Sheila Bender

This is a book aimed toward journalers who also want to write, although the book description doesn't make that clear. Bender quotes from the journals of published writers (fiction and non-fiction) and lets those excerpts inspire writing and journaling exercises for the reader to try. This isn't a book for people who have never journaled before, yet it doesn't really offer much to the experienced journaler either. Perhaps advanced beginners would get the most out of this book, plus its target show more audience: people who want to write, period. show less

I'm a sucker for writing exercises, and I greatly enjoyed the ones included in this book. They were pleasantly specific and lent themselves to exploring different modes of writing. It's sometimes difficult to break out of a single journal-writing "mode," but this book really does inspire creativity and multiple modes of writing.

This book is targeted at those applying for their undergrad and specifically guides prospective students through the essay portion of the Common Application (an application that can be used for several universities). Still, I found it helpful to get me started thinking about my grad school app personal statement and supplemental questions. Perfect phrases includes many examples of how to start answering writing prompts about diversity, leadership, skills, etc. Worth browsing to get over show more writer's block. show less

This is actually a better writing book than a journaling book. It is filled with good writing exercises, like the ones I used to put in my journal for English class, but I was looking for more of a personal journaling book. I guess I'm in better shape than I thought with my personal journal; since I had a sense for what I wanted from this book, I have a direction to take with my own journal.