Robert Boice

I think this book is better titled "How to Write When You Just Don't Feel Like Writing." There's a lot of information about "writers block" and the author provides a basic four-step plan (which actually has five steps) to get back on track. I didn't feel there was anything professor-specific in the book, and the recommendations are pretty basic (just start writing!) even with some clinical-sounding language. The two best parts of the book were the impressive bibliography (even though the show more author's own works take up 10 of the 100 citations) and using the four/five-step plan under different conditions (starting a new project, resuming a disrupted project, and dealing with rejected projects). Overall, not bad, but there are many better works in the crowded how-to-write field (my favorites are by Peter Elbow).

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LT Haiku:
Methodology
And the structure of writing's
Hard reality. show less

This book has many useful suggestions and a great philosophy. Right now I might not be ready to accept it into my heart, because for me it would be a lot of change at once. I need to re-read this book next year, when I hope I will apply more of its suggestions. Recommended.

This is a book on academic writing that I read to prepare for a symposium on academic productivity that I'm participating in at a conference. Boice is an expert in the area of writing blocks and ways to address them. His advice - including free writing and regularly schedule writing periods - is practical. I didn't find anything terribly surprising in this book, but it did reinforce useful ideas I've picked up from other sources.

This book is hard to find and too expensive when you do find it--BUT it presents a curious, psychology-based, doggedly practical perspective on creating a healthy writing life. Wading through the myriad examples Boice gives gets wearisome. I do appreciate that he has approached the struggles of writers as psychological issues and that he gives such practical suggestions. Here are a few glimpses:

Regular involvement in conversations and in information collecting precedes imagination. Neither show more motivation nor imagination has any good reason to appear out of the blue. … Collecting ideas cultivates the imagination; summarizing and rearranging them loosens the imagination and brings surprises.

Research shows that the most creative, imaginative individuals display unique talents for avoiding premature closure; they put off final decisions about organizing ideas while maintaining high standards for (1) the quality of the materials they collect and for (2) the purpose of collecting them. In other words, they wait.

Good stuff! show less