A Writer's Book of Days
   Judy Reeves
  1999 New World Library, Novato, CA USA
   ISBN: 1577311000


A Spirited Companion & Lively Muse for the Writing Life.

In her Introduction, Judy Reeves reminisces about one Brown Bag Writers' writing practice session when the topic was Footprints. In a trice I was off to my keyboard to tap out that image, carried with me all these years, of an immaculately vacuumed brand new carpet upon which I had, unthinkingly, just walked. The glow of the blue-grey pile, the darker toned trail of my thoughtless trek from hardwood floor to kitchen tile, crossing that sunlit sea & leaving behind my footprints. Out of that experience came the idea of a professional house cleaner as a mystery solver for house cleaners see things where others see merely disorder & dirt.

...“Writing practice is showing up at the page. It's running the scales, executing the movements. It's writing for the experience of it, forming the words, capturing the images, filling the pages. Like an artist's sketchbook, a writer's notebook is filled with perspectives, character sketches, shadings, and tones...”

Judy Reeves A Writer's Book of Days is such an energizing experience. She makes me think about being a writer, insists I use my inspiration just as my art school teachers did;

A year in the writing life: each month contains a Guideline, a discussion of subjects such as How To Start, Perfectionism; Slow Down etc., The Beyond Practice sections are about A Writing Date or Cafe Writing; Hot Nights/Wild Women(For Men Too)or Writing Marathons. Hundreds of rousing exercises for the slothful writer, curious snippets of literary lore & legend abound & it's all in good fun & eminently useful!

A Writer's Book of Days is an energetic everyday exercise book - at the end of each chapter is an orange box giving the topics on which to exercise for the next 4 days: such as leading words to follow on; write about a theft; about half an hour before sunrise; eating a meal; your father's hands; there were signs & signals; these were the frequently asked questions - sketches of moments in your life, in your mind.

When I went to art school, my favorite yet most difficult session was the Life Class(yes, that's what it was called!). A model was posed by the instructor & for five minutes we were to sketch the posture, light & texture we saw. With practice, of course, those five frantic minutes became quite fluid & productive especially when we were cast upon the city streets to jot down in our sketch books, the sights set before us. This book is just like that.

Just to remind us that humor has its place in the writing world Judy Reeves has Guidelines like : Kiss Your Frogs; Don't Judge Your Writing; Write what matters...

So, for all you writers seeking a textbook that will rouse you from your torpor - A Writer's Book of Days is a year's worth of diligence & a well thought out tool!

This is a keeper, one your local writer would be glad to own!

Judy Reeves teaches writing & leads creative writing workshops. She has edited the Brown Bag Anthology - a collection of writings originating in her writing-practice groups. She is a member of the Second Story Writers, a women's writing ensemble which has produced two of her plays. She is co-founder of The Writing Center, a nonprofit literary arts organization. She lives in San Diego & is at work on her first novel.
(02/25/01)
Rebecca