Write from Life: Turning Your Personal Experiences into Compelling Stories

Rating:
Summary: Best Interpretation of Writing Honestly
Review: " Absolutely the most accurate, honest portrayal of writing from the heart and all the fears that accompany the lifestyle. Files opens so many doors and windows, offering a true glimpse into the depths of writing and using what you know- even when you're afraid to 'go there'.

We all have life experience and stories to tell. Meg Files leads you down the path of successful interpretation and teaches us all how to draw out the good work from our brains. The biggest lesson learned from Write from Life was to write naked, write from the essence of our very souls and not worry about everyone else's opinions."

- Michelle Hall, Writer & Editor for ABP

Rating:
Summary: Turbo-Charge Your Writing in the New Year
Review: An inspiring guide for writers at every level. Meg Files goes beyond the "How to" genre and delves into the writers psyche to explore the ways many of us try to limit ourselves creatively. Sometimes Ms. Files plays the stern writing professor with specific advice --("Stay at the desk, just stay at the desk"), and compelling writing exercises (worth the price of the book just for these) other times she is the pragmatic therapist ("writer's block is just fear of writing badly") but mostly she is the strong voice of a compassionate and knowledgeable friend.

Throughout the book you will find specific and useful advice on everything from jump-starting your own writing to how to take (and deliver) criticism, dealing with fear of failure and how to define your own success (hint: not usually tied to publication thankfully). I'm glad this is the first writing book I read in the New Year -- I feel charged up and ready to rumble! Good reading!

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional, enthusiastic, Informative
Review: Meg Files gives the push needed to enable any writer to take a risk, which, as she says, is the secret to real writing. However, more than being a pep-talk in a thousand words or less, this is a HANDBOOK to GOOD WRITING. It covers practical matters, style, voice, substance, and challenges you at every level. This book is wonderfully insightful into the writing process, particularly the fears that will hinder a writer, regardless of experience level. I sent one to my mother and she called me two days later to say that after reading the book she had to stop everything and sit down and write a story she'd been wanting to write for 72 years! Give this book to anyone you love who yearns to write. Keep a copy yourself.