THE ICE PICK

Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path: the Journey from Frustration to Fulfillment, by Lynn Lott and Nancy Pickard. New York, Ballantine Books, 2003. 241 p. $24.95. ISBN: 0-345-45524-X.

How are you doing with your writing?

Are you experiencing loneliness, confusion, frustration, and unhappiness? Are you burdened with wanting to write so badly and unable to get the words on the paper?

Or maybe you’ve finally decided that you really can do it and have committed yourself to getting something written. A New Year’s Resolution, perhaps? And then your commitment fades into having second thoughts and leaves you wavering in uncertainty, unsure of yourself and feeling that everything you write is garbage.

Perhaps, though, you are at last riding the wave, letting go and letting your story energy carry you where it will, reaching for that stage when you are fully immersed in your work (and maybe a little afraid the wave will end too soon). Or you may even be joyfully basking in the fulfillment that comes when publication is at hand or you find the writing is its own reward.

Unless they stall out on one of the earlier ones, depressed and feeling that they are permanently stuck, most authors go through all of these steps, Some, perhaps most, go through them with every book they write!

If you need to know you’re not alone and that even best-selling authors go through the same thing, and if you want reassurance that "this too shall pass," and that there is a way up and out, this book is for you. There’s even a "Quick Finder" in the back to help you decide which step you’re on.

Recommended to me by another member of the Workshop, I eagerly pass the recommendation on to you. This is a truly wonderful book. It would make a great Christmas present to yourself and one that will help inspire you no matter which "step" you find yourself on.

Dare to dream.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, Dec. 2004}