A Year of Writing Dangerously

June 1, 2012

Books on writing are their own cottage industry: many writers and aspiring writers love hearing about the writing process. Including a list of 52 writing prompts, Abercrombie (instructor, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Writers Program; Courage and Craft: Writing Your Life into Story) in her most recent compilation covers a myriad of common topics, from idea generation to book promotion. She organizes the book into daily doses: snippets of writing advice as well as a quote by a writer about writing. Her central idea is that focusing on manageable bits of writing over a year will encourage more writing. When Abercrombie relates her own writing and teaching experiences, the book becomes more interesting. VERDICT An optional purchase, not destined to be a classic work on the subject. Those deeply invested in the writing process should instead look to Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, and Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones.--Nancy Almand, Fresno City Coll. Lib., CA

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