Escaping into the Open: The Art of Writing True - Softcover

Berg, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062200445 ISBN 13: 9780062200440

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2012

Synopsis

“Crystal clear, bracing as ice water, Escaping Into the Open should be read by all scribblers regardless of material success.”
—Rita Mae Brown

“This is a really good book.”
—Booklist

Bestselling, award-winning novelist Elizabeth Berg knows a thing or two about writing, having graced the world with wonderful works of fiction including Talk Before Sleep, The Year of Pleasures, and the acclaimed Oprah Book Club Selection, Open House. With Escaping Into the Open, she offers an inspiring, eminently entertaining, and delightfully practical handbook on the joys, challenges, and creative possibilities inherent in the writing life. Now revised with new material—a classic in the vein of Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird—Elizabeth Berg’s Escaping Into the Open is an indispensable guide for any aspiring storyteller.

About this title

Review:

Elizabeth Berg (Talk Before Sleep) is a can-do kid. Forget the common wisdom--that writing is difficult and getting published nearly impossible without contacts or an agent. "What you need most," she says, "is a fierce desire to put things down on paper." And if a gentle nudge will help you on your way, well, Berg wishes to provide just that, cheerfully, with Escaping into the Open. For Berg, writing--and success--comes easily. In fact, she says, "What I like doing best is writing.... I feel like a drug addict with an exceptionally wise drug of choice."

It is refreshing to come across a book so positive and friendly--even if a there is a little too much emphasis on the author's own experience (did she really have to include a five-page essay by an envious friend and three pages of topics about which she herself has successfully written?). Still, how could one not appreciate a writing guide that espouses napping, eating chocolate-covered cherries, and standing by your "man(uscript)," and that likens passionate, risky writing--the only kind that's worth anything--to great sex? Berg encourages her reader to look (and listen and feel) deeply, to learn from children, and not to let life interfere with writing any more than it has to. She addresses--sometimes with help from her friends--writing classes, writing groups, and the writing life. In a chapter called "If you're a man, be a woman," she offers up 30 pages of writing exercises. Berg is personable, whimsical, amazed by her good fortune, and direct. "There's only one person who can stop you," she says gravely at book's end, "and we both know who that is." --Jane Steinberg

From the Back Cover:

Both autobiography and primer, Escaping into the Open is an inspiring, practical handbook on the joys and challenges of the writing life. Renowned author and writing instructor Elizabeth Berg interweaves the story of her own journey from working mother to bestselling novelist with encouraging advice on how to create stories that spring from the heart. Continually in print since its original 1999 publication, this invaluable resource is a true and constant friend to all writers, no matter their stage of development.

With wit and honesty, Berg provides numerous exercises that will unleash individual creativity and utilize all five senses. Most important, she tells how to fire passion—emotion—into writing itself; to break through personal barriers and reach one's own outer limits and beyond.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0062200445
• ISBN 13: 9780062200440
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256