Escaping Into The Open: Amazon.ca: Elizabeth Berg: Books

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Elizabeth Berg (Talk Before Sleep) is a can-do kid. Forget the common wisdom--that writing is difficult and getting published nearly impossible without contacts or an agent. "What you need most," she says, "is a fierce desire to put things down on paper." And if a gentle nudge will help you on your way, well, Berg wishes to provide just that, cheerfully, with Escaping into the Open. For Berg, writing--and success--comes easily. In fact, she says, "What I like doing best is writing.... I feel like a drug addict with an exceptionally wise drug of choice."

It is refreshing to come across a book so positive and friendly--even if a there is a little too much emphasis on the author's own experience (did she really have to include a five-page essay by an envious friend and three pages of topics about which she herself has successfully written?). Still, how could one not appreciate a writing guide that espouses napping, eating chocolate-covered cherries, and standing by your "man(uscript)," and that likens passionate, risky writing--the only kind that's worth anything--to great sex? Berg encourages her reader to look (and listen and feel) deeply, to learn from children, and not to let life interfere with writing any more than it has to. She addresses--sometimes with help from her friends--writing classes, writing groups, and the writing life. In a chapter called "If you're a man, be a woman," she offers up 30 pages of writing exercises. Berg is personable, whimsical, amazed by her good fortune, and direct. "There's only one person who can stop you," she says gravely at book's end, "and we both know who that is." --Jane Steinberg

From School Library Journal

-A gem of a handbook about creative writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Berg begins with her own story; after writing articles for her small town's newspaper, she got her first big break when she won an essay contest sponsored by Parents magazine. She describes her craft with frankness and humor and gives aspiring authors practical advice based on her own experiences and those of others. Most chapters conclude with writing exercises she calls "homework," designed to provide concrete applications of the points made in the chapter. The chapter titles provide clues to her teaching methods: "If You're a Man, Be a Woman: Exercises to Unleash Your Creativity," "The Good Liar: Making the Move from Nonfiction to Fiction," and "Writing Classes: Take Them or Leave Them." She ends her discussion of "Who's in a Writing Group?" by declaring, "Perhaps most important, a good group member is that most old-fashioned and wonderful of things: kind. That means she has an ability and willingness to be careful not only with another writer's words, but with that person's heart." The clarity and directness of Berg's own writing shine throughout.
Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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First Sentence
The air was warm against my skin, as comfortable as my many-times-washed flannel nightgown. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

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4 star:		(4)
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Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Writing Exercizes Bear Fruit, July 13 2002

By

Mark D Burgh "Music, Writing, Art, Film, Hist... (Fort Smith, AR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Escaping Into The Open (Paperback)

Elizbeth Berg's book is worthwhile for many reasons: her comfortable prose, her reassurances, her authority, but most of all for her writing excerizes.

Not that these sorts of exercizes aren't in other books, but Berg's (no relation) way of explaining them is clear and helpful. I used them, and they were, for me, effective. To wit:
two stories I wrote beginning with these exercizes have been published. No higher praise than that is due.

Some men might be put off by this book which is excessively sprouty, true, but Elizabeth Berg's writing is worth looking into, and so is this book.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully motivational!!!!, Mar 23 2003

By

Carolyn (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escaping Into The Open (Paperback)

I am a big fan of Elizabeth Berg's and I was thrilled to discover she had a book on writing. As a stay-at-home mother and published writer myself, it was wonderful to read about how Berg started. I was pleasantly surprised by the recipes at the end and I always enjoy Berg's direct, though quirky, sense of humor. I highly recommend this book, especially to women looking for some writing inspiration. This is the only book that I've read that has writing exercises I actually look forward to doing.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Unconventional; A Good Thing, Jun 4 2004

By

Julie Jordan Scott "Writer, Life Coach - Owne... (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Escaping Into The Open (Paperback)

I enjoyed this conversational, encouraging, somewhat "splashed across the pages" writing book.

It is almost like Berg wrote the book as a Stream of Consciousness exercise with one chapter, for example, all writing exercises meant for elminating blocoking and another chapter filled with recipes and other chapters with excerpts from friends and peers.

This was vaguely annoying to me and at the same time, it was very worth reading for the tremendous gold nuggets such as this one:

"If you have the calling to be a writer, its not going to go away any more than the shape of your nose will. Your need and longing and the ability to express yourself will come back. Like love, you can't force it. Like love, it will find you when it's ready."

and

"When you write, you need to have a certain willingness inside you, an auto induced mood of simultaneous quiet and energetic readiness that lets your imagination know its ok to come out now."

Berg is primarily a fiction writer, so she writes a lot about topics which would be especially beneficial for writers of fiction.

All in all a respectable, decent read but not among my favorites.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste your Time or Your Money
If you are a writer, you'll get nothing from this book except the satisfaction of contributing a royalty to Ms. Berg. She, obviously, was one of the lucky ones. Read more

Published on Jan 29 2003