Schneider's exercises for and advice about working with a group have re-inspired my friends and me. We've been writing together now for a couple of years, but with the help of Schneider's book we've already brought ourselves to new levels in our own writing and in our abilities to encourage each other. Schneider knows exactly what it's like to be a writer -- the joys and the hard parts. This is THE book.
This book is chock full of advice on the craft of writing for those who are struggling with discipline and is an excellent resource for those who are in writing/critique groups or those who want to start a writing group. Some of the areas covered are fear, discipline, the development and growth of the craft, voice, and the approach and methodology of group writing. In a heading entitled Why Keep a Journal? it is stressed that one's life has significance and is part of history of the world. In Finding Your Own Voice, writers are encouraged to reclaim their "original voice", the one used as a child, in finding the writing voice. There is a brilliant piece from Pat's own life where caught up in life's woes, she allows herself a reprieve from writing, only to find that in that suspended state her creativity erupts forth naturally of its own volition. The exercises throughout the book are provocative and stimulating and work well individually or in group settings.
I had the pleasure of attending Pat's book launch and workshop for the book earlier this month in Berkeley where, at Pacific School of Religion, she holds an annual writing workshop. Upon my arrival home, I immediately began to devour this great resource and have been picking it up every day. This is the one writing book that should be purchased this year.
Dera Williams