If you can ignore the overt Christian themes and embrace the core of Ueland’s theory of the artistic spirit, this is an inspiring kick in the butt for an aspiring writer. She does wander into some weird “great man” territory near the end that is outdated. ( )

If you can ignore the overt Christian themes and embrace the core of Ueland’s theory of the artistic spirit, this is an inspiring kick in the butt for an aspiring writer. She does wander into some weird “great man” territory near the end that is outdated. ( )

Excellent book for women especially who need to make time for writing, philosophy and helpful tips for writing ( )

This book has won many fans in the eighty years since it first appeared. I’m three chapters in, and after skimming ahead I see there is little prospect of an increase in the ratio of substance to verbiage, so I’m bailing on it.
The subtitle hints at the author’s style: This is a “Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit.” In other words, it’s about the romantic style, an expression of individual personality. “Everybody is talented, original, and has something to say,” as she says in the title of her first chapter. Her motto is “be Bold, be Free, be Truthful” (yes, she capitalizes these terms).
The models she holds up include Blake, Tolstoi, and other “great Ones of the Divine Imagination.”
I will grant her this: she presaged what has come to be known as the ten thousand hours of dedicated practice: “If you will write as many words as Kreisler has practiced trills I prophesy that you will win the Nobel Prize in ten years. But here is an important thing: you must practice not perfunctorily, but with all your intelligence and love, as Kreisler does” (p. 9).
While I’ve decided this book is not for me, the author encouraged thousands over many decades in her writing classes. She can be stern, but she’s also encouraging. Always encouraging. So this book might be helpful to you, it might even change your life. That would be fine with me.

“If You Want To Write” by Brenda Ueland is a masterpiece. It is one of those books a reader should read slowly.

This book can liberate you from many issues that block your progress. The title of the book is masterful. It invites you to wonder what comes next. The title invites you to enter a world in which she invites your imagination and creativity to run wild in boundless joy.

My recommendation is for a reader to restrict himself, or herself, to only one chapter a day. I also recommend that you keep a pencil with you, so you don’t forget to underline those phrases and sentences that resonate with you.

Then, after a year, read the book again and measure how far along the road you have travelled. ( )