A Writer’s Book of Days: A Spirited Companion & Lively Muse for the Writing Life by Judy Reeves
A Writer’s Book of Days: A Spirited Companion & Lively Muse for the Writing Life
by Judy Reeves
I have the orange version of this book (the revised edition). The friend I have weekly write-ins with has the black and white version. The two versions contain different prompts, so we had the idea to each work our way through our version and then we could swap at the end of the year. It has been several years and I’m still on the January prompts; she’s a few months further, I think. But I have hopes that one day we’ll finish our copies and make the switch! Though I’ve had this book for years, I haven’t actually read it. I’ve just read the prompts, and I obviously didn’t get that far either. So when a writing swap came about and this was one of the books on the list, I figured it was the perfect excuse to finally give it a read.
Summary: This book isn’t really the sort of writing book that you read from cover to cover. In fact, I found that it loses its power if you do that. The book is organized into twelve months, as a year-long companion to a writer. Each month follows this structure: Guideline, seven-to-ten points that support the guideline, the way famous writers demonstrate one of these points/guidelines, and beyond practice. Each month also contains one prompt for every day, some of which are words, others phrases, other images, others inspired by famous writers’ words. It’s an all right variety of prompts, though I’m told the prompts in the orange version are better than the ones in the black and white version. Each month also has a related quote or two from a famous writer. Some other things within the chapters are checklists, short (one-page) essays by other writers on a topic, even more prompts (in case the 365 aren’t enough for you), and a short tip of the month. Many of the tips, concepts, and suggestions are repeated throughout the book, mentioned one place and then expanded in detail elsewhere; there are page numbers in the book to allow you to jump to those sections to read more. Taken one month at a time, the tips are quick, useful. However, if you read this book all at once, it feels repetitive. This book also references other writing books, allowing for a wide variety of perspectives and advice.
Target Audience: This book seems like it would be perfect for the beginning writer trying to find his/her way and eager to learn some strategies that will work. It is also good for the occasional writer who needs more reason to write, encouragement to write, and/or practice. One component of the book is its prompts, and those would be good for any writer or writing group that wants to use prompts; the rest of the book might be a little too basic for experienced writers, though there are a few gems in there.
Favorite Part: My favorite parts of the book were the facts about famous writers-how Louisa May Alcott wrote letters to Ralph Waldo Emerson but never sent them, how Chekhov wrote more than three hundred short stories, how Voltaire used his lover’s naked back as a writing desk, etc. I also loved all the quotes about writing from famous writers, like “Make every sentence you write an event,” by John Dufresne.