Escaping Into The Open [Paperback]

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

-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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

July is a busy month for Berg. She's publishing a new novel with Random called Until the Real Thing Comes Along (see Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/99) and also this writer's guide, which explains how she got from working mother to best-selling novelist.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This is a really good book about how to write. Berg is completely charming and no-nonsense; she believes you can do it, and at the end, you do, too. She tells how to get started and what to do when stuck; she offers exercises in writing so beguiling that you want to sit right down and try them; she talks about fiction and nonfiction, writing classes, and writing groups. She lets writing teachers, editors, and agents say their part in their own voices, with the same limpid clarity she employs throughout. Berg is speaking directly to people who need to write, and she hands them the tools to do so as simply as handing a pot of tea across the table. Above all, she describes with perfect precision just how it feels when the writing is right: "like sitting in the lap of God." Anyone who ever needs to write anything will find bright shards of useful stuff here, like the box of many textured scraps a friend gave Berg labeled "touch." GraceAnne A. DeCandido --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Crystal clear, bracing as icewater, Escaping into the Open should be read by all scribblers regardless of material success." -- -- Rita Mae Brown

Elizabeth Berg touches women's lives with heartbreakingly funny and true novels -- including the New York Times bestseller Talk Before Sleep -- that distinctly capture the essence of their lives. Now this critically acclaimed author and writing instructor offers an inspiring, practical handbook on the joys, challenges, and creative possibilities inherent in the writing life.

Both autobiography and primer, Escaping into the Open interweaves Elizabeth Berg's story of her own journey from working mother to published novelist with encouraging advice on how to create stories that spring from deep within the heart.

With wit and honesty, Elizabeth Berg provides numerous exercises that will unleash individual creativity and access and utilize all of the senses. Most important, she tells how to fire passion -- emotion -- into writing itself; to break through personal barriers and reach one's own outer limits and beyond.

Elizabeth Berg won the NEBA Award for fiction for her body of work, and was a finalist for the ABBY for Talk Before Steep. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook, and the New York Times Magazine. She has also taught a writing workshop at Radcliffe College. She lives near Boston, Massachusetts.