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Writing on Both Sides of the Brain: Breakthrough Techniques for People Who Write
A revolutionary approach to writing that will teach you how to express yourself fluently and with confidence for the rest of your life.In Writing on Both Sides of the Brain, author Henriette Anne Klauser offers writers breakthrough techniques to break through blocks and create and communicate yourself through words. From working with procrastination and fending off your inner critic to organizing your material and using creative visualization, this informative and empowering guide will help demystify the Right Brain/Left Brain thought processes and keep your words flowing.“Definitely supportive. The biggest block any writer has is self-judgment. Writing on Both Sides of the Brain helps overcome the obstacles and tap into the creative powers within each writer.” —W. Timothy Gallwey, bestselling author of The Inner Game of Tennis“Amusing, interesting, and stimulating . . . should help many potential writers.” —Pulitzer Prize winner Donald M. Murray
129 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 1987
94 people are currently reading
762 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 24, 2022
برای نوشتن فقط بنویسید.
خلاصه خوانی
۲ آبان ۱۴۰۱
خلاصه خوانی
۲ آبان ۱۴۰۱
May 17, 2012
I first encountered this book when I was in high school back in the 90s. A friend, who was as much into writing as I was, purchased a copy and recommended it. I now own my own copy and have read it a couple of times.
This book is very good and opened up a whole new world to me. Beyond what was presented here, it introduced me to the idea that, just because one writing method works for one person, it doesn't work for everyone. That may seem logical, but I don't believe that the educational system was up to the challenge of teaching that way.
As a result of having read this book, I began to experiment and try new writing methods and styles. When something didn't work, I would try something else until I actually had a workable system. And even now I watch as it evolves.
Those lessons are necessarily at the heart of the book, but they are what I took from it (along with a couple of cool techniques) and I owe this book a huge debt of gratitude.
I recommend this book to newer writers who are interested in taking their writing to the next level and really making it their own.
This book is very good and opened up a whole new world to me. Beyond what was presented here, it introduced me to the idea that, just because one writing method works for one person, it doesn't work for everyone. That may seem logical, but I don't believe that the educational system was up to the challenge of teaching that way.
As a result of having read this book, I began to experiment and try new writing methods and styles. When something didn't work, I would try something else until I actually had a workable system. And even now I watch as it evolves.
Those lessons are necessarily at the heart of the book, but they are what I took from it (along with a couple of cool techniques) and I owe this book a huge debt of gratitude.
I recommend this book to newer writers who are interested in taking their writing to the next level and really making it their own.
Currently reading
October 30, 2009This is an oldie but goodie. It's been on my shelf for the last five years and I have re-read it now three times. Everytime I get a few more things out of it that helps my writing. I've decided to keep this on my shelf for now and read it again next year. It's definitely a keeper for me. At least for now. The book is difficult to find, so if you do, celebrate and enjoy it. I have another chapter I want to re-read before I place it back on the shelf.
Read
July 16, 2024On the whole I think this book is better suited to nonfiction writing, BUT there were some good kernels of wisdom here. I do believe that procrastination is based in fear. Also, this book is definitely a part of God's Syllabus because Klauser addresses negative self talk and how it's not helpful in the least.
We'll see if I have a breakthrough now...
We'll see if I have a breakthrough now...
December 31, 2024
One of the most inspiring books on writing that I have ever read. This is not a how-to, or even a book of exercises to get started. It doesn't explain how to create plots, or dialogue, or how to submit manuscripts. Instead, it looks at why so many writers procrastinate, give up part-way through novels, and don't get around to sending anything in.
The author explains - broadly - how we have two sides to our writing: the creative, inspiring part and the critical, editing part. We need both, but at different times. We need to show the editor the door when engaged in the first draft of anything, and invite him in, politely, when read to revise.
Various techniques are suggested to get in the right frame of mind for writing - getting going early in the morning, branching diagrams (called 'creative search' elsewhere), ruminating, and more. Procrastinating tendencies are examined, with pointed questions asked, and the reader is freed from the victim mentality that blames circumstances, into the attitude that we can choose - if we wish - to write, or not. Writing rubbish is just fine, and we may be surprised that our apparent rubbish is not as bad as the internal editor feared.
