In the past, I would post only book reviews pertinent to worship, music in the local church, or general Christian leadership and discipleship. Recently, I've been studying many more general topics as well, such as history, economics and scientific thought, some of which end up as reviews here as well.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at 10:25AM 
Of late, I have been reading more books on, ironically, writing. A friend recommended one to me which I hadn't heard of. It was Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life". As I began it, I was warmed by her whimsical style and insightful prose. But soon enough, I was getting hungry for the "meat" of a writer "advice" book. Then it hit me. Her device to teach the writing life was to example it, not dictate its proofs in three-point style.
I am a simple kind of thinker in this regard, as my natural tendency is to take everyone at their word. She had titled the book "The Writing Life", and I thus assumed she would explain it in the book. I wouldn't have expected her to live it. But this is what Annie Dillard does. She explores with narrative prose the way her own life has been fashioned by its conversations, moments, people and events. She arranges those as elements of a real story- her story- and allows you to look in and see if it reflects something of the human soul which can ignite your own writing life. And it does.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of points that could fill a "tips and thoughts for aspiring writers" textbook, and they are distributed liberally throughout the pages of this work. But Dillard knows that they way the stick to us is to pair them with our hearts through her own well written words. The first of such moments for me happened when I was almost fumbling through the early chapters and one of those word-sculpted moments hit me square across the mind-
There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by. A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet. Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading—that is a good life.1
Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case. What would you begin writing if you knew you would die soon? What could you say to a dying person that would not enrage by its triviality?2
A well-known writer got collared by a university student who asked, “Do you think I could be a writer?” “Well,” the writer said, “I don’t know…. Do you like sentences?” The writer could see the student’s amazement. Sentences? Do I like sentences? I am twenty years old and do I like sentences? If he had liked sentences, of course, he could begin, like a joyful painter I knew. I asked him how he came to be a painter. He said, “I liked the smell of the paint.”3
You will get several points of importance for understanding "The Writing Life" in this book, but along the way Dillard seems more concerned that you actually live and experience it than recite a formula for its vocational success. A thoughtful, uplighting and good book.
Amazon Link: http://amzn.to/10x9sxP
Review by Kim Gentes
1. Dillard, Annie (2009-10-13). The Writing Life (pp. 32-33). Harper Perennial. Kindle Edition.
2. Ibid., p. 68
3. Ibid., p. 70
annie dillard, author, books, creative techniques, dillard, inspiration, review, the writing life, writing in Art, Book Review, Literature, Resource, Writing Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 7:33AM 
After reading Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art", I jumped at the get-it-done companion called "Do The Work".
There are two reactions to it that must be clear. First, if you are a technical person who is not a natural creative- this book is perfect for you. Second, if you are a natural creative who has too many ideas and not enough completed projects- this book is also for you. The problem is, you must digest it with the right understanding of who you truly are. Let me explain.
Pressfield's approach is attuned mostly to technical people who don't trust their creative juices. This group of people understands the nuances of self-criticism, evaluation, re-writing and more. What they struggle with is that they over-analyze and over-prepare so much, they become weighed down by the weight of this mind-heavy preparation and either never start the project in earnest or become crushed under their self-criticism. Pressfield has excellent advice that will allow those people to properly set aside self-critism to a proper time in the process. The goal for them is to get them moving and trusting the creative process and ideas in them.
For the truly creative person with little ability to filter and less ethic to complete a project, "Do The Work" lays out a plan that they can take advantage of their creative juices but put meat on the bones before the next wind blows in and grabs the creative's attention away from their current work. For those people- read the book, and do the work. Follow the instructions and channel the inspiration as told by the author.
The problem with this book is that the technical or creative person may well misunderstand who they are and not approach this kind of advice properly. The book is solid, but it doesn't help the reader distinguish how to navigate their absorption of the material. Hence, I see several reviews of this book from what I call "high technicians" (people who aren't true creatives) who criticise the book for encouraging people to follow their instincts. But true creatives should ignore those reviews. This book is easily interpretted for true creatives and they can take the writer at face value and follow instructions as stated. For technicians (who often erroneously think they are creatives), you should realize that you will automatically have the tools of self-criticism and correction that will allow you to make the detail and methodical adjustments that every project needs in the revision phase- don't misinterpret Pressfield's guidance to let the inspiration "flow" in the beginning of the creative cycle sound like "throw caution to the wind" for the entire process. A proper reading of hte book and self-awareness and sel-understanding will make this clear.
Personally, I came away with 2 excellent and helpful tips from the book. Important things that I will never forget and have already begun to use. Because Pressfield assumes that deeply creative people will be the users of his book, he doesn't take time to nuance how the book should be approached. I felt this might help some of those who were coming at "Do The Work" from a couple different vantage points.
In light of that, it's a very good book and I highly recommend it.
Amazon Book Link: http://amzn.to/Wbs0M0
Review by Kim Gentes