The Playful Way to Serious Writing by Roberta Allen

by Roberta Allen

For anyone who has ever dreaded the blank page or struggled to find something to write and then agonized over how best to write it, or has simply found writing to be hard work, The Playful Way to Serious Writing breaks down common writing barriers and frees the writer within. Drawing on extensive experience in teaching creative writing and a lifetime of free artistic expression, Roberta Allen, novelist, short story writer, and author of Fast Fiction, has created a unique book of writing exercises packed with hundreds of verbal directives and visual cues. The key, Allen says, is ENERGY, "the force behind the words, the desire to bring forth something that has never before existed." Allen's ENERGY METHOD, which focuses creativity without interruption or that nagging inner critic, can be used for any type of creative effort at any level -- stories, novels, plays, memoirs, sketches, journals, and more. Attractive, engaging, funny, and free ranging, The Playful Way to Serious Writingis more than just a writing guide -- it is an endless sourcebook of ideas and a trusted creative companion.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

Mass Market Paperback

First published September 9, 2002

Reviews

[Fawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book with very large print, in cursive writing, and not than many words per page. I found it enjoyable to read and loved the he authors lecture on “energy.” This would be a great one to read for anyone starting to get their head on the game for writing.

[Emmaline MacBeath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a writing exercise book for right brained people. There are no formulas. Instead there are photographs, questions, list ideas, and story starters. There are no lengthy explanations. Each page has a different writing exercise. For those of us who write well in response to random ideas, this is a great book. It is simple. It is a place to start. If you have been writing for a long time, I would not necessarily recommend this book unless you are looking for a jump start for new ideas.

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These prompt books by self-styled whimsical artistic types are starting to run together. Already. I haven't actually read that many. Also, this one just reads as screaming WHITE PRIVILEDGE to me in a weird way - I think because there are so many photos and all of them are of white people doing white things.

I do like the timed approach, that works for my planning process, and there are a few intriguing exercises in here.

Overall it's pretty blah, however. I'm not really excited about this book.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another library read that I picked up at random looking for writing books in December 2010. Probably a solid three stars if I'm rating it because it's composed of short prompts and it's the size of a coffee table book. You could easily flip through it and read the prompts as well as see the pictures within. It's not so much a "how-to" writing book as it is more of a creative musings book. Some of the exercises are fun and worth coming back to if you're freewriting.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it, great writing exercises to get creativity flowing.

[Amy]

This book has great writing exercises!