Receive Your Copy The Art Of Slow Writing: Reflections On Time, Craft, And Creativity Scripted By Louise DeSalvo Distributed As Booklet

I aspired to write, I was a young person who loved to read,  And even though it was fun to say that I had read a certain number of Nancy Drew mysteries, reading didn't become a quantifiable activity untilwhen I joined Goodreads and saw that people were readingbooks,books,books per year and more!  I didnt even know such a thing was possible, especially not for adults with jobs, relationships, and other interests and responsibilities!  And when I saw that many of these people not only read profusely, but managed to write several indepth reviews of their readings as well, I began to think that I had a lot of catchingup to do.
 I had no idea how many books I was capable of reading in a year, so inI set a goal to readbooks and thought I was really doing something when at years end I had read! InI readbooks, and thebooks I read inare definitely a symbol of time wellspent.
 Still,when I read Louise DeSalvos book The Art of Slow Writing, I realized that if I wanted to write more, and better, maybe I was going to have to give up some of my reading!

To my mind, it is ironic that Louise DeSalvo would deliver a book with slow writing as its subject.
After all, this womanwho is a Virginia Woolf scholar, to boothas kicked out aboutindependentlyauthored books and at least five collaborations inyears while also being married and a mother of three who teaches memoir writing in CUNY Hunter Colleges MFA Program in Creative Writing! Whats “slow” about her process

Reading The Art of Slow Writing subtitled Reflections on Time, Craft, and Creativity made me realize that I was hungry to love the questions, challenges, and craft of writing.
 How had I grown so frustrated with the process of not being able to produce something beautiful, quickly Why was I always measuring myself against prolific, masterful writersenvying their “easy way” with words, and the regularity with which their work appeared on “must read” lists, in “definitive” anthologies, and nominated by various committees of tastemakers as GreatestBookEver! In my anxious desire for recognition I had allowed external measurements and expectations to crowdout passion and respect for my own creative process.


Read "What Do Louise DeSalvo and Aesop Have In Common" at sitelink com
Cheers!
If I could give this book more thanstars, I would! So many great tips on forming a sustainable writing practice how to think about writing, when to write, obstacles to writing, identifying mentors.
. . and this is just a small sample, DeSalvo's advice is down to Earth and digestable each of the chapters ispages long, It encourages you to take your time which is exactly what this author is advocating, I also read another book about slow reading, and between these two books, I am certain I will have sustainable and useful processes for both areas, I enjoyed most of this one, Not as soaring in the inspirational department as some writing books, and not as practical as others, but on the whole a solid and accessible volume on the craft,

About a third is probably more suited to novice writers, in my opinion, But the majority has something to offer writers at any stage of their development,

I'll revisit this one in the future, I'm sure, An uneven book.

There's plentiful information on various writing process and techniques, which can be useful, On the other hand, there's also a definite bias toward what gets cited, Ray Bradbury is quoted once, but not, obviously, the advice that he gives to write a short story every single week, I have found that ideas may come quickly but the actual writing to completion can be slow, That's why I was very attracted to Louise DeSalvo's book, The Art of Slow Writing, DeSalvo shares her own writing process, while examining the benefits of writing slowly, and describes the work habits of other very successful writers, The book is full of useful advice and tips gathered from decades of practice and research,

Part One, "Getting Ready to Write," explores the beginning stages of the writing process, " Part Two, "A Writer's Apprenticeship," examines how long it takes writers to learn their craft or develop a new project, Margaret Atwood says "writing is acquired through the apprentice system, " Part Three, "Challenges and Successes," addresses "learning patience, overcoming a fear of failure, and cultivating determination, " Part Four is "Writers at Rest" and Part Five is "Building a Book, Finishing a Book, "

DeSalvo, a teacher and writer, is also a "passionate foodie, " She likens the slow writing process to the Slow Food movement, Like Slow Food, "slow writing doesn't just take time, but makes time, "

Some "ha ha" moments for me occurred when DeSalvo said she protects her writing time by not engaging in long telephone conversations, Facebook, net surfing, and emailing more than once a day.
I remember one of my writing mentors saying years ago: Ask yourself how will this a particular activity help my writing Also, I'm noting to myself, slow writing doesn't mean not writing!

