Writing and Being: Embracing Your Life Through Creative Journaling

Like many people, my experiences in English class were uninspired and downright dreary. The teacher told us to write about our summer vacation so painstakingly we all wrote some sort of drivel, as short and quickly as possible. Inevitably, that work came back with red marks all over it. I really wish I would have had G. Lynn Nelson as a teacher. G. Lynn Nelson started out his career just like every other English teacher, ready with that red pen in his hand. Then, he had an epiphany which changed his teaching style and the lives of many of his students. Creative writing became his weapon against lack of creativity and the hatred of writing. Writing and Being is an excellent guide to the beginnings of creative write either for person journal writing or for pieces that will eventually be seen by the public. This book would make an excellent text for a high school creative writing course but could easily be tailored to suit younger students or even adults wishing to reconnect with themselves. Personally, writing in my journal is an automatic part of my day, like brushing my teeth or checking my email. It keeps me centered and allows me to look to the heart of the issues that I face each day.

This is a gem of a book. I've read through the entire book, and have worked my way through about half of the exercises, and the author has the most tremendous, deep writing experiences that I've ever seen. But not for the faint of heart, because the journal writing prompts he gives are truly deep. They may take you to interior places that you haven't visited in a while. A superb book. The best I've seen.