Out of Silence, Sound. Out of Nothing, Something.
A Writers Guide
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In an elegant but contemporary voice, award-winning author Susan Griffin breaks down the creative process step-by-step, guiding the reader through a practical course in how to begin 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 writing. This collection of brief but ultimately pithy chapters designed to help beginning writers get started also guides 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Essayist and poet Griffin (The Book of the Courtesans) offers an elegant guide to the art of writing. Structuring the book around what she describes as the three parts of a writer's process—"before the beginning," writing, and "the means to an end"—Griffin dispenses advice on both nurturing inspiration and crafting sentences and paragraphs. Griffin encourages readers to find ideas by paying attention to their thoughts, to establish a regular writing schedule, and to read what they've written aloud. Trying out new techniques is a great way to learn, she suggests, even if they fail, and she notes that in writing, "anything goes. As long as you don't bore yourself." Sections titled "How I Learned to Write" appear throughout and add up to an illuminating memoir of her life in literature, which started when she first attempted writing a novel at 10 years old. Griffin stresses the importance of letting one's mind wander, and even her technical instructions are delivered in lyrical prose: "Including two transitions, even if one seems like a stage whisper, facilitates perception. Perhaps because a weave is always made of more than one thread." These pearls of wisdom will be a boon to novice writers.