I was slightly dubious about the final section on meditation which seemed almost to suggest a 'spirit guide' in the form of a famous author, but it was only a brief addendum. The rest of the book was excellent. I must read it regularly. Very highly recommended to anyone who writes - or would like to write - anything.
Longer review after re-reading: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...
The author explains - broadly - how we have two sides to our writing: the creative, inspiring part and the critical, editing part. We need both, but at different times. We need to show the editor the door when engaged in the first draft of anything, and invite him in, politely, when read to revise.
Various techniques are suggested to get in the right frame of mind for writing - getting going early in the morning, branching diagrams (called 'creative search' elsewhere), ruminating, and more. Procrastinating tendencies are examined, with pointed questions asked, and the reader is freed from the victim mentality that blames circumstances, into the attitude that we can choose - if we wish - to write, or not. Writing rubbish is just fine, and we may be surprised that our apparent rubbish is not as bad as the internal editor feared.
I was slightly dubious about the final section on meditation which seemed almost to suggest a 'spirit guide' in the form of a famous author, but it was only a brief addendum. The rest of the book was excellent. I must read it regularly. Very highly recommended to anyone who writes - or would like to write - anything.
Longer review after re-reading: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...
February 4, 2012
This is one of my favorite books that have formed the core of what I consider necessary to living. Sounds dramatic, but true. One of the surprising things I've noticed after delving into some of the great writing, creativity and art "how to" books is that they really seem to direct you on life with the art making its natural appearance after the fact. I've started to think the phrase "art is life" may have something quite literal to it. Klauser is an engaging, easy to read writer and makes her points very clearly. There doesn't seem to be any fat to spare on these pages. All of her advice is concise, helpful, and well articulated. What used to be labeled as left brain/right brain functions are a main topic in the book, and while the field of neuroscience has developed quite extensively over the past 20 years the applications presented in this book are still just as relevant and provide valuable tools when approaching the page. Highly recommended.
August 31, 2008
This book is a must read for all writing teachers. Very insightful about the brain and how we process information.
May 22, 2019
برای افرادی که میخان نویسندگی یاد بگیرن یا کتاب بنویسن حتما نیازه این کتاب بخونن - تکنیک های جالبی برای نویسندگی و فعالسازی مغز چپ و راست ارایه میکنه
May 29, 2020
writing on both sides of the brain
kid practise practise practise
learn like a kid
edit later
ariel caliban
Musician List
write garbace
progress log
rapid writing
nulla dies sine linea
the wall second wind go extra mile
let the music out
the inner game of tennis your game is so good
stravinski naopacke
branching
see the cause of procrastination
critic
talk to critic
5 r
deadline strategy
write obligation
kid practise practise practise
learn like a kid
edit later
ariel caliban
Musician List
write garbace
progress log
rapid writing
nulla dies sine linea
the wall second wind go extra mile
let the music out
the inner game of tennis your game is so good
stravinski naopacke
branching
see the cause of procrastination
critic
talk to critic
5 r
deadline strategy
write obligation
August 29, 2025
I've heard about our left brain-right brain dichotomy for years, but this is the first time I have read anything about it as it relates to writing. I'm in the process of writing a historical novel, and this book was insightful. Parts of it, such as the Progress Log technique were not so useful for me, but that's OK. Overall I would this book is a "yes" for aspiring writers that have not yet established their writing style.
August 6, 2023
I purchased this book a LONG time ago (1999?), so reading it now, well, I already knew the majority of the rules. It did make me realize how well I've learned to write and I'm so glad I've overcome the issue of struggling with a first draft. The focus of the book seemed much more for business writers rather than story writers, so that was disappointing.
April 19, 2024
Because the book is so old, much of its advice has been adopted by other authors, and other parts are obsolete (I noted that two of the publications she mentioned no longer exist) or have been superseded by new research. However, much like read E.B.White's The Elements of Style it is sometimes good to review the basics.
