By Victoria S.
In reviewing the book, The Way We Write, it is interesting to note that all the contributors are connected to New Hampshire Writers Project (NHWP) in the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Their skills in the art of writing has been gathered and offered as an informational aid to help others succeed as writers. Upon receiving permission from each individual writer the editor, Nicole Escobar, collected these stories into one book in hopes that each reader will find a positive road to creative and acceptable writing. This book presents to the readers the best advice from many writers who have successfully accomplished the rank of a great writer.
Several of the contributors reside in New Hampshire, such as Richard Adams Carey. While Carey grew up in Connecticut, he roamed around Eskimo villages in Alaska teaching school. He has been a resident of New Hampshire since 1984. He has had numerous books published. His book, Raven's Children: An Alaskan Culture at Twilight, was chosen as the New York Public Library Book to Remember (Escobar, 51). At present he is the Assistant Director at Southern New Hampshire University MFA (Master of Fine Arts) Program (Escobar, 51). Margaret Carlson Bradley authors of the book, Sea Called Fruitfulness, and Linda Chestney author of the book, Bicycling New Hampshire, also reside in New Hampshire.
Still other contributing writers live in areas outside of New Hampshire, such as James Patrick Kelly who lives in Maine, and John Walters who lives in Vermont (Escobar, 54-56). Kelly is known for his book, Burn, and his genre is Science Fiction. He is currently a professor of creative writing and is on the staff at the University of Southern Maine (Escobar, 54). Walters wrote the book, Roads Less Traveled: Visionary New England Lives, and is actively involved with radio broadcasting (Escobar, 56). Several others contributed to this book to make it one filled with information and advice concerning the art of writing, interviewing and listening. What these fifteen authors all have in common, besides the fact that they are connected to the NHWP, is that they are talented and published writers. Each author is unique to his/her job, yet still finds the time to contribute great advice on writing to anyone who cares to listen and learn. From the recommendation of Kelly, who declares that one should "murder the darling" words that hang out on paper but contribute nothing to the actual content (Escober, 9), to the guidance of George Geers who believes that one needs to "smell" the whole picture before achieving the rank of being a good interviewer (Escobar, 33), the book is overflowing with strong and useful advice.
This book is filled with bold ideas from several people who believe that they have answers on how to write accurately, with passion and fulfillment. The advice certainly does have honesty as these men and women are sending these recommendations from their own successes and failures. In reality however, if one tries to follow their directions will it have the same effect for them? Is the way in which they each learned to write universal, and will it accomplish the same goals if used by another? The only way to prove this might be to take on the task of writing under the directions given by these authors. Their advice seems solid, but I am not sure that it is practical in all cases. Sometimes good advice falls short because of the person upon whose ears it has fallen. Not everyone who tries to write is successful, not everyone can draw, sculpt or paint, nor can everyone perform to perfection, but everyone can try. This is the best advice that anyone can receive; just try your best in all you do.
If writing was not my talent, I may indeed see this book as worthless. If one does not enjoy reading or writing, then this book is a waste of time to them. It is not one for entertainment, it is one filled with instructions and what a non-writer may deem as boring messages. We all have some sort of talent, and writing is one of them. A person who finds mathematics, art, or music fun and challenging would benefit more by seeking out books along those genres. If we are not writers we must go further in our lives and discover what gives us pleasure, and then treat ourselves to books that outline these subjects.
The other side of the coin is arguable also. I believe that for certain people this book is filled with gifts of knowledge from the experienced ones to the amateurs. The book is only as good as the readers. A book has to have a reason to exist and readers must be there to listen, learn, and buy or the book is a failure. I favor this side of the argument as I like writing for pleasure. The article by Geers was my favorite. He believes that we should use our senses to get to know someone before we write about them. His advice is to go to their homes, listen to what they hear, see what they see, smell what they smell, and only then will you truly know who they are. How correct is this piece of advice? To know someone well, you must "walk in their shoes." So, even if I had only read the article by Geers, it would have been enough to make me see the worth of this book.
The Way We Write gives excellent advice for different writing techniques and styles to anyone who is ready to attempt the art of successful writing. The person who may want to seek out this book as a reference for their writing style has to be someone who enjoys writing for pleasure. This book can be purchased through the NHWP website at http://www.writersday.org/content/writers-day-2012-registration-now-open. It can also be found in the local library. I give this book five thumbs up for a review.
Escobar, N. (Editor) The Way We Write. New Hampshire: Plaidswede Publishers. 2013. Print.
5
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