“You're a writer? Don't you just love Writing Down the Bones?”

This is one of those books that people just assume you've read when you have an MFA in writing. I had heard quite a bit about it, but I hadn't actually read it until now. But since this book has clearly been highly praised and circulated within the writing community since the 1980s, it's no surprise that I've come across so much of Goldberg's sage advice throughout the years.

The problem with a book like this is that I have heard it all before. It's a testament to what Goldberg had to say on the subject of writing, but my mind was certainly not blown by reading this. And so I'm not sure if my overall lack of love for this book is indicative of an overpraised lackluster book, or a wonderfully brilliant book that has been dulled by its successors. Frankly, I think it is both.

Some of Goldberg's ideas are golden. She's very much into the “let go” mentality of writing. She has really great advice for how to achieve this. Many of her thoughts on mindfulness are the words I have heard and appreciated over and again. But when you look at the whole of this book, you find that that really is the summation of the author's advice. Sure, she has a small exercise here and a tidbit of non-zen based advice there, but so much of this book is about writing mindfully. Writing mindfully is exactly what I need, but reading this book thirty-two years after its original publication, it is mostly stuff I've heard before.

Writing Down the Bones is excellent for the beginning writer or the writer who wants to approach their work more naturally. It should probably be required reading in undergrad writing programs. But for a broader, more modern perspective of the writing craft or for solid inspiration, I'd look elsewhere. Personally, I loved McCann's Letters to a Young Writer. It's a slim volume and McCann surely will not teach you “everything you need to know about writing” or even come close to doing so, but it features a great mix of topics that are 100% inspiring (though many of those ideas were probably inspired by Goldberg's book).

The Mindful Writer is divided into four sections: The Writer's Mind, The Writer's Desk, The Writer's Vision, and The Writer's Life. Each section has many quotes by various authors, followed by a brief response by the author. Thoughtful quotes and responses make this short book a pretty inspiring read.

As a writer, I really related to a lot of what is said in this book. This little book has a lot of advice and it is definitely a book I will revisit from time to time. It is a pleasant, quick read.

Thanks to my friend for giving me this wonderful book as a Christmas gift.

Quick review for a quick read. Probably would give this a solid three stars, as it's a give and take for content and usefulness. If you can get it at your local library - do so before thinking of buying this, because I can think of quite a few reasons why it wouldn't be worth the $16.99 price tag. It features some great essays and advice, but ultimately, much of this isn't an thorough viewpoint of the horror genre and what it contributes.

Well organized into its respective sections, and it touched on quite many relevant factors for those looking to start writing horror, from a number of respected writers in the field. Among some of the useful essays I found: Tina Jens wrote a wonderful way to examine characters in "Such Humble People." Joe R. Lansdale examines the importance of place and setting to horror in "A Hand on the Shoulder." Jack Ketchum's "Splat Goes the Hero" is another examination on writing believable characters and ways your readers can follow your story believably. "The Dark Enchantment of Style" - while not simply specific to horror, offers good advice in employing stylistics in writing and attention to language. Michael Marano's "Going There: Strategies for Writing the Things that Scare You" does a great job of encouraging new writers to write past their boundaries and engaging what scares you to the page. Lastly, I really liked "Eerie Events and Horrible Happenings: Plotting Short Horror Fiction" by Nicholas Kaufmann, because of its brief but very helpful eye to plotting details and shaping the narrative overall for appeal.

There are quite a few other essays that grabbed me, as this compilation delves into the appeal of horror fiction, strategies to write it, strategies to market it, and subgenres to consider in other mediums (video games, screenplays, etc.) But I'm going to preface this review with a huge caveat: this isn't really a good compilation for delving into more expansive discussions surrounding the material within. I think it's a worthwhile text for starting dialogue about writing horror, but to use this to actually *write* horror from is severely limiting, and even the references given for authors who want to break into writing the genre is limited.

Beginners to the genre and those who want snippets of encouragement might find this more useful, and I definitely thought some of the advice given was nicely and succinctly stated, but it left me wanting a little more from it.

Overall score: 3/5