March 21, 2020
I've had this little gem on my bookshelf for many years. Needing something to calm my mind to get back to writing again, I took it down and read it again. It is full of wonderful, practical exercises to get you going again.
September 6, 2018
A crisp, to the point cheerleader. Great to have at your side when feeling down and stuck.
September 16, 2018
I love this book. It really helped me through a block. Make friends with your inner critic and listen to yourself. I truly recommend this book.
February 8, 2020
An excellent book by a writer/teacher. Great illustrations, meaningful quotations and examples offer the novice writer and the experienced writer tips, skills and above all encouragement.
July 27, 2025
I can’t explain how genius Anne is. I admire her as person but as author she is epitome of genius.
August 22, 2013
The recent trendiness of neuroscience and brain imaging might prompt those of us who aren’t scientists to imagine that much of what we know about how our brain works—especially in terms what areas are associated with what—is relatively new. But the truth is otherwise. Brain science has been around for decades, and popular psychology has capitalized on it for nearly as long. In this way, Henriette Anne Klauser’s Writing on Both Sides of the Brain (HarperCollins, 1987) follows the trend. Applying the “whole brained” approach to the writing process, Klauser walks her readers through a series of exercises designed to combat common anxieties and problems associated with writing: writer’s block, procrastination, inability to self-edit, etc. Klauser argues that all of these problems are tied to our inability to manipulate which side of the brain we use, when. For example, our left-brained editor prevents our right-brained creative juices from flowing when we sit down at our keyboards to start an early draft. Klauser acknowledges that both sides of the brain are important to the writing process, but our attempts to exercise both simultaneously stand in the way of producing our best work.
Whether or not you buy into the neuroscientific explanations Klauser provides (I’m on the fence), the advice and exercises she suggests still carry enormous use-value. In particular, Klauser suggests that writers embrace the practice of writing “on the run,” taking advantage of the thoughts and inspirations that strike most often when writing isn’t the explicit task we have set out for ourselves. Pragmatically, this means having pens and paper always handy and forcing yourself to stop and write things down when ideas come to you. Similarly, Klauser exalts the benefits of writing first thing in the morning before your critical consciousness kicks in. In short, Klauser argues, embracing these sorts of writing practices is the fastest way to get out of your own way and get down to the business of writing.
Klauser is also strong when it comes to examining underlying psychological problems associated with writing. I found her suggestions about how to combat procrastination through explicitly articulating (in writing) the payoff and the price of putting things off to be a straightforward but effective way of understanding the underlying cause for leaving things to the last minute. Likewise, I found her suggestions for identifying and dialoging with (again, in writing) inner critics a creative way to learn to fight back against the all-too-common tendency that many of us have for talking ourselves out of an experience before it’s even begun. Klauser is especially realistic in this last scenario—she doesn’t want writers to dialog with these critics in the hopes of silencing them. On the contrary, she is explicit that writers should regularly schedule times to put these dialogs into prose. Doing so helps make explicit what is otherwise an abstract obstacle. Moreover, it forces writers to fight back, often helping them to more explicitly understand their positive motivations for writing.
Where I felt Klauser was less strong was in her advice on writing products (as opposed to process). For instance, her sections on editing provide excellent advice as to when writers might revisit their prose (after it sits for awhile!), but very little guidance as to what you would look for during this process. Similarly, though she does an excellent job of articulating the benefits of planning a draft using a mapping or branching approach instead of a linear outline (easier to see the whole, room to draw seemless connections between parts, etc.), she doesn’t really provide many examples of what these maps might look like. More problematic is her utter silence on how you would take a map and transform it into writing. How do you decide the order of the branches? How do single words get transformed into ideas and arguments? If these are the types of questions that plague your writing, this book won’t be much help. But if you are looking for ideas on improving your attitudes toward writing and your writing productivity, there’s a lot of excellent advice here. And you need not embrace Klauser’s cognitive psychology perspective to make use of it.
