Reads for Writers: Fearless Writing by William Kenower 2nd Review

From Kate’s Writing Crate…

As a reader, I always love finding books that appeal to me. As a writer, I am twice as pleased when the authors also provide masterclasses within their books.

          Masterclasses take place when performance artists and musicians work one-on-one with students. Writers don’t generally have this option, but I have found some books to be masterclasses for characters, backstories, plots, settings, voice and/or creativity.

         

          In a previous blog, I explained how I decided whether a book was worth a review. First, I mark up a book as I read it. I underline. I score paragraphs. I write notes. And if there is an excellent point made, I dog ear the bottom corner of that page.

          If there are marks, notes, or dog-eared corners on 25%-30% of the pages, the book gets a good review; more than 30%, a great review.

In the two decades I have been reviewing books, I never hit 50%. I never expected to as that’s an almost impossibly high bar. Then I read Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write with Confidence by William Kenower which came in at near 100%.

I felt a bit ridiculous dog earing page after page after page, but Kenower’s truths, descriptions, points, and advice were worth every mark, note, and folded corner.

Quite simply, this book is the Masterclass for writing.

Kenower recommends that readers start with chapter 1 “A Writer’s Worst Fear”  and chapter 2 “The Flow”  then choose which chapters interest them. I think beginning writers should follow his direction, but if you are a more experienced writer you might want to start with either chapter 10 “Finding Time to Write Or Why Procrastination Makes Sense” or chapter 13 “Don’t Fear the Cliché Or Relax—You’re an Original”  as these are two big fears of most writers. Once read, fearless writing can begin.

From my marks, notes, and dog-eared corners, I found every chapter important. I’ve read chapters 1-8 twice and chapters 9-18 three times. I feel like reading them all until they are a part of my DNA.

I’m a fast reader, but I had to put Fearless Writing down to give myself time to absorb what the author was sharing. It’s his story, but it’s also a universal one for every writer filled with insights and truths.

I recognized many of the truths Kenower discussed because I’ve experienced them too, but sometimes so briefly I hadn’t realized until he named them. But even more important were the truths I hadn’t thought about—just accepted—without realizing some, like discomfort and procrastination, have their own purposes. (Read chapter 8 “Creative Discomfort Or How to Love What You Thought You Hated” and chapter 10 “Finding Time to Write Or Why Procrastination Makes Sense” respectively.)

The other chapters are: “Feel First,” “Write What You Love,” “Accuracy,” “Critiques and Workshopping,” “The Intentional Arc,” “Writing is Listening,” “How Thought Works,” “Fearless Marketing,” “The Talent Myth,” “Fear of Failure,” “Evidence,” “Becoming the Author of Your Life,” and “A Good Ending.”

I am so grateful and excited that William Kenower wrote this book. It is life-altering.

Here are just a few insights from Fearless Writing:

“…the only two questions a writer should ask are “What do I want to say?” and “Have I said it?” If you are asking anything else, you’re not writing—you’re just worrying. (page 53)

“…You must embrace the reality that your curiosity is curious enough, your perceptions are perceptive enough, your humor is humorous enough. Get comfortable with that, and you will always know what you most want to say—and if you have said it.” (pp. 70-71)

“,,, There is a great distinction between an idea as it appears in my imagination and what that idea becomes on the page…I must trade in that initial excitement for the patient pleasure of discovery.” (page 106)

“How interested I am in the questions I ask my imagination determines the speed and power of the answer I receive. I must remind myself of this often…” (page 107)

“…when you accept the confidence you already possess and understand that writing’s immediate payoff is the pleasure of finding the next sentence, and then the next, you will discover that you have plenty of time to write…” (page 127)

“…The Flow is the experience of pointing your car toward something you love and are authentically curious about, and then riding the momentum of thought that ensues…” (page 135)

“…Writing, after all, is such an intuitive business. Writing is all about knowing what has no evidence for being known. Writing is all about following a path only you can perceive, that is felt and not seen…” (page 196)

“…If I am deliberate with the stories I tell myself away from the desk, I become the author of my day-to-day experience. Now life is a story I am telling rather than one I have been made to read.” (page 219)

          I hope all writers read this book so they can become not only authors, but the authors of their own lives.