Rating: 
Summary: A Refreshing Text on Creative Writing
Review: "Steering the Craft" is a surprisingly good and practical book on creative writing. I was surprised because books and essays on writing by established authors can be downright patronizing and intentionally vague. Le Guin, on the other hand, uses lucid language and a gentle tone to explain the essential elements of good prose writing. The examples she uses are eye-opening, perhaps because I keep seeing the same examples from the same group of contemporary authors in most recent books on writing. Her exercises are also innovative, especially those intended to help fiction writers recognize the subtle "music" in prose, and how that is different from poetry. Scattered throughout the book are several opinion pieces where Le Guin discusses various trends in contemporary prose writing. This is where you decide whether her book is right for you--Le Guin definitely has some strong views: she believes that immediacy of the present tense narrative is an illusion and is equally skeptical about hybrid genre prose. If you are in agreement with her or can live with those views, then I have no qualms about recommending this little gem.
Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Text on Creative Writing
Review: "Steering the Craft" is a surprisingly good and practical book on creative writing. I was surprised because books and essays on writing by established authors can be downright patronizing and intentionally vague. Le Guin, on the other hand, uses lucid language and a gentle tone to explain the essential elements of good prose writing. The examples she uses are eye-opening, perhaps because I keep seeing the same examples from the same group of contemporary authors in most recent books on writing. Her exercises are also innovative, especially those intended to help fiction writers recognize the subtle "music" in prose, and how that is different from poetry. Scattered throughout the book are several opinion pieces where Le Guin discusses various trends in contemporary prose writing. This is where you decide whether her book is right for you--Le Guin definitely has some strong views: she believes that immediacy of the present tense narrative is an illusion and is equally skeptical about hybrid genre prose. If you are in agreement with her or can live with those views, then I have no qualms about recommending this little gem.
Rating: 
Summary: Le Guin falls victim to her own fame
Review: I am sad to say that I was disappointed by this book. I thought I had found a real gem here. Instead, I find that Ms Le Guin does not steer right here: is the book about writing, or is it about grammar? She tries to combine both, but does not really succeed. Admittedly, several chapters are outstanding, like the ones on narration and point of view, but others fall flat, like tho one on adjectives and adverbs.
Ms Le Guin has written some really good books; Wizard of Earthsea, Left Hand of Darkness, Four Ways to Forgiveness, The Word for World is Forest, etc. She has ended up with a crowd of adoring fans for whom she can do nothing wrong. And frankly, she seems to have started believing in her own myth - she herself believes she can do nothing wrong, and it shows.
Rating:
Summary: Steering the craft will float your boat!
Review: I don't write fiction (yet) but reading this book actually changed how I read literature. Le Guin is a prize-winning author of science fiction novels. She runs writers workshops and this is a book of exercises such as you would encounter in one of her work groups. But the amazing thing about this book is that even if you don't write a single word or do a single exercise, it will change how you view the books you read. Her chapters on rhythm in writing (using Virginia Woolf as an example) changed how I read any novel. Now I look for the music in the words as well as the style and structure of the book. Another chapter is on "being gorgeous" or using the flow of adjectives. She gives another exercise in being abstemious with the use of adverbs. At the end of the book are ideas for starting writers' groups and workshops of your own. I list this book as a must for English teachers and for anyone who loves literature.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book on craft
Review: I've been a big fan of Ms. LeGuin's for a very long time. This book on the craft of story telling has been extremely helpful. I'm a lawyer and I write stories on behalf of endangered species every day: now I hope to write them better! I strongly advise a re-read of Strunk and White (I've found used copies for about 85 cents in San Francisco) in conjunction with her book.
If you're a LeGuin fan, just read it for pure enjoyment. I think every book reveals something of an author, and everything she reveals is delightful, intricate, and honest.
If you're interested in developing your writing skills, this is a great lesson and excersice book. But don't expect her to be easy on on you: she'll hold you to a hight standard! She will also get you thinking about language as an art, which is a good thing.
Let out your sheets and run downwind with this gem.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for those who want to write
Review: If you want to start writing, this is the book that will help you start. Ursula Le Guin is an excellent author and she gives great advice to those who want to be one. She includes several exercises to help you start writing and she gives excellent tips to help improve technique. She also gives several examples of what good writing looks like and how to get there. If you don't want to write, this is still great reading because as you read this book you will also gain a better appreciation for good writing, plus, Le Guin's writing is, as always, exceptional and fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: Help from a master
Review: Long a favorite writer of mine, I was delighted to see Le Guin's offering on story writing. Her love of language comes through in these excercises as it does in her prose and poetry. Not a guide for crafting plot or character, the excercises focus on honing your experience with the words that are the bones of your writing. While a delightful read, the true value of the book comes in working through the excercises either alone or as part of a writer's group. You'll stretch your skills as a writer as you explore the uncharted waters. Ms. Le Guin will strain your creative muscles by leading you into breaking the "rules" you were taught. Whether it is writing a page of narrative with no punctuation, a paragraph with at least three repetitions of the same noun, verb, or adjective, or carefully crafting a sentence at least as long as this one, the excercises get you thinking about why you write the way you do and provide the tools necessary to accomplish what you want with your prose. Full of good advice, good examples, and good descrptions of how a writer does what they do, this book is a boon to every beginning writer and likely of use to even seasoned professionals.
Rating: 
Summary: Steering The Craft is no paddle in the park!
Review: One of the great writers of the 20th century offers an exhilerating workout for writers of narrative fiction & nonfiction. It is a handbook full of warm up exercises such as "I Am Gorgeous" for reading aloud; writing a chaste paragraph of descriptive narrative prose without one adjective or adverb & "Changing Voices" - writing the same story from different perspectives. What I like about Steering The Craft is that I'm seriously studying along with this fabled author & suddenly there I am, brow frowning, mind minding every precious word & she stops me on a dime with a pun of the first water! A quietly important, useful & informative textbook for writers wishing to flex the muscles of their minds. You know a writer? This would be a superb gift! For my full review do check out: [my website]
Rating:
Summary: Not simplistic like some writing advice books
Review: Steering the Craft is useful for anyone engaged in creative writing, whether the outcome is fiction or narrative nonfiction. Her exercises are meant to be consciousness-raisers, says LeGuin, whom I interviewed for my own bestselling WRITING IN FLOW, and whom I found to be quite forthcoming about her writing process. In this book, for instance, she covers how to show characters thinking, shifting points of view, the uses of repetition, and so on. Although I normally don't care for exercises as such, hers are fresh and flexible (write a page of descriptive narrative without adjectives or adverbs or dialogue; you can do this as part of whatever you're working on). An original contribution to the advice field.
Rating:
Summary: Not simplistic like some writing advice books
Review: Steering the Craft is useful for anyone engaged in creative writing, whether the outcome is fiction or narrative nonfiction. Her exercises are meant to be consciousness-raisers, says LeGuin, whom I interviewed for my own bestselling WRITING IN FLOW, and whom I found to be quite forthcoming about her writing process. In this book, for instance, she covers how to show characters thinking, shifting points of view, the uses of repetition, and so on. Although I normally don't care for exercises as such, hers are fresh and flexible (write a page of descriptive narrative without adjectives or adverbs or dialogue; you can do this as part of whatever you're working on). An original contribution to the advice field.
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