What do you think?
Rate this book
Start with a Word: On the Craft and Adventure of Writing
A creative masterclass for aspiring and established writers alike
After decades of writing award-winning books on subjects ranging from poetry to art to liturgical seasons, celebrated author Marilyn McEntyre turns her attention to the vocation that has shaped her life. Start with a On the Craft and Adventure of Writing is a literary masterclass that eschews drills and formulas in favor of close readings and refreshingly playful advice.
A veteran teacher, Marilyn understands that the best writing instruction doesn't come from rigid rules or rote approaches to filling the blank page. Instead, she demonstrates how the writers whose works we have enjoyed can become our tutors. She calls us to move beyond asking "What does this text say?" to a more revealing "How does this text work?" This shift in perspective—from passive consumption to active apprenticeship—transforms how we encounter literature and how we create it.
More than a how-to manual, Start with a Word is an invitation into a way of being that honors both the precision and the mystery of words. It offers short lessons on essential elements of literary craft, close readings of passages from a range of works, writing prompts, and, above all, encouragement for authors to find their unique path into work only they can create.
"Reading and writing keep alive in us the desire to be precise, lively, surprising, generous, inviting, challenging, wise. They make us want to be good, if only in the sense that choosing exact and appropriate words is a matter of choosing the good. . . . I don't think you can be an excellent writer without developing some virtues, if only fidelity to a practice that honors the gift of language."
After decades of writing award-winning books on subjects ranging from poetry to art to liturgical seasons, celebrated author Marilyn McEntyre turns her attention to the vocation that has shaped her life. Start with a On the Craft and Adventure of Writing is a literary masterclass that eschews drills and formulas in favor of close readings and refreshingly playful advice.
A veteran teacher, Marilyn understands that the best writing instruction doesn't come from rigid rules or rote approaches to filling the blank page. Instead, she demonstrates how the writers whose works we have enjoyed can become our tutors. She calls us to move beyond asking "What does this text say?" to a more revealing "How does this text work?" This shift in perspective—from passive consumption to active apprenticeship—transforms how we encounter literature and how we create it.
More than a how-to manual, Start with a Word is an invitation into a way of being that honors both the precision and the mystery of words. It offers short lessons on essential elements of literary craft, close readings of passages from a range of works, writing prompts, and, above all, encouragement for authors to find their unique path into work only they can create.
"Reading and writing keep alive in us the desire to be precise, lively, surprising, generous, inviting, challenging, wise. They make us want to be good, if only in the sense that choosing exact and appropriate words is a matter of choosing the good. . . . I don't think you can be an excellent writer without developing some virtues, if only fidelity to a practice that honors the gift of language."
- GenresWriting
212 pages, Paperback
Published February 24, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 12, 2026
This Book was won on a Goodreads Giveaway.
This book will have a very niche audience. If you have never written anything or if English is maybe not your first language or if you’ve not a had competent English teacher, this book may be very beneficial to you. It starts at the very beginning of being able to write and full of many useful prompts to begin a story.
In my opinion it falls short with too many quotes from others. This book could have been a lot shorter and relayed the same message.
This book will have a very niche audience. If you have never written anything or if English is maybe not your first language or if you’ve not a had competent English teacher, this book may be very beneficial to you. It starts at the very beginning of being able to write and full of many useful prompts to begin a story.
In my opinion it falls short with too many quotes from others. This book could have been a lot shorter and relayed the same message.
Displaying 1 of 1 review