Out of Silence, Sound. Out of Nothing, Something.

by Susan Griffin

Written in an elegant but warm and contemporary voice, award-winning author Susan Griffin distills her extensive knowledge to guide writers to their creative process

Out of Silence, Sound. Out of Nothing, Something. describes the creative process, step by step, through which literature is written, guiding the reader through a practical course in how to begin, complete and end a work of literature, whether fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose.

The distinguished author of more than twenty-two books, many award winning, Susan Griffin distills daily wisdom garnered from more than five decades teaching creative writing and editing manuscripts, as well as from her own experience as a writer, into a collection of deceptively simple, brief but ultimately pithy chapters designed to help beginning writers get started, while guiding experienced writers through blocks and difficulties of all kinds.

Organized according to a practical timeline, Out of Silence, Sound. Out of Nothing, Something. elucidates the process of writing from beginning to end, presenting an approach that is similar to the practice of meditation as it encourages and enlarges the mind’s intrinsic capacity for creativity. An autobiographical account, a sometimes humorous, at times moving essay, called “How I Learned to Write”, is threaded throughout the book.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Crafts, Essays

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 17, 2023

About the author

Susan Griffin is an award winning poet, writer, essayist and playwright who has written nineteen books, including A Chorus of Stones, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Named by Utne reader as one of the top hundred visionaries of the new millenium, she is the recipient of an Emmy for her play Voices, an NEA grant and a MacArthur Grant for Peace and International Cooperation. Her latest work, Wrestling with the Angel of Democracy, on being an American Citizen has been called "fresh, probing" and "incisive" by Booklist.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, I bought the book based on the title alone. A hopeful message that each of us is blessed with endless potential, but anything we create must come from a place of great humility- a place where there is silence, where there is nothing. Griffin’s book is structured as short insights into writing and thinking about writing. It does not assume to know everything, but to simply know enough. I really like that sentiment. We feel like we must arrive somewhere before we can say something. It’s just not true, in fact we may rob the world of something truly special inside of us by staying silent. Griffen reminds us that the world needs our sound and it needs our something. And I can resonate with that!

[Ренета Кирова · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книгата е насочваща за тези, които желаят да научат повече за творческото писане. Обяснено е достъпно, имаше и примери.
Сега съм напълно наясно, че съм по-скоро читател, отколкото писател. Писането ми се вижда сложен процес и тази книга ми го показа. Не съм в състояние да измисля цял сюжет, герои, че и да го напиша интересно :).
Може да е в полза на тези, които искат да пишат, но съм сигурна, че има и по-добри книги по темата от тази.
Хубаво е да се четат от писателите, за да се развиват и самоусъвършенстват в творческия процес.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for something more akin to an essayistic memoir/writer on writers and their craft type of book, so that’s on me. Still, it has that can-do upbeat tone typical to the self-help genre, which I loathe. Beautiful cover though!

[Terry Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The author wrote many short chapters that made for easy reading when there wasn’t much time. Many were rather mundane but some spoke to me in a way that I am rounding up my stars. If you like to write, or are writing a book or any such thing, this is a great little book. I read it while eating breakfast each morning which is why it took so long.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in short essays or vignettes, this work about writing is easy to pick up, put down, and contemplate. I will share some of her short missives with students as words of encouragement. Beautifully written, full of encouragement, and brief examples.

[Niklas Pivic · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review is found here.

[Calvyn]

The topic is writing, the topic is creating, and the title beautifull says it all: Out of Silence, sound. Out of Nothing, Something.

The message: begin, make a mark, write a word, and then another.

I thought this a lovely standalone thought to ponder:
(p. 154) When you find yourself falling silent as you write about any subject, ask yourself if there is some secret you are afraid to reveal or a silence you hesitate to break.

[[Maybe take a break here, and consider the words.]]

The consider its lead-in paragraph, perhaps noting the heft and weight and perhaps totally different perspective provided to the initial thought:
(also p. 154) Physical experience, sexuality, pleasure, homosexuaity, affairs and pregnancies outside marriage, "Illegitimate" children, masturbation, menstruation, rape, molestation, sexual abuse whether of men or women or children, emotional abuse, "wife beating," unhappiness in marriage, racism and the violence of racism--all these experiences have been subject to a polite silence. And they have all been the subjects of extraordinary literature.]

(At 206) Such returns inscribe a circle, one of the fundamental forms of human existence. We live on a sphere that turns and iver a year circles another sphere, a circle we are relieved to see rise most mornings. Another circle rises at night. And we are all on a circular journey as we age. From dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return. The food that nurtures us is tied to the seasons or cycles of mature, and we also rely on family circles and circles of friends for sustenance.

(at 227) Ending with Ceremony
. . . . .
I salute you, dear writer, and wish you well as you bring sounds out of silence and create something, where before you believed there was nothing.

[R.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be the chillest book on writing I've yet read. I think part of that is chalked up to Griffin's writing exuding a serene confidence in her subjects; if the individual essays are bends in a river, she navigates them without concern. Because of this I found the whole book very readable, and, furthermore, I quite like Griffin as a person from what she's shown of herself on the page. But I'll also say that it left me with more a feeling of "that was nice," rather than "wow, I learned so much!" Something about the constantly switching gears of subjects made me not so much want to pause and take notes as it made me want to just keep reading. Which is great as a reading experience, but if I didn't feel like I needed to jot down vital information as I went, I'm not sure how much I got out of it as a writer. But, it's definitely chock full of wisdom! You can see my minor internal dilemmas here.

It was good. Read it, enjoy it, and maybe learn something lovely.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most books on writing feel somewhat repetitive and superficial/obvious with their advice (sit down at the same time every day to write, break things into manageable sections, etc.), but this book was a notable exception. It was more observations about writing than advice, and the observations reflected a deep understanding about the craft of writing from someone who has really spent time looking at the process, not just enacting it. The observations are insightful and detailed, but they don't lose the forest for the trees, it's more like they enrich the forest by taking a close look at all of the trees.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book features short reflections on the craft of writing, along with quotes from various literary works. Some of the reflections are insightful and helpful, while others ramble on in flowery language without saying much of anything. I ended up skimming some, and a lot of this seemed repetitive by the end. This is mainly for people who want to feel inspired by literature and thoughts about writing, rather than people looking for tips and ideas to put into practice.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book distilled from years of experience. It’s with gentle and straightforward advice for writers. The short chapters make for easy reading. I’m so glad it was recommended to me as I probably would not have discovered it on my own.
It’s worth rereading in the future.

[Jamie Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for anyone who wants to write to be inspired. I was.

[Andrea Nichols · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about halfway through the book, but it didn’t quite keep my interest. I would have liked there to be more practical writing advice.

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evocative prose speaks

[Julie Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and practical advice about writing a book. Very practical advice elegantly written.

[Khalid El · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading kept thinking “hmm I don’t know about this”, but when I was done I had 10+ photos of passages from the book in my camera roll, and I write something great.