On my Bookshelf

Currently I'm reading "The Right to Write" by Julia Cameron. I'm very impressed so far. Each segment (or chapter, call it what you will) has an exercise so that writers can apply what they just learned. So far these, too, have proved to be helpful in finding out my personal "right to write".
One thing that she said that really rang true with me is how she says that writing is a gift given to us by the "gods". Mind you, I believe in one God with a big G, but the concept remains the same - those of us who write write beacuse we are given the gift of writing.

I've always felt that I had a gift for writing. Now, this isn't to say that I'm simply marvelous at writing, or that I know everything there is to know about writing, and I'm not trying to blow my own horn.
Rather, I believe that myself, and many other people, were born with the "burning desire" to write, and that nothing can shut us up. We can be held down, we can be beaten down, we can be discouraged, but we won't stop writing.

Let me be quite clear though, when I speak of this "gift" I do not mean to say that some people cannot write. Anyone can write, anyone can accept the gift. Only the bravest of the brave will open the gift though, beacuse as Julia points out, writing is scary! Putting part of you soul out there for open criticism is hard to do. Some budding authors never recover from the first harsh word they received about their writing.

I'd recommend this book for budding authors, or authors who feel themselves blocked and need a way to express themselves freely.

Cheers!
L Finch