Whether or not you buy into the neuroscientific explanations Klauser provides (I’m on the fence), the advice and exercises she suggests still carry enormous use-value. In particular, Klauser suggests that writers embrace the practice of writing “on the run,” taking advantage of the thoughts and inspirations that strike most often when writing isn’t the explicit task we have set out for ourselves. Pragmatically, this means having pens and paper always handy and forcing yourself to stop and write things down when ideas come to you. Similarly, Klauser exalts the benefits of writing first thing in the morning before your critical consciousness kicks in. In short, Klauser argues, embracing these sorts of writing practices is the fastest way to get out of your own way and get down to the business of writing.
Klauser is also strong when it comes to examining underlying psychological problems associated with writing. I found her suggestions about how to combat procrastination through explicitly articulating (in writing) the payoff and the price of putting things off to be a straightforward but effective way of understanding the underlying cause for leaving things to the last minute. Likewise, I found her suggestions for identifying and dialoging with (again, in writing) inner critics a creative way to learn to fight back against the all-too-common tendency that many of us have for talking ourselves out of an experience before it’s even begun. Klauser is especially realistic in this last scenario—she doesn’t want writers to dialog with these critics in the hopes of silencing them. On the contrary, she is explicit that writers should regularly schedule times to put these dialogs into prose. Doing so helps make explicit what is otherwise an abstract obstacle. Moreover, it forces writers to fight back, often helping them to more explicitly understand their positive motivations for writing.
Where I felt Klauser was less strong was in her advice on writing products (as opposed to process). For instance, her sections on editing provide excellent advice as to when writers might revisit their prose (after it sits for awhile!), but very little guidance as to what you would look for during this process. Similarly, though she does an excellent job of articulating the benefits of planning a draft using a mapping or branching approach instead of a linear outline (easier to see the whole, room to draw seemless connections between parts, etc.), she doesn’t really provide many examples of what these maps might look like. More problematic is her utter silence on how you would take a map and transform it into writing. How do you decide the order of the branches? How do single words get transformed into ideas and arguments? If these are the types of questions that plague your writing, this book won’t be much help. But if you are looking for ideas on improving your attitudes toward writing and your writing productivity, there’s a lot of excellent advice here. And you need not embrace Klauser’s cognitive psychology perspective to make use of it.
August 6, 2009
This book is a great technique book. It's charmingly '80s, and the writer's own writing won't knock your socks off. But it's very good, particularly for those who have read Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight and are interested in what the right brain has to offer.
March 12, 2012
Klauser approaches her topic from the assumption that most of us are left-brainers who need to shut down our critics and free our creative right brain. If you're a right-brainer then this book is not for you. That said, I found little to help me free my creative right brain and shut down my critic.
This is a rather old book, as evidenced by Appendix 2, "Writing on Both Sides of the Brain with a Word Processor." Some of the techniques she teaches, however, are timeless.
This is a rather old book, as evidenced by Appendix 2, "Writing on Both Sides of the Brain with a Word Processor." Some of the techniques she teaches, however, are timeless.
December 14, 2014
I picked up this book because I'm an intuitive writer; meaning I primarily rely on my right brain when I write. I'm not so great with the left brain side of writing, including structure, plot, analyzing what's on the page, outlining, etc. I was hoping to reinforce some left-brained strategies, but I feel this book appealed more to my intuitive dominance and reinforced my preference. :) Great read though!
January 14, 2014
This is a deceptively simple book with a single brilliant recommendation-that one should separate,in one's writing, the 2 distinctly separate functions of free flow and editing. That's it. With meticulously selected, well thought-out, and passionately presented reference material. A power pack!!
September 9, 2008
Maybe if you have never written before this might be an okay primer. But it seemed too elementary and obvious to me.
April 13, 2010
May well change my life.
August 17, 2014
This didn't change my technique drastically (probably because it didn't need drastic changing!) but it certainly gave some helpful advice, especially for overcoming writers' block.
June 2, 2015
For anyone who struggles with relentlessly critiquing yourself in the same moment that you're trying to create, this book is a serious boon.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews