Writing can
be challenging, outstanding writing usually is, but writers don’t have to be
miserable. Author, editor and writing instructor Joni B. Cole offers some perspective for writers
in Good Naked.
Cole dispels myths of
writing. For instance, writers rarely produce perfect first drafts; mediocre
writing is okay because it is a place to start. You don’t have to suffer to
produce art, but you do have to put in the effort and deal with the
difficulties.
Writers need a balanced
optimism. Acknowledge the challenges, but believe you can overcome them. Add to
it a touch of humility; Cole believes real writers put aside pride and get the
help they need to reach their goals, such as joining a writing group.
Cole also runs counter
to some popular advice on writing. She doesn’t believe in outlines. Instead,
work the parts that are meaningful, that call out to you. You can arrange them
and fill in the gaps later as the big picture forms in your mind. It’s easy to
imagine her chapters coming together this way, with images, stories, ideas and
remembrances being assembled and reworded until they flow together.
Each chapter of the book
is an essay. Though the book as a whole has an order and flow, one could read
or reread a helpful chapter without needing to flip back to preceding pages to
make sense of it.
If you’re interested in this
book, you may also be interested in
Cole, Joni B. Good Naked: Reflections on How to Write
More, Write Better and Be Happier. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2017.
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