Writing from the Heart: Inspirations and Exercises for Women Who Want to Write

I have to agree with the other review, this book was spectacular. I could not put it down. By the second paragraph in the introduction I was in tears. This woman understood my great fears about pursuing a writing career. My family is practical in the extreme and I often feel like I have my head in the clouds because I adore writing. I'm in the beginning of my bacholer's degree and I now must choose a direction in which I want my life to go. She answered many questions I had that I did not know how to ask. I thought born writers should know that stuff. She made me realize that you have to start somewhere or you will never start. My whole life I've dreamed of being a writer, and two days ago, she made me believe that I could be one. Thank you Leslea.

Out of the hundreds of writing books I have, this one by far surpasses it's competitors. Aside from being filled with great exercises to get you writing, it doesn't bombard you with unrealistic expectations, but it really challenges you to do what your heart really desires - which is writing.

Leslea Newman says her book, Writing From the Heart: Inspiration and Exercises for Women Who Want to Write, "is a book for women who want to write but think they have nothing to say." Newman, who has more than twenty books to her credit, offers encouragement and optimism to all women interested in writing. She says that it is a myth that people have to know what they want to write about before starting. She adds that the writing will never happen if we wait for the fear to vanish--that we just have to take a deep breath and start writing. She advises letting the writing lead you where it wants to go rather than trying to control it. The exercises are simple, with lots of suggestions to help get you started. Newman provides examples with each one. She suggests starting with twenty minutes of free writing (writing whatever is on your mind, without judging it) every day. Other exercises involve describing common household objects or completing the sentence "I remember. . .." She then gets into describing imaginary places, people, and secrets. The exercises end with the technical basics, like plotting and point of view. Newman tells writers to "start at the top of the page and work their way to the bottom. Just start writing. Don't think. Don't worry about the end product." That same advice applies to the exercises in her book. Start with the first one and continue with the next one, until they're all done. The results will surprise you! Writing From The Heart is for every woman, regardless of what she thinks of her writing ability. As Newman says, "writing should be fun. There is a deep pleasure in exploring your own heart and mind, pushing your limits, challenging your skills and mastering a craft." She adds that "every woman has important stories to tell and the ability to tell them." Her book will help women develop that ability.

I enjoyed the down to earth exercises that made me want to get right to it. Oodles of first lines, sensible advice, and a unique approach to the intuitive writing skills of women in particular.

For the past three months I have read every book out there on how to write. I wish I'd had this book at the beginning! You want to be a writer but you don't know how. You don't know what to write about since nothing exciting happens to you. Wrong! Leslea Newman encourages you that you have something important to say and she gives you fun exercises to complete. Pretty soon you realize Leslea has you working on techniques of plot, character, dialogue, action, and much more and it was entirely painless. It's like a one-on-one creative writing workshop. Some of the exercises may seem silly but it's an easy way to get started writing every day. There is a good bibliography listing actual stories or books that have been published using each technique Leslea describes. I checked this book out from the library but now I have to buy it because there is too much good stuff in here.