Write is a Verb…

Write is a Verb  by Bill O’Hanlon

(www.amazon.com/writeisaverb around $16.49)

Its also a great book. I’d highly recommend it if you’re a writer who can’t seem to find the motivation or inspiration to write. If you’re not a writer… well it probably would still be of  some use to you if you need to find inspiration to finish a project, such as a report, painting, other art project, and to a lesser degree, home improvement and so on.

I finished it yesterday, and completed all of the exercises in in (20) and it did help me get my thoughts in order, especially on how to fill out my rough outlines, and there is even a section on selling your book.

While the book doesn’t make a distinction per say as to what genre it leans towards, people tend to write what they know, and Bill O’Hanlon, a psychotherapist who’s been featured on Oprah with his best selling Do One Thing Different and has 28 books and counting published, knows how to write non-fiction.  It was still helpful however to get me to sit down and start writing, even though I really have no interest in that particular genre (as far as writing goes).

There’s even a section in the book that covers how to get published, bringing to light the key differences between having a good book, and having a good book that gets published. I won’t go into detail here, but if your curious as to how its done, its in Chapter 9: Clueless in Publishing Land. Overall I’d say this is a highly informative book, and worth the read if writing is your field. While I did find myself reading the book, instead of writing (which, ironically is what the book is trying to prevent,) once I was done I had a new understanding and appreciation for my craft, and a bit of a in the kick in the pants to finish my work.

I don’t have grading system necessarily, especially since this is my first foray into critiquing ( at least publicly) but I’m going to give it a shot.

    ( + )     The book conveyed the message it was trying for, i believe, and for a Non-Fiction book it was incredibly easy to read, not boring, and most importantly, easy to understand and put into practice. 

     ( – )     The only reasons Write is a Verb loses points is because it tends to neglect the fiction writers out there, and because it contradicts itself by sending the message to stop procrastinating and write, but at the same time saying, ”Wait, before you write, read this.”

Overall,  I’d give it 8.5 out of 10.