O'Hanlon, Bill: Write is a Verb
Write is a Verb: Sit Down. Start Writing. No Excuses.
Writer: Bill O'Hanlon
Genre: Writing Reference
Pages: 200
When I sat down to make a list of books I wanted to read on writer's block/procrastination, I asked various writer's groups about books they'd found helpful, but I didn't get much of a response. This sent me to Amazon to browse, and thanks to Amazon, I came away with a list of a half-dozen books that I thought would give me a wide range on the subject.
Some books I've picked up since that initial list, but O'Hanlon's was not one of them. I'll admit I didn't look much past the four-and-a-half star Amazon rating and the promise made on the cover. It sounded like the kind of book that would get my hackles up, as I'm not a fan of the "shut up and write" method of motivation, and from the title, I guessed that's what it would be. Why pick it up? Because for my presentation, I wanted to have a variety of viewpoints, and if there's one thing I know about overcoming writer's block or procrastination, it's that there is no one sure method that'll work for everyone.
Turns out, I was completely wrong about what this book was about. Maybe I should've researched it a little more closely, but rather than getting a book about how to overcome writer's block and procrastination, it's more of a how-to/motivational book on how to take that first step from wanting to write to actually writing. So in a sense, it is a "shut-up-and-write" kind of book, but it's definitely more for beginners than those of us who've taken those steps and need more help.
That said, O'Hanlon isn't a narrow-minded hard-ass like I expected from the title. He actually tells readers on more than one occasion that what works for one writer may not work for another, and that his book is geared towards finding the methods that'll work for you. I applaud him that. The worksheets available in this book are geared towards doing that very thing, and better still, the hardcover edition (the only edition available as I write this) comes with a nifty dvd with those worksheets on it, as well as some other goodies, which is REALLY COOL. I wish other writing-related books would do this, or at least direct readers to a website where they can download the worksheets for multiple use rather than have to write in the book or make photocopies.
Now while I feel this is a good book for beginners to get their hands on, there is a catch: O'Hanlon--to my knowledge--has never published fiction. All of his books are self-help/therapy books, and that's great. He's published a LOT, and for anyone who writes NON-FICTION, this book might prove itself worth its weight in gold, because he gets into the publication process as well, and there's some very useful information there.
However, fiction-writers beware. While all writers can suffer from the same maladies, fiction is something a little more organic. O'Hanlon's advice is well-intended (after all, you can't write a book without WRITING, yo, so get off your rear and do it), so of his advice may rub fiction writers the wrong way, and they may need to turn to other how-to books written for fiction. Also, a warning: some of the things O'Hanlon states about publishing doesn't quite fit what I've learned from the WPF program and fiction writers in my genre. I'm not saying he's WRONG (I'm not published, so what do I really know?), but because his experience is with non-fiction (he does admit once in a while that the process for fiction is different), some of his advice may not be the right advice for those of us selling completed manuscripts. For help in that regard, you may want to find fiction-specific guidelines, or better still, genre-specific guidelines, or even enroll in a master's program like mine, which is all about Writing Popular Fiction and offers tons of advice on how to write, how to publish, along with guest speakers. ;)
My Rating
Wish I'd Borrowed It: It's not what I was looking for as far as my project goes, but that's no one's fault but mine because I didn't research this book very well. I think if I were tackling a non-fiction project, I'd be more inspired and able to put his advice to good use, but as a fiction writer who's read more than her fair share of books on writing, writer's block, procrastination, and the publishing biz, I learned nothing new. The ironic thing is that one of the things O'Hanlon stresses is having a unique slant for your project, and how his publishing record combined with his background in therapy made this book unique among all the writing reference books out there (he didn't say it in so many words, but that's the impression I got). Sorry, but no. I've recently read other writing literature books also written by folks with psychology degrees, and I've read books by writers without said degrees that are far more helpful (and tackle the unique issues of writing fiction). The only thing unique about this book is its dvd, which is completely awesome and almost worth the cost of the book. :) Like I said, if I were just starting out, trying to find the courage to write AND/OR was writing a non-fiction book, O'Hanlon's book might be gold. But I'm not, so it wasn't.
Pretty cover though. :)
Next up: Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay