well-balanced person and still write seriously. Some reviewers who disparage this book recommend instead Anne Lamott's 'Bird by Bird.' One reviewer, who didn't like Lamott's book, was pleading for her to get off heroin for the sake of her son. I think I'll stick with Berg and her recipies rather than be subjected to Lamott and her heroin.
That being said, there isn't really much here by way of 'escaping into the open' or 'writing true' unless it means that if one is meant to write, then writing itself is freeing. Because of Berg's down-to-earth advice and example: "don't let writing stop you from doing the things that make you who you are" (paraphrase), this book was an absolute epiphany for me. But I'm not sure it would service everyone in quite the same way. There are some exercises here that you could easily find in a more organized fashion elsewhere. But she gives some very helpful advice, especially in the chapter titled 'The Business of Writing,' which includes loads of detailed practical advice plus dozens of ideas for non-fiction articles.
The book's limitation stems, I think, from Berg's admitted natural writing talent. She didn't have to struggle to write or even to get initially published. What can she possibly say to help a new writer? That you can be a writer and also be true to your life outside of writing, which is a very good bit of news. This is a general, very encouraging overview of some aspects of the writing life. Oh, and her recipie for chocolate cake is delicious!
Rating:
Summary: Encouraging Advice!
Review: This book is as chatty and inspiring as all of Berg's books. Reading her books is like having a conversation with a good friend over a hot cup of coffee. I love the fact that she did not start out in a career as a writer, but as a nurse with an interest in writing. I particularly enjoyed the writing exercises which were simple and direct. This one now has its place on my shelf next to "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott and "Wild Mind" by Natalie Goldberg. I'm looking forward to Ms. Berg's next book due out in July. I highly recommend this book and all of her fiction.
| 
