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Writing Therapy
'How To' Guide books aren't supposed to be works of fiction, are they? (Even if some of the advice they give can be difficult to believe!) And writing manuals don't often tell a story, even if they tell you how to write one. Frances Nolan is a young girl with a problem - she reads too much. So much, in fact, that she begins to think she is a character in a novel that she's writing. This 'beautifully-angled novel about growing up and breaking down' (Richard Coles) is also a multi-layered book-within-a-book, cleverly charting the creative process of writing a novel and exploring the complex relationship between fact and fiction.
269 pages, Paperback
First published November 18, 2008
2 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Tim Atkinson
26 books20 followersTim Atkinson is a teacher, author and award-winning blogger. He was born in Colchester, brought up in Yorkshire and now lives in Lincolnshire. Having studied philosophy at the University of Hull he worked variously as a filing clerk, lay-clerk, chain-man and school teacher. He taught philosophy at a boys' grammar school and psychology at a girls' high school and is now a full-time writer. Among his books are the novel ‘Writing Therapy’ (2008) and ‘The Iliad: A Study Guide’ (2017). He also edited the new writing anthology ‘Tiny Acorns’ (2010).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 31, 2018
Warnings:
multiple scenes of lesbian sex ranging in degrees of their graphicness
one overt rape scene and maybe (refer below as to why I can't really tell) a few more, less overt
a court proceeding where oral sex is graphically described
mentions of blood (a murder but only in the mc's imagination)
a gratuitous amount of foul language. A few sh**s and dam*s here and there but an over excess of f-words.
Now in the way this book is written I can't really summarize the story for you because it is written in such a way that it can be difficult to parse the fantasy from the reality; what is really happening to the main character verses what she thinks is happening or wants to happen is not clear. It is also sometimes difficult to simply know what is going on. Lots of inferences and assumptions are needed.
It is written in a type of technical outlook. A vacillation between technical and novel. You cannot always tell what is going on and several things occur which can be confusing and graphic.
So while yes, it does give a wonderful example of how writing therapy can be implemented and have a positive ending effect, it offers a hopeless outlook on the whole of life and a overall negative feeling once the book has ended. The bits of interesting inner dialogue and good advice for writing therapy, writing in general actually (and even some of that really isn't that great), it is not worth reading the entirety of the novel for. The story, while perplexing and at points captivating is not all that strong.
Unfortunately, it a no from me.
multiple scenes of lesbian sex ranging in degrees of their graphicness
one overt rape scene and maybe (refer below as to why I can't really tell) a few more, less overt
a court proceeding where oral sex is graphically described
mentions of blood (a murder but only in the mc's imagination)
a gratuitous amount of foul language. A few sh**s and dam*s here and there but an over excess of f-words.
Now in the way this book is written I can't really summarize the story for you because it is written in such a way that it can be difficult to parse the fantasy from the reality; what is really happening to the main character verses what she thinks is happening or wants to happen is not clear. It is also sometimes difficult to simply know what is going on. Lots of inferences and assumptions are needed.
It is written in a type of technical outlook. A vacillation between technical and novel. You cannot always tell what is going on and several things occur which can be confusing and graphic.
So while yes, it does give a wonderful example of how writing therapy can be implemented and have a positive ending effect, it offers a hopeless outlook on the whole of life and a overall negative feeling once the book has ended. The bits of interesting inner dialogue and good advice for writing therapy, writing in general actually (and even some of that really isn't that great), it is not worth reading the entirety of the novel for. The story, while perplexing and at points captivating is not all that strong.
Unfortunately, it a no from me.
April 16, 2012
On the surface, Writing Therapy wouldn't be the type of novel I would be particularly drawn to as I have become lazy with my reading choices of late, preferring to pick a book from the bestseller lists so that I have the nod of the masses to narrow my search. This book looked as if it might be hard work. On the back cover it states:
"Can you 'write' yourself well? And if you don't like the story life has written for you, can you really change it? Is it possible to re-write the past?"
It didn't sound as if it would be an easy read or a particularly happy one. However it did sound intriguing and, for heaven's sake, surely I can knuckle down and tackle something out of the ordinary: give my brain cells a bit of a work out?
The book is about Frances Nolan, a young girl receiving treatment for mental illness, who takes up writing therapy, alongside more traditional psychiatric methods, as a way of finding a solution to her problems. The narrator is Frances, so immediately the style of writing was different to what I was expecting. It wasn't Tim telling the story using his language, it was an adolescent girl, making tentative steps into the world of writing using her own words.
Once I had accepted the voice of the book, the challenge was then to believe in Frances. This is where the role I usually have as a reader was turned on its head. Frances is writing part biography and part fiction, exploring her past and present in order to face her future. I found this challenged my perception of 'believing' a narrator. What was real? What was fantasy? Was her real name Frances or was she really Sophie?
