Views from a Window Seat

by Jeannine Atkins

Every writer needs inspiration, whether composing fiction, poetry, or fact-based work for an audience of children or adults. Both inspiration and company, Views from a Window Seat: Thoughts on Writing and Life poses and answers questions such as: How do we decide the best way to begin a book? How do we keep up our momentum during the long middle? What are some ways to know we’ve reached an ending? How do we tell the truth?

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2013

About the author

Jeannine Atkins is the author of Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science, Grasping Mysteries: Girls Who Loved Math, and Little Woman in Blue: A Novel of May Alcott. She teaches in the MFA program at Simmons College. You can learn more on her website at http://www.Jeannineatkins.com.

Reviews

[Cathy Lentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful look at the ups and downs of living a writing life.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I read books fast; the action propels me forward to the end in lightning speed. And other books’ pages slow me down. I re-read lines, and often underline them. I star passages, and add notes to some. For anyone who wishes a book to savor, a passionate affair about writing, life, and created with loving authority too, please find Views from A Window Seat, Thoughts on Writing and Life, by Jeannine Atkins.

Jeannine takes the reader through a year of writing amid parts of her life. The thread that loosely holds the book together is a book she’s writing. We get to know some of its beginnings, how more than one day of writing might look, those who support her. Metaphors of both life and life’s writing flourish. As I read, I realized that I might make notes not only with words, but with sketches.
It was a pleasure to connect with the metaphorical lessons from Jeannine’s point of view and to try to translate them to other personal expectations. The words are clear, bring me to new understandings of how parts of novels work. In the chapter titled "Nest, Gardens, and Forest Paths", setting is explained. Jeannine writes: I try to embed descriptions in small slices. Each should function as a place where characters feel different aspects of themselves or who they can be. Later in another chapter, she writes about the moments that are not the great ones for which a person is known. The quieter moments of history may be as important as what happens in a family between posed snapshots.
Among many, a favorite line is Meaning in life is usually at least half-hidden, and that's what we want when we write and read. The anticipation mystery holds is at least half the excitement, and even in this book of essays by Jeannine, I found this mystery of what her thoughts might offer next so enticing.
I hope you'll take the time to order and read Views from A Window Seat, Thoughts on Writing and Life. I've discovered new ideas for myself, and new connections to my own life and writing from Jeannine's words.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you, like me, are stumped about what you'd most like for Christmas this year, may I suggest that any of you who are writers (and many of you who are not writers) put Views from a Window Seat: Thoughts on Writing and Life by Jeannine Atkins on your list? Next to Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird and Stephen King's On Writing, this is the book you want for inspiration, motivation, and support. I am completely and totally serious. And yes, Jeannine is a friend of mine (one I've actually met in person in addition to online, no less!), but this book is a thoughtful exploration of the writing process and writing life. Each essay is a gem, its truthfulness beaming at you from the page. It is heartwarming and heartbreaking and utterly beautiful. And if you are a writer, or are interested in the lives of writers or the creative process, you need this book.

[Irene Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gift this book is to writers! Jeannine's clear, honest, beautiful voice spills from every page. I have long enjoyed Jeannine's blog, yet this book feels completely fresh and new to me. I think it might have to do with the fact that we writers need to hear things more than once, and depending on where we are on our particular journey on any given day, these pieces shout or whisper accordingly. This volume goes on my shelf of best-loved books for writers, along with Anne Lamott, Natalie Goldberg, Pat Schneider and Robert Olen Butler.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the surface, this is a book of essays that focuses on the writing process. It is organized into four sections, or seasons, as viewed from Jeannine's window seat: Spring: Beginning, Summer: Moving Through the Middle, Fall: Revising, and Winter: Finding an End. But really, this book is so much more than a how-to guide. It's an honest look at what it means to be a writer, a beautiful personal account of one writer's journey, and a source of meditation and motivation-- an inspirational companion.

[Stephanie]

Really lovely book of essays on just about every aspect of life as a writer, from thoughts on craft to thoughts on publishing and career survival. I loved it.