Book Review: Still Writing

My college roommate, Elizabeth, introduced me to Dani Shapiro's books. I reviewed Inheritance last year. Still Writing jumped out at me then, but I didn't take the time. When I discovered easy access to the e-book online through the library, I dove in. Shapiro has a very no-nonsense manner in her writing encouragement. She tries to tell it straight. Sit in the chair. Put in the hours. Get down the words. Work on the revision. Don't be afraid to put in many hours in the dark before putting your words out there into the light for consumption and criticism. The chapters in the book are brief and easily digested.

I think the hardest thing for me was a chapter called "Smith Corona" because it focused on the futile writing efforts of Dani's mother. Her mother was equally full of wild words, but did not have a clue about how to send them out into the world to her advantage. Dani writes that her mother sent scripts to The Partridge Family producers. "She didn't know that submitting scripts in this manner was about as effective as making them into paper airplanes and flying them out the window." Groan. Can you hear my heart hitting the floor? Immediately, I worried that my writing would follow Dani's mother's trajectory instead of Dani's. If only I had a crystal ball that would declare whether I'll ever achieve any writing success. Wouldn't that be marvelous? Wouldn't that solve the endless battle between putting butt in chair and getting out of the chair because I'm convinced it is all for naught?

I wonder sometimes why I read books on writing. I am desperate for encouragement. Hoping for a flashlight to guide the way in the dark. But, then I discover from other writers, even successful writers, that we're all writing in the dark, a fog where we can only see one step at a time. But, like Dani Shapiro (well, unlike her, because I have no success to speak of) ... I'm still writing.