The characters around her, brilliantly described, helped me to place Frances/Sophie in her environment and I found I was rooting for the heroes of the piece, particularly Will, whose caring, foward-looking approach helped our girl find her way out of the darkness.
This is an arresting novel, constantly challenging yet, in its own way, simply written in a young girl's frightened, traumatised voice. Underlying the story, it also examines the process of writing itself; how to put ideas onto the page and into some kind of structure. The plot develops as the author discovers how to put her thoughts into words.
A very clever concept and an enjoyable read with some mind-gymnastics thrown in for good measure. It may leave you with some questions unanswered but it won't leave you.
"Can you 'write' yourself well? And if you don't like the story life has written for you, can you really change it? Is it possible to re-write the past?"
It didn't sound as if it would be an easy read or a particularly happy one. However it did sound intriguing and, for heaven's sake, surely I can knuckle down and tackle something out of the ordinary: give my brain cells a bit of a work out?
The book is about Frances Nolan, a young girl receiving treatment for mental illness, who takes up writing therapy, alongside more traditional psychiatric methods, as a way of finding a solution to her problems. The narrator is Frances, so immediately the style of writing was different to what I was expecting. It wasn't Tim telling the story using his language, it was an adolescent girl, making tentative steps into the world of writing using her own words.
Once I had accepted the voice of the book, the challenge was then to believe in Frances. This is where the role I usually have as a reader was turned on its head. Frances is writing part biography and part fiction, exploring her past and present in order to face her future. I found this challenged my perception of 'believing' a narrator. What was real? What was fantasy? Was her real name Frances or was she really Sophie?
The characters around her, brilliantly described, helped me to place Frances/Sophie in her environment and I found I was rooting for the heroes of the piece, particularly Will, whose caring, foward-looking approach helped our girl find her way out of the darkness.
This is an arresting novel, constantly challenging yet, in its own way, simply written in a young girl's frightened, traumatised voice. Underlying the story, it also examines the process of writing itself; how to put ideas onto the page and into some kind of structure. The plot develops as the author discovers how to put her thoughts into words.
A very clever concept and an enjoyable read with some mind-gymnastics thrown in for good measure. It may leave you with some questions unanswered but it won't leave you.
January 30, 2009
This was a book that went everywhere with me during the time I spent reading it. It is one of the most unique books I have ever read. Once I'd finished reading it I felt a certain smugness, as if I alone had discovered a rare jewel.
The narrator is a young woman who leads the reader on a raw excursion into a joust with madness. Writing is used as a most valuable tool in amongst a battery of less useful therapies. Be warned, this book is not an easy read, it is not junk food for the brain and it demands the attentions of a 'thinking' reader.
The plot is somewhat disturbing and shocking in parts of the book and it twists upon itself in places as Frances uses her own words that she is writing to help her view herself and her behaviours from different perspectives, to help her come to terms with her experiences.
It is said that Jung discovered that drawing mandalas had power to bring order to the psyche and to prevent overwhelming disorientation. Mandalas are thought to transmit positive energies to the people who view them.
This book radiates spiritual energy and could even be regarded as a path to enlightenment by those struggling with writers block. I would postulate that Tim Atkinson's novel 'Writing Therapy' is the mandala of books.
'Writing Therapy' is also ideal for those preparing to write their first full length manuscript. It is an effective 'how to' book cleverly disguised as an innocent novel
The narrator is a young woman who leads the reader on a raw excursion into a joust with madness. Writing is used as a most valuable tool in amongst a battery of less useful therapies. Be warned, this book is not an easy read, it is not junk food for the brain and it demands the attentions of a 'thinking' reader.
The plot is somewhat disturbing and shocking in parts of the book and it twists upon itself in places as Frances uses her own words that she is writing to help her view herself and her behaviours from different perspectives, to help her come to terms with her experiences.
It is said that Jung discovered that drawing mandalas had power to bring order to the psyche and to prevent overwhelming disorientation. Mandalas are thought to transmit positive energies to the people who view them.
This book radiates spiritual energy and could even be regarded as a path to enlightenment by those struggling with writers block. I would postulate that Tim Atkinson's novel 'Writing Therapy' is the mandala of books.
'Writing Therapy' is also ideal for those preparing to write their first full length manuscript. It is an effective 'how to' book cleverly disguised as an innocent novel
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August 10, 2011Read this for the YoungMinds book awards and i can safely say it won my award for 'being the most bloody awful. Very fragmented story, no clear idea of what was real and what was imagined, no clear timeline so you got no sense of the protagonist's journey, or where she was in it. Would have needed to read this a few times to grasp anything, but really couldn't face it!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews