Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer

Rating:
Summary: All Words and Some Play
Review: Word Work is a book about the writing life-not technique or how to become published. The author playfully describes surviving by becoming a lone wolf or a pack member, assuming the pack is the right one for you. Several chapters are devoted to the tireless subjects of writers and their relationships with friends, spouses and children. Packed with humorous examples and antics the author endured, it creates laugh-out-loud moments.Without forgetting the elements of competitivness, frustration and anticipation about publishing, Rogers suggests that the writer envision success and it will eventually happen. It's often choosing the right topics that make the most impact to the writer which, in turn, will imapct his or her readers.
This heartfelt book provides the writer with plenty of valuable strategies to keep on writing...and writing.

Rating:
Summary: Engaging book captures the essence of the writing life
Review: Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer, by Bruce Holland Rogers, is an engaging and eclectic collection of essays examining many of the concerns that writers face as we try to make a go of the writing life.

Roger instills each chapter with the wit and wisdom of his personal experience, as he explores such topics as relationship issues ("Writers and Lovers"), writers' quirks ("The Rite Stuff"), publishing ("The Hazards of Rejection and Acceptance"), and even personality types ("Hunters and Farmers").

Word Work beautifully captures the workings of the writer's mind and the essence of the writing life. I highly recommend this book for current and aspiring writers, and also for those who would like to better understand the writers in their lives.

Rating:
Summary: Sneaks up on you
Review: Writing instructors and conference speakers like to discourage writing wannabes. "You won't get rich, you'll get depressed and lonely, and you need a buddy to talk you off the window ledge."

So I was curious to see how Bruce Holland Rogers would address the psychology of writing. As other reviewers observed, this book is not about how to write or how to market your writing. It's about the day-to-day life of being a writer.
Get up. Go to word processor. Stare at computer awhile.

Rejection. Bad reviews. Writing a novel under deadline pressure. And a whole lot more.

Word Work is a collection of Rogers's columns, so each chapter can be read as a stand-alone. That's a plus and a potential downfall. If you open the book, as I did, to a chapter that's doesn't grab you right away, you may be tempted to toss the whole thing aside. I couldn't get excited about "best time to write." The message seems to be, "Whenever you want."

On the other hand, you can read a chapter at a time, in any order, and feel satisfied.

Which chapters are best? I suspect that will be a personal decison. What made the book work for me were "Death and the day job," "in the affirmative," and "advanced affirmations." That's when I realized Rogers was a thoughtful person who knows how to read self-help without getting suckered. And, like Natalie Goldberg in Thunder and Lightning, Rogers really writes about life, not just the writing life.

In particular, Chapter 1 - Hunters and Farmers - blew me away. I had never heard of this metaphor, which apparently comes from an author of a book on ADD. Writers are primarily hunters -- and so are entrepreneurs.

The chapters aren't light reading. You don't need to underline and read each sentence three times to get the meaning, but you won't always get hooked on the first sentence. And Rogers makes no effort to sell the reader. A chapter "The Foam White Bull" would be more approachable if titled "The Minotaur in the Basement."

I would like to see two major changes if Rogers gets to a second edition. First, Rogers needs an opening chapter, describing his own life, to unify the chapters and give us a context. The author of a daily or weekly column becomes an old friend. We see his name over and over again and sooner or later we read and we get hooked. In a book, however, we need bait. And Word Work is a very personal book, so we need more background about the author..

Second, the cover is off-putting. The design shows the back half of a wine-colored iMac and some stacks of paper. That's not the view most writers have of their own computers. I see the front of my computer, rarely the side view. And the cover artist needs to sacrifice esthetics for readability. The front words sprawl over the artwork and the back cover -- yellow on gray? -- presents a real challenge.

This is the book to give your writer friend for her birthday or his Christmas. As other reviewers have indicated, it's not for the raw beginner who is still busy asking, "What should I write and where do I send what I write?" It's really for someone who's committed to writing and wants to hear from someone who's been there. Writing is lonely and Rogers is a good companion for the journey.