In "Writing and Real Life" DeSalvo describes an essay by Anne Tyler about writing in "the midst of life's chaos.
" The proverbial "a room of one's own" is impossible for most people who have to earn a living and have families and other responsibilities, I wonder: if I had an office outside my home I might be like Alice Munro, who wrote nothing in the office she rented except one story called "The Office.
"

I especially appreciated the chapter on the "Process Journal," one of the most important items in DeSalvo's writer's tool box, She plans projects in it, lists books she wants to read, and puzzles through challenges she's facing,

Sue Grafton is another writer who keeps such a journal, "Grafton keeps a separate journal for each novel they're about four times longer than the novel itself, "

"Our process journals are where we engage in the nonjudgmental reflective witnessing of our work, Here, we work at defining ourselves as active, engaged, responsible, patient, writers," DeSalvo says,

DeSalvo asks questions of herself and her readers such as: "And what if we thought, not of each individual work but focused, instead, on our writing life as a continuum, with the completion of each project viewed as another important step in a lifetime of practice"

Although she says "viewing writing as practice rather than accomplishment can be a valuable shift in perspective," writing is also a craft to be learned and there are steps to take to actually complete a book.
The "manager" part of DeSalvo decides when and how long she'll write and what she'll work on and the "laborer" part of her writes,

Louise DeSalvo has been writing sinceand says she's still a beginner, learning her craft, learning what it means to be a writer and learning what it means to be a slow writer.
She has written short chapters based on decades of research, Each is summed up with a sentence or two that could be added to a writer's manifesto, The writing process combined with a "game plan" can help writers produce their finest work,

by Mary Ann Moore
for Story Circle Book s
reviewing books by, for, and about women A strong book that presents commonsensical ideas, but also demonstrates clarity in managing difficult moments and difficult times.


DeSalvo shows that writing is based on decisions, We need to broadened the spectrum of those decisions, so they include leisure, rest and sleep,

The key argument of the book is that great writing requires reflection, This reflection only emerges when managing and mitigating the speed of our writing, Fast prose is powerful, propulsive and inspiring,

But there are times where slowness is required to enable improvement, reflection and success, I love books on writing craft and this is one of my favorite, I wasnt sure how well a memoirists experience could inform fiction, but the advice carried over seamlessly between genres, The author spends a lot of time reading and synthesizing the processes of various other writers across theth andst centuries and in sharing those observations, demonstrates the universal challenges shared by creators.
She makes a strong and comforting case that good novels, good art, takes time and stamina, that quality cannot be rushed, and that the discipline to, work hard enough while knowing when to step away and let a work breathe is unique to creative pursuits.
I marked up and stickied every other page in this book, and I know it will serve me for many fruitful, frustrating, creative years, Maybe my favorite writing book I've ever read, Tons of great advice. Highly recommend! In our microwave society we're accustomed to speed, We see famous authors churning out bestsellers and sometimes we wish they'd do it faster, as we're desperate to read whatever's next! This book makes a solid argument for the other side, the masters who publish every six to ten years I heard Anne Bogel say recently, "It's been about six years, soandso is due for another book," and I so appreciated that!

The main points are

this:
It takes slow to grow that's in the preface, so it's basically free.

Take the time to perfect your art, Consider the great Renaissance painters, who took years and added layers rather than rendering the first brush strokes the completion of their work,
Time may turn the project into something entirely than what it is when you begin,

Slow and steady wins the race,
Speedy produces quick lit, chick lit sorry, I might be a hater unless I'm at the beach, and thin storylines, Slow writing can doesn't always produce more layered, complex storylines that make them classics, that make them memorable literature,

I loved this book, I got it from the library, but it's one I'm considering adding to my personal collection,

I loved that reading this book overlapped with my reading of Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi, and that her book took seven years to write, Am I willing to take that long if I can create a masterpiece or am I settling if I overrush the process,