The author of this book seems to think that the way to awaken your creativity is to throw lots of little word puzzles at you. Oh well--what works for one person doesn't work for another. I found some of the exercises similarly annoying, but again, everyone is different.

At first the author of this book came across as exactly the sort of writing author I dislike--early in the book he seems to be saying, "My way of writing is right for everyone." Given the wide variety of types of writing and writing styles out there, this is never a good claim to make. Luckily he turns out to be much more reasonable later in the book.

Many of the author's hints are directed specifically at novel authors (in particularly, "category" or "commercial" novels). On the other hand, there's quite a bit of material in this book of use to any sort of fiction writer, so this isn't a big problem. Part 1 of the book is something of a general primer on creative thinking. Part 2 contains exercises for coming up with ideas related to specific projects. And part 3 addresses "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Writers." I prefer other books when it comes to general creativity, but there are some great exercises in here to help you specifically address the needs of your particular projects.

This book is probably most useful for people who want to make the transition from writer to published writer. There's information on what publishers are looking for, how publishers think, and how you can catch their eye, and the focus is on creating fiction that will sell. I suggest, however, that you not accept everything in this book blindly. Read other books on writing as well. Use your own common sense. Experiment, play around, and see what works best for you. Most of all, if you're thinking of buying this book, read some reviews carefully---it's a good book, but only for a very narrow audience.

As a book to help writers of commercial fiction, Alice Orr's "No More Rejections" might make a better choice. For a general-purpose creative thinking book, I recommend Mari Messer's "Pencil Dancing," Monica Woods' "The Pocket Muse," or Eric Maisel's "The Creativity Book."

Full review at ErrantDreams ( )