Thursday, April 10, 2008

Chocolate for Writers--a Book Recommendation

Three stories in slush piles--Hummingbird received a rejection today.

But on to better things:

As promised, Chocolate for writers.

The book is The Writer's Mentor by Cathleen Rountree.

This was one of the first books on writing that I picked up when I started into this writing business. That and a new Thesaurus. We were desperately poor at the time. If I remember correctly, I used some birthday money given to me by my mother-in-law to buy it.

The thing that makes it chocolate for writers is that it is filled with good advice, excellent author quotes, and writing exercises in a very gentle and encouraging format. Read a chapter--any chapter--and you'll get to the end feeling empowered and ready to face the writing demons that beset you. And all with no calories! How cool is THAT!?!

Ms. Rountree is comforting while realistic. Instead of just writing a book about writing, she takes time to let you get to know her, so it feels like you're sitting at the kitchen table with a friend, a huge tub of (insert favorit flavor) ice cream, laughing and talking and learning from each other. I very much enjoyed this book the first time through, and refer back to it often--especially when I need a writerly pick-me-up--like right after receiving another rejection.

;-)

3 comments:

Creative A said...

Ah, that's tough. Rejection sucks. The book sounds very interesting...after reading Bird By Bird I started looking for more "personal account" writing books, so I'll check it out.

Suzanne Vincent said...

Welcome, Creative A.

Yes, rejection sucks. But it doesn't suck as much as it used to. Somewhere along the line I figured myself out well enough that it doesn't bother me so much now.

I guess I have a better understanding of what matters in life. Rejections, in the broader perspective, mean nothing.

Creative A said...

Thanks :)

You have such a good view on rejection. For me, I think it has a lot to do with expectations. As long as I reach my own personal expectations, it doesn't matter so much what others think.

Also, it helps that whenever something gets rejected, I just send out something else.