Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity Third Edition/Expanded

Even in non-fiction, Bradbury writes with prose that stretches the mind and transports the reader to far-away places. In this collection of essays, Bradbury illuminates truths about writing and lays out the roadmap that he himself followed to become an excellent writer. This book contains practical tips in addition to personal stories. It is everything you’d expect from one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Written by one of the truly great writers of our time, Ray Bradbury encourages and imparts some solid tips for writing well. Definitely a must for any aspiring writer, Bradbury gives advice on how to come up with marketable story ideas and how to approach writing them. It's like being guided along by a great writer who you would never meet any other way. One of the tips he offers is that quantity leads to quality. So his advice: keep writing. He also tells us that fiction can be more truthful than nonfiction. Then he shows us how to write down meaningful words in our lives that could possibly lead to compelling stories. It's definitely worth your time to spend a few hours with a fiction master. You never know what you may take away from it. Great book!

If you've ever wondered, "Why aren't people more passionate about their work?" then you've never read 'Zen in the Art of Writing.' Whether or not you happen to like Ray Bradbury's work, you can't dispute his passion for writing, which is evident from page one. Bradbury (who turns 82 this year) is a writer of enormous output. In this series of essays, the author lets us in on many of his secrets, but the bottom line is this: If you love what you do, and are excited about it, nothing can stop you. Much of Bradbury's writing is connected with his childhood experiences and memories, which allows him to jump into writing like a kid jumping into a swimming pool on a hot summer day. Bradbury recounts many of his writing experiences and influences in the book and they are all fascinating. I can't imagine any writer (or lover of stories) who would not enjoy this book. It can be read in an afternoon, but savored for a lifetime. Thank you, Mr. Bradbury, for a real treasure.

There are two books on writing that truly inspire me: this one and Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block. I keep them both at hand, and when my passion flags, I pick one of them up and read it, and they refuel my flame.This is really a collection of essays, mostly from introductions to other books. However, don't let that detract from their message. To write you must, simply, write. Write until it hurts, and don't stop just because you feel insecure. Bradbury's style won't work for everyone. He uses free-association to begin his stories. He simply types a word and goes from there. Not all of us can do that, but his passion and love for his work comes through the pages. He also encourages writers to find their own voice through practice, and to write until grammar and story structure become unconscious.This is a relatively quick read and one that will remain with you long after you finish it. "Now, go, and do likewise."

This is an excellent piece from an excellent writer. For any would-be writer, this is an exceptional guide that will teach the basics of the creative writing process. Bradbury emphasizing writing by a method of free-association. He discourages writing that conforms to popular beliefs of society. He says that writing to please others is a great fault of many authors. One should write about his own interests and hates, this will strike passion in writing, which is a key ingrediant to success in the field. He explains that excellent writing ideas spring from the subconscious mind, or muse as Bradbury puts it. One must learn how to find his muse, feed his muse, and keep his muse...To effectively capture Bradbury's powerful message, one should read this piece of excellence him/herself.

As a rule I find books that profess to "explain" the writing/creative process to be useless at best and numbing at worst. Bradbury, however, isn't interested in writing a "how-to" book. This is because he rightly considers the creative process to be impossible to neatly sum up or explain.Still, this book doesn't mystify writing either. Bradbury reminds the reader/writer that the creative process is highly individual and that the best source that we have when we write is ourself: our memories, our experiences and our imagination, which allows us to take the stuff inside us and transform it into something fresh and new. His discussions of how he got the ideas for some of his stories (particularly fascinating to me because I had read all of them) are gems, offering insights that are fascinating in their own right and instructive to those examining their own methods of writing.As a playwright, this book was an inspiration to me when I first read it several years ago, and it continues to be to this day. This is possibly the only book on writing that I would recommend to anyone who is a writer who thinks he/she might want to be one.