Just Open a Vein: Writers on Writing

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898792940
• ISBN13: 9780898792942
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Stories from the trenches

I wish that I had read this book before I started writing. It would have been very helpful. But now, decades later, I find that it helps me now. Good advice on how to paint clouds and carve the Lord's Prayer on a cherrystone. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm between the covers. My first submission to Writer's Digest. Clumsy, but it flew.

Comfort food for the Writer's Soul

The book's title comes from sportswriter Red Smith, whose take on the writer's life is this:" There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and just open a vein." These 37 essays are written by writers, for writers. They touch on the common problems facing those who have the audacity, chutzpah, desire and determination to enter this most daunting profession. While I own a variety of books on writing (and this was published in 1987)this one stands out, and I return to it often. It's there when I need a creative push, an encouraging word, a swift kick in the rear, or a gentle reminder that there is light at the end of that long, dark tunnel. Irving Wallace, one of America's finest writer's, advises aspiring writers, "Use your imagination daily. Writing is not only an art but also a profession. While inspiration is an enormous factor, the writing of a book is a profession. You have to prepare for this profession by practicing it- write diaries, journals, letters, fragments- and by studying the works of authors you admire, to learn how they create characters, insert conflict, move a story. and then you have to write not just when the spirit moves you, but every day." Julia Wekkin, in an essay titled "My Genetic Disorder" examines the origins of her need to write. Reflecting on her childhood, she notes, "In spite of a busy life and buzzing household, my mother wrote. Without the luxury of private work space,a word processor, or blocks of uninterrupted time, she published." Wekkin credits Thorton Wilder, Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein, for their influence on her early on. She offers Heinlein's five-point checklist for writing success: Write, finish what you write, do not re-write except to editorial order, put it on the market, keep it on the market until sold." This book is rich in wisdom, diverse in perspectives, with humorous insights into the joys and frustrations of the writing life. The acknowlegements page "honors all writers who take the risk of revealing themselves on paper, and who discover themselves in the process." With this collection of essays, when read in earnest, you're bound to be richer in spirit, and closer to your goal of becoming a productive, successful writer. A real treasure for anyone interesting in writing.