Why We Write by 20 Authors (Edited by Meredith Maran)

I have a confession. I'm a struggling, aspiring, fairly lousy writer (wait, you knew that already?) I did participate in NaNoWriMo, and I do have a Figment account, but I'm terrible at writing. It's one of the biggest ironies of my life - to love writing but to lack the ability to make words sing. Still, I like reading about those who can make words come to life.

Which is why I think Why We Write is not just for writers, but also for readers. It's really an account of twenty writers and their experiences with writing. They're all well-known, some more than others, and they all have one thing in common - they love to write. Other than that, their habits, their backgrounds, they're all different.

This was a really fun read because it was an insight from a bunch of writers. There is a section at the end of each 'interview' with each author, full of tips for aspiring writers, which is actually pretty helpful.

The only thing I can think that might even count against this book is that these guys (sometimes) make getting published look easy. But they all do mention that they are very lucky to be published, how hard it is nowadays, so it's not that much of a deal.

Oh dear, my review is really short isn't it. I guess this book is just too good. I really do love it, but once you realise that it's basically a book consisting of twenty interviews with famous writers, you'll either want to, or don't want to read it.

I did, however, find some sites which have more detailed reviews (and more information and quotes and stuff). Here are the links to: New York Journal of Books, The Daily Beast (excerpt) and LA Times.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.