Matthew McLean’s Reviews > Becoming a Writer > Status Update

I have never spent more time reading and rereading a book on writing than I have with this one.

There's something of the serendipitous and inexorable about this book. I'm worried about being derivative and I pick it up to discover a chapter on originality. I worry about my poor descriptions and there's a chapter on looking at the world in a new way.

"By the simple means of refusing to let yourself fall into indifference and boredom, you can reach and revive for your writing every aspect of your life."

Well written, Ms. Brande.

Ms. Brande's recommendations for critiquing your own works and others are as simple as they are difficult to master.

A book to be read in pieces, enacting the advice incrementally.

"If you fail in this exercise, give up writing."

Damn, Ms. Brande is not messing around.