Writing As a Way of Life

In Writing as a Way of Life: A Book About Art, Craft, and Devotion, novelist and memoirist Brian Morton provides writers with a guidebook for finding the psychic equipment they'll need to remain committed to their craft over the long haul. Filled with wisdom, humor, and heart, this is a book that will help writers at every level of experience grant themselves the permission to keep going. Drawing on a rich and varied career as a writer and teacher, Morton gives writers a masterclass in how to deepen their tenacity and their resilience.This is a book about falling in love– and remaining in love– with the practice of writing. "Most of the rewards that come from the writing life come from the act of writing itself. You don't have to wait for them. You can have them now." Weaving together stories from the lives of literary masters like Virginia Woolf, Henry James, and Anton Chekhov, insights from different spiritual traditions, and lessons gleaned from a surprising array of artists and thinkers (including Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk, Jean-Paul Sartre, Antonio Gramsci– and Miss Manners!), Morton reveals writing to be a calling akin to meditation or prayer. "Writing is an act of devotion. It's an expression of our reverence for life and our arguments with life." Writing as a Way of Life is filled with practical, actionable tips for developing and sustaining a habit of writing that will last a lifetime. Instead of "long heroic efforts that leave blood on the keyboard," Morton recommends a gentler approach to making art. "The key to happiness is five hundred words a day. If you're a writer, five hundred words a day can save your life." Morton has written a generous, funny, humane, and friendly guide that writers will find empowering, because Morton reminds his readers at every turn that each writer must be guided by their own unique literary compass. This is a book for writers who are just starting out– and for writers who've been at it for years. It's a book for anyone who writes and anyone who wants to write, anyone looking for ways to deepen their devotion to their art.

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