There seem to be a small flock (gaggle? herd?) of writing books directed to moms all of a sudden. I’m not sure what this is about but I’m betting it has something to do with the internet and the fact that an awful lot of moms are writing and finding each other as writers, which is a good thing and certainly unprecedented. So this book enters what is happily becoming if not a crowded field at least a well populated one. I say the more writing books the merrier because we all need/want different approaches for our writerly selves. Which leads me to my very personal, very individual and so not entirely helpful review.

For me, as a writer, this book doesn’t do much for me. While I like its nurturing tone and encouragement (a lot), I’ve never been the kind of writer who liked exercises (here called “invitations”) and in fact they are a huge, giant, enormous turn-off for me. I can’t stand ‘em. And here may I out myself who has never been able to get through Writing Down the Bones either. (I mean, the fact that Julie Cameron who wrote The Artist’s Way blurbed the book is a reason I’d be likely to put it back on the shelf. Nothing against Julie Cameron, whose books have inspired many writers I know, love and respect, but speaking directly about what works for me and what doesn’t.)

So am I going to tell you to run away from this book? Heck no. I know that writing exercises are something other writers absolutely love and the sales numbers of Writing Down the Bones speak for themselves. Besides which the writing mother I am now — firmly rooted in my writing practice, fairly certain if sometimes struggling with my process, confident in my ability to produce meaningful work — is not the writing mother I was then when Noah was first born. If I’d been able to stuff my squeamishness about writing exercises, I’m sure I would have gotten a lot out of this book.

What’s interesting (or maybe frustrating — again depends on your point of view) is that each section begins with a little essay that may be about writing or may be about mothering and sometimes is about both and then this leads to the “invitations” and then to inspirations (writerly quotes, which my sidebar will show you I love). I do think that had I been a new mom trying to figure out the writing thing that I would have eaten up a lot of this but like I said, from this perspective I just skipped around trying to find stuff that I could actual apply to my own writing life and just didn’t find much. Again, that’s me.

The best thing about this book? The list of recommended books at the back. For me the worst thing? That I had to flip through prompts (the only thing I dislike more than writing exercises are writing prompts) to get to the recommended books.

I know this is a lukewarm review. I wanted to be honest but not discouraging. I do think it’s a great book for another writer/mom; just not this one.

(For the record, my favorite kind of writing books are more concrete and never touch on “releasing the writer within” or some such. I have no idea why I don’t like that sort of thing but I have an almost violently negative reaction to it. Maybe because getting in touch with my writerly self has never been hard for me and so my favorite writing books are strictly about craft.)

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