The Big Unlock by Laura L. Rubin

THE BIG UNLOCK by Laura L. Rubin is subtitled “Liberate Your Creativity Through Mindful Journaling.” Rubin, creative coach and founder of mindful writing company AllSwell Creative, provides tons of prompts and encouragement. She divides her book into four (increasingly deeper) sections: Living Unlocked; Make Yourself Comfortable; Having a Blast; and Digging In; within these sections, “each chapter can stand on its own.” Examples of specific prompts include: “Make a list of songs on your life soundtrack. What's on your personal playlist? What memories do you associate with each song? Why did you choose them?” OR “When was the time you didn't follow the rules … and the outcome was beneficial?” OR “Try writing a letter from your loved one to you. Use your imagination to tune into their voice. What do you think they’d like to communicate?” Throughout she advocates for personalizing each suggestion like her 4x4x4 plan (write for four minutes a day for four days a week for four weeks) which can adjust to 6x6x6 or 5x3x5 or 9x3x8, and so forth.  Rubin says, “Essentially, write into any resistance. … All of this is an experiment, an exploration. Just bring your attention back to the page and keep going.” That is wonderful advice, and I would echo her call to “let yourself be curious. … “dog-ear, underline, annotate. But, most of all, enjoy.”

1000 Words by Attenberg and The Perfect Story by Eber

1000 WORDS by Jami Attenberg (Saint Mazie) is the result of an effort by Attenberg and fellow writer Anne Gisleson to motivate themselves. She says that one thousand words (about four type-written pages) is a workable daily goal for her, but that each reader should decide individually on a goal. The text continues by offering ideas on where to write, how to begin, and later reading your work out loud, emphasizing that while writing can be isolating, one is not alone in this creative work. She categorizes a creative life cycle as having phases: internal and developmental; preparatory; committed; and a reflective pause. In addition to the essays from Attenberg, there are inspiring contributions from writers like Min Jin Lee, Roxanne Gay, Laila Lalami, and Courtney Sullivan. This collection is subtitled “A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round” and will likely have the most appeal for those who are actively trying to write longer works. Aspiring writers can also subscribe to Attenberg’s Craft Talk Newsletter. She notes, “You can create a sense of isolation in your mind. You can tap into that hunger and desire to make something new. It's all sitting right there. A pen, some paper, and your brain.” Described in numerous reviews as motivating, comforting, and/or encouraging, 1000 WORDS received a starred review from Booklist.

 

THE PERFECT STORY by Karen Eber is another excellent work which describes “How to Tell Stories that Inform, Influence, and Inspire.” Eber begins by stating the storytelling is “an art that is grounded in science” and she outlines several facets of stories: connection builders, change agents, memorable, reinforcing values, and interactive. All of her chapters (e.g., Storytelling with Data) have a summary and a storytelling interview to accompany them. This text is filled with vignettes which aptly illustrate the power of storytelling and checklists to help with creation and implementation. To learn more, see her TedTalk which has over two million views:

Write for Life by Julia Cameron

WRITE FOR LIFE by Julia Cameron is a 6-Week Artist's Way Program with “Creative Tools for Every Writer.” And Cameron does offer a variety of practical, easy to use tools. The first that she discusses at length is Morning Pages, writing three pages (eight and a half by eleven inches) in longhand (!) before starting the rest of the day. Referring to this as a kind of meditation, Cameron relays her own experiences and those of many other writers. I appreciated her reliance on a spiritual connection and her willingness to be vulnerable and to express concern for her readers. It feels as though she wants to spark success and each of the main six chapters ends with a summary including a short list of tasks and a series of check-in questions. There is very little judgment – in fact, she anticipates that readers will inflict that upon themselves and devotes one section to “Resist your Resistance.” This is a valuable, pragmatic guide and Cameron is extremely knowledgeable; she has published more than forty books and written every day for more than half a century.

Smart Brevity to better communicate

Reviewing SMART BREVITY by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz is intimidating. Two dozen chapters illustrate “The Power of Saying More with Less.” VandeHei, Allen, and Schwartz, co-creators of Axios and Politico, encourage readers to improve communication by “adapt[ing] to how people consume content – not how you wish they did or did once upon a time.” Ultimately, they offer ideas to increase value and efficiency by being more direct and helpful while wasting less time. Our writing teachers would agree with advice to “know your audience,” but would likely discourage frequent use of bullet points or to “do all of this on one screen of a phone, regardless of what it is.” Not happening. Our students are learning to write, need practice and often struggle with expressing key ideas. However, they could relate to the case stories, amusing anecdotes, and memorable quotes (“have the courage to take your hands off the keyboard” or “blobs of text make the eye sad”) in this guidebook. In his review, The Wall Street Journal’s Barton Swaim called SMART BREVITY “a slick, engaging and in some ways laudable effort;” he, too, raised a couple of points for follow-up: contrasting print versus screen reading and whether this writing style sacrifices nuance by identifying “the bottom line” versus encouraging readers to draw their own conclusions. Much to explore and contemplate here.

Dear Freedom Writer

Do you remember the metamorphosis of Erin Gruwell, a young teacher who went from wearing a pearl necklace to really inspiring her students in Long Beach, California? She was a key figure in the 1999 book titled The Freedom Writers’ Diary and 2007 movie. Now, roughly twenty years later, readers can explore DEAR FREEDOM WRITER; it’s the latest work by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell and offers “Stories of Hardship and Hope from the Next Generation.” This new book takes the form of call and response with current students writing about a concern – like grief, racism, substance abuse or being shunned; the Freedom Writers draft a letter in response. Reading the honest expression of students concerns about questions like the one from a first generation American (How much is the cost of the American Dream?) or the one (Why is it so hard for others to accept my pronouns?) from a self-described “Struggling Teen” is a very moving experience. These fifty letters provide essential insight into students’ feelings and it’s important to not minimize their concerns, but sometimes the “drama” combined with little opportunity to hear from concerned adults is maddening – a case in point is the one signed “Weeping Silently in a Voiceless Room” from a student with dyslexia. Freedom Writers offered some strong suggestions, though, including reaching out to teachers who are empathetic to the challenges being faced. They make a comment which could apply to many of the often “invisible” concerns the students describe: “Others may not acknowledge it or, worse, may not respect it. Dyslexia is one of the many documented learning disabilities that many people, including educators, simply don’t understand. And if they don’t understand it, it’s easy to ignore it.” DEAR FREEDOM WRITER will help raise awareness and knowledge for numerous and varied issues.

I was surprised to learn that The Freedom Writers’ Diary was banned in 2008 - I hope to highlight more titles that have been challenged since April is National School Library Month.

Reclaim Joy by Emine Rushton

RECLAIM JOY by Emine Rushton is subtitled “A guided journal to discover simple pleasures every day.” We know that journaling is an effective stress reducer and this book is full of colorful illustrations and numbered prompts. There are many examples to draw your own ideas (e.g., “take this book outside before breakfast and color in the sun as it appears in the sky today.”) Plus, there is a big emphasis on movement, on various senses (“write down all the layers of sound in your world”), and on reflection (take the same picture in each of four seasons and then journal about the changes). I love the action orientation: “open your wardrobe and pull out the first item of clothing your heart is drawn to. Wear it today!” Truly, a fun book to explore and turn to repeatedly throughout the year.