Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from The New York Times

A nice collection of authors musing about their craft. A wide variety, though most are novelists.

Some of the essays are about the craft of writing in general, others specific. Some are anecdotal, others practical advice, and still others hold forth on the philosophy of writing. Essays are by Russell Banks, Saul Bellow, E. L. Doctorow, Louise Erdrich, Richard Ford, Carl Hiaasen, Jamaica Kincaid, Barbara Kingsolver, Sue Miller, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Marge Piercy, Annie Proulx, Carol Shields, Jane Smiley, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and Elie Wiesel. An Introduction is provided by John Darnton.

Each essay is only a few pages, and I found them perfect for a quick read while having coffee in the morning. Each acted as a short but inspiring motivation as I turned to writing.

Here is Amazon’s description:

By turns poignant, hilarious, and practical, Writers on Writing brings together more than forty of contemporary literature’s finest voices. Pieces range from reflections on the daily craft of writing to the intersection of art’s and life’s consequential moments. Authors discuss what impels them to write: creating a sense of control in a turbulent universe; bearing witness to events that would otherwise be lost in history or within the writer’s soul; recapturing a fragment of time. Others praise mentors and lessons, whether from the classroom, daily circumstances, or the pages of a favorite writer. For anyone interested in the art and rewards of writing, Writers on Writing offers an uncommon and revealing view of a writer’s world.

Amazon