Review of THE COURAGE TO WRITE by Ralph Keyes

HOW WRITERS TRANSCEND FEAR

Owl Books, October 2003

Writers' lives are littered with fears, all kinds of fears. There's the fear of the blank page. The fear that you've run out of ideas. The fear of revealing yourself to others. The fear of rejection. The fear of criticism. The fear of getting a bad cover, for heaven's sake. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

In Part I of this highly readable book, Ralph Keyes goes over every possible writer's fear in detail, because understanding fear, and knowing how common it is, are two steps toward functioning alongside it. Part II covers some strategies for dealing with fear, and even using it as a tool. (If you aren't afraid, you're probably not stretching and growing as a writer.) A terrific book for writers of any stripe at any level.

Four Stars

Reviewed 4/07/05

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