Book Review - Writing for the Soul by Jerry B. Jenkins

Writing for the Soul: Instruction And Advice from an Extraordinary Writing Life by Jerry B. Jenkins

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

Chapter 1 is appropriately entitled Early Breaks. As I read about the author’s writing success, even at an early age, I immediately began to doubt the value in the following pages. This author obviously experienced a great deal of beginners luck. He clearly didn’t face the obstacles and numerous rejections early on in his career that are so characteristic of this field. How could he provide instruction and advice to someone like me, someone finally beginning to take their writing career seriously, mid-life? I certainly have not received any early breaks!

But the book was easy to read and entertaining, so I pursued. And I am very happy that I did. This very well written book is loaded with useful information.

By far the most valuable chapter to me was Chapter 12, Thickening the Stew. It is here that the author gets into practical ways to make your writing tighter and less cluttered. He describes beginner writer errors, talks about setting the scene, and explains when and how to use foreshadowing, flashbacks, and transitions. And while his intended audience is the inspirational writer, the lessons learned can be applied to any writer.

Extremely successful, yes, and obviously a good and well-seasoned author. While I haven’t read any of his other works, you can bet they will be on my to-read list now.

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