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*****= An all-time favorite
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***Sometimes the Magic Works

Lessons from a Writing Life

by Terry Brooks

Reviewed July 7, 2004.
Del Rey (Ballantine), New York, 2003.  197 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (B BRO).

Here’s another inspirational and practical book for writers.  Terry Brooks tells his own story of the luck and hard work that went into his success.  He gives tips and encouragement along the way.  He says, “This is for writers yet to be published who think the uphill climb will never end.  Keep believing.  This is also for published writers grown jaded by the process.  Remember how lucky you are.” 

Towards the end of the book, he shares a lesson he learned from his grandson.  “To fall back on an old cliché, it isn’t the destination that matters, it is the journey.  It is what I discover along the way that I wasn’t looking for.  Sometimes a character will become more important than I envisioned.  Sometimes a plot segment I hadn’t even thought about will surface midway through.  Sometimes the subtext of what seems an ordinary tale will reveal itself in such a way that I will be stunned and elated.  The point is, even if I think I know the route, having traveled it so often before, there always exists the possibility of being surprised by something new.  The joy of writing comes from that possibility, and the joy of writing is what keeps me making that same journey over and over without ever becoming bored by it.”

Thank you, Terry Brooks, for this encouraging book!

Reviews of other books by Terry Brooks:
Antrax
Morgawr


Copyright © 2005 Sondra Eklund.  All rights reserved.

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