Books on writing

I really identified with the article, “Confessions of a writing-book junkie,” by Janet Pocorobba, which appeared in the March issue of The Writer magazine. She writes about buying tons of how-to-write books because she felt she needed to know the latest about what these books on writing had to offer. She was afraid she might miss out on something new and important if she didn’t order the latest one as soon as it came out.

That’s me! I thought. I am guilty. I don’t buy tons of those writing books like she does, but I do own quite a few. In fact, many of the same ones she mentioned. In an earlier blog, I mentioned a speaker at a writer’s conference who finally told the audience of aspiring writers who kept asking for advice and recommendations for books on writing, “Just sit in that chair and write the damn book.”

Many times I think we get distracted from our writing by focusing too much on these books instead of our own writing. It’s okay to try and learn as much as we can about the writing process, but at some point in time, we have to just sit down and write. One sentence from her article that really grabbed me was, “I’d been looking for knowledge in others’ words and advice, and valuing it over my own experiences.”

I know that we all have a ton of life experiences that we can draw on to write. So get out there and write that book that only you can write.

“Nothing one ever experiences or feels is wasted.” – Lynne Reid Banks