Dani Shapiro

Examines the process of creative writing and storytelling through the author's personal stories and experiences of living a writer's life and offers lessons and insights to aspiring authors.

The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life

Still Writing

Belle

While not mind-blowing, this book was like talking to someone who gets it. Who gets me. Who gets how I work, and why, and knows all the right things to say to make me realise my weird ways are okay, and I'm not the only one.

Each book I read like this (Bird by Bird being another) makes me feel a little more connected to this group of people who unapologetically call themselves writers, and who've learned to lean into their own quirky process without questioning.

I'll probably keep this book on regular rotation, as it's full of very short chapters and aphorisms about why we do what we do.

And, ultimately, it offers plenty of reminders to simply get my butt back in the chair.

Steven Ovadia

A bit of a mixed bag with some great moments and some fine ones, but worth looking at.

Ruth Parker 

Reading this book while I’m trying to motivate myself to write my own book was actually super helpful. Dani Shapiro writes like my friend. Like my relatable tutor. Like someone who I would give my manuscript to and accept feedback and criticism without batting an eyelid. 

This book has helped me and hopefully will continue to help me throughout the next couple of years as I attempt to write my book. Finally. Eventually.

Abby N. Lewis

I am an aspiring writer and I received this book as a Christmas gift from my lovely grandmother who is aware of my dream. She informed me that she had read a review about the novel in a magazine and it made her think of "our future writer". 

I feel the need to add that I love my grandmother because of this. Dani Shapiro's book is completely sublime. I will admit, I had not read any of her previous books, even though there appears to be quite a few, oops. I had never even heard of her before, to be honest. With that being said, I fell in love with Still Writing regardless. 

I am 19 years old, and I have yet to write a novel. I know, I'm young and I shouldn't expect to have a novel written at my age, but every day I still feel as if I should be writing. I get ideas constantly, and I've taken a poetry and a creative writing class throughout my high school career. I loved every minute of those classes, and the teachers became my role models. I still keep in touch with one of them, occasionally. My fