William Hudson O'Hanlon

I like the idea of doing one thing differently. Pick a habit, any habit and you can change it according to Dr. Bill. In the very first chapter his advice is simple: identify a pattern you would like to change. It doesn't matter how small or insignificant the offending routine. Once you have identified the pattern, scrutinize it. Analyze it within an inch of its life. Be observant and get to know every detail of what you do and just how you do it. Then, change one thing. Just one little show more thing. It could be how you put on your socks or how you hold a toothbrush, if that is part of the offending pattern. Just change one thing related to the pattern and you will have broken the cycle. Seems simple enough, right? Or how about this approach? Connect something negative to the offending action. Say you want to stop picking your nose (note: NOT an actual example of O'Hanlon's). Okay, so back to the nose picking. For every time you pick you nose you must an equally abhorred task, like cleaning the hair out of the shower trap. If you hate dredging up slimy, stringy, soap-scummed hair THAT much, you will stop picking your nose. O'Hanlon's techniques and examples of these techniques actually working are far more interesting than my description. You just have to read the book. show less

An aspiring author, a publisher, and a psychotherapist walk into a writer's convention together...
I tend to be attracted to books written for writers by those in the mental health field. These people know what they're talking about. Take for instance Dr. Linda Edelstein's Writer's Guide to Character Traits. Who better to identify the inner workings of my characters than someone who has been in their heads for over 20 years? Likewise, who better to understand my woes of writing than a show more therapist who has written nearly 30 books? Without ever having talked to me, Bill O'Hanlon knows exactly why I don't write.
The neverending theme of Write is a Verb is simple: if you want to write, then write and don't let others tell you how to do it. O'Hanlon is right. Most books on the subject tell the reader when, where, and how to write. O'Hanlon's advice is to ignore all this and do what works best for you. Along the way, he offers the typical barrage of definitive "dos" and "don'ts" to break through the normal barriers, but these do not detract from the primary message.
Write is a Verb starts strong with great advice and wonderful anecdotes from writers who have succeeded. By midway, however, the book looses steam and begins to sound repetitive. By the end, there is too much focus on publishing and the writing of non-fiction titles that the "fiction writer just needing a kick in the pants" can become discouraged.
O'Hanlon has an engaging voice and has written one of the best books on the subject, but unfortunately he takes it too far and for too long. As a self-proclaimed expert on publishing, he likely knew that anything shorter would have a tough time making it to bookstore shelves. Unfortunately, O'Hanlon shared no tips regarding quantity versus quality in this title; perhaps he is saving that for the sequel.
From The Literary Snob. show less

When I sat down to make a list of books I wanted to read on writer's block/procrastination, I asked various writer's groups about books they'd found helpful, but I didn't get much of a response. This sent me to Amazon to browse, and thanks to Amazon, I came away with a list of a half-dozen books that I thought would give me a wide range on the subject.

Some books I've picked up since that initial list, but O'Hanlon's was not one of them. I'll admit I didn't look much past the four-and-a-half show more star Amazon rating and the promise made on the cover. It sounded like the kind of book that would get my hackles up, as I'm not a fan of the "shut up and write" method of motivation, and from the title, I guessed that's what it would be. Why pick it up? Because for my presentation, I wanted to have a variety of viewpoints, and if there's one thing I know about overcoming writer's block or procrastination, it's that there is no one sure method that'll work for everyone.

Turns out, I was completely wrong about what this book was about. Maybe I should've researched it a little more closely, but rather than getting a book about how to overcome writer's block and procrastination, it's more of a how-to/motivational book on how to take that first step from wanting to write to actually writing. So in a sense, it is a "shut-up-and-write" kind of book, but it's definitely more for beginners than those of us who've taken those steps and need more help.

That said, O'Hanlon isn't a narrow-minded hard-ass like I expected from the title. He actually tells readers on more than one occasion that what works for one writer may not work for another, and that his book is geared towards finding the methods that'll work for you. I applaud him that. The worksheets available in this book are geared towards doing that very thing, and better still, the hardcover edition (the only edition available as I write this) comes with a nifty dvd with those worksheets on it, as well as some other goodies, which is REALLY COOL. I wish other writing-related books would do this, or at least direct readers to a website where they can download the worksheets for multiple use rather than have to write in the book or make photocopies.

Now while I feel this is a good book for beginners to get their hands on, there is a catch: O'Hanlon--to my knowledge--has never published fiction. All of his books are self-help/therapy books, and that's great. He's published a LOT, and for anyone who writes NON-FICTION, this book might prove itself worth its weight in gold, because he gets into the publication process as well, and there's some very useful information there.

However, fiction-writers beware. While all writers can suffer from the same maladies, fiction is something a little more organic. O'Hanlon's advice is well-intended (after all, you can't write a book without WRITING, yo, so get off your rear and do it), so of his advice may rub fiction writers the wrong way, and they may need to turn to other how-to books written for fiction. Also, a warning: some of the things O'Hanlon states about publishing doesn't quite fit what I've learned from the WPF program and fiction writers in my genre. I'm not saying he's WRONG (I'm not published, so what do I really know?), but because his experience is with non-fiction (he does admit once in a while that the process for fiction is different), some of his advice may not be the right advice for those of us selling completed manuscripts. For help in that regard, you may want to find fiction-specific guidelines, or better still, genre-specific guidelines, or even enroll in a master's program like mine, which is all about Writing Popular Fiction and offers tons of advice on how to write, how to publish, along with guest speakers. ;)

My Rating

Wish I'd Borrowed It: It's not what I was looking for as far as my project goes, but that's no one's fault but mine because I didn't research this book very well. I think if I were tackling a non-fiction project, I'd be more inspired and able to put his advice to good use, but as a fiction writer who's read more than her fair share of books on writing, writer's block, procrastination, and the publishing biz, I learned nothing new. The ironic thing is that one of the things O'Hanlon stresses is having a unique slant for your project, and how his publishing record combined with his background in therapy made this book unique among all the writing reference books out there (he didn't say it in so many words, but that's the impression I got). Sorry, but no. I've recently read other writing literature books also written by folks with psychology degrees, and I've read books by writers without said degrees that are far more helpful (and tackle the unique issues of writing fiction). The only thing unique about this book is its dvd, which is completely awesome and almost worth the cost of the book. :) Like I said, if I were just starting out, trying to find the courage to write AND/OR was writing a non-fiction book, O'Hanlon's book might be gold. But I'm not, so it wasn't.

Pretty cover though. :) show less

Since this was recorded off a workshop, it is a little more dense than Bill's usual work, but that isn't a bad thing as I tend to like denser material (it makes me feel like I am learning more). I appreciated learning about some of the other clients from other participants in this.