Weighing up books for writers.

​I'm a writer. I like to read books about writing. It helps my practice, inspires me to reflect and, when I'm finding the writing hard going, reminds me why I love putting words on the page. 
It might seem odd that writers may need such reminders, but apparently they do, because books about writing and for writers are plentiful! 
The House That Joy Built, Write For life and The Fearless Writer are three books about writing (and creativity) that I've read recently. I enjoyed them all, but I was left weighing them up at the end.

The House That Joy Built
Holly Ringland is an award winning Australian novelist. I'll admit, I haven't read any of her fiction even though I've heard good things about it. In this book, Holly reflects on the strategies and mindsets she used to unlock the creativity that grief and hardship had hidden away. The book is peppered with memoir type writing and practical dot points for self-reflection and action. It is honest and real (and includes some occasional strong language) but also has some beautiful imagery about creativity and joy. I really liked it, and found the chapters on 'Self-doubt + Self-compassion' and 'Inner critic + Inner fan' particularly helpful. Here's a quote that stood out to me:

'What if our inner critic is at its strongest when its reacting to the things that are most important to us?' - Holly Ringland.

Write for Life
This is a Julia Cameron (famous for The Artist's Way) book and is a six week, collection of essays about writing. At the end of each chapter/week there is a list of actions (which I'm assuming, having not ever read The Artist's Way, are based on her principles from that book). Julia's writing is rambling in style, but not in a disconnected way. It's more like a conversation about the highs and lows, the pitfalls and self-narratives that clutter up the will to write. I enjoyed reinstating a daily writing practice (what she calls 'morning pages') and the chance to reflect on my approach to creativity. Particularly useful for my current season was the reminder to 'lower the bar' and then aim to reach that low target every writing day. ​

'Writing is a way to metabolize life' - Julia Cameron.

Fearless Writing
I can't remember how I came across this book, but I think I saw it recommended on someone's blog and ordered it blind. It's by William Kenower and has the subtitle: How to create boldly and write with confidence. Each chapter addresses a 'fear' common to writers from the fear of failure to receiving critiques and everything in between (fears like: 'am I smart enough' or 'what exactly is good writing?'). With suggested exercises at the end of each chapter (most of which I read but left undone), this book has a kind but firm tone that really did leave me feeling like, 'yeah - I could actually do this!' ​

'Writing is not thinking: it is listening.' - William Kenower.

Looking for the source.
From creativity and joy, to procrastination and productivity, all three of these books address themes relevant to the writer's life. They are like listening to an honest friend carefully dismantling your excuses not to write and then building you up with courage to get going again. I found them all extremely helpful, however I was also left weighing them up a little. You see, all three of these books acknowledged writing as a spiritual activity. As Christian who is a writer, I found this really interesting, especially where each of the authors looked for the ultimate version of creative truth and courage. For Ringland, the surest response to challenges of creativity was to cultivate joy by believing in your own strength. For Cameron, her source of wisdom and creative direction comes from the universe, 'celestial beings' and creative habits. Kenower trusts 'The Flow', a creative process the writer engages with within their own writing and imagination. Each book contained a lot of truth, and yet I felt that each limited that truth to  a writer-sufficient type approach. For me, this doesn't mean I'll discard these books. No, I liked them! But what it does mean, is that when I go back and read them again - highlighter in hand to mark up all my favourite bits - I'll also be weighing their perspectives against the mercy and grace of Christ. Because I believe that God is the ultimate creator and it is from his brilliance that we get our creative nature. He is the one who meets our self-doubt with extravagant knowing. He defines our truth, checks self-righteousness and is altogether lavish in creativity. And with these reminders in mind, I'm happy to sit back and read another book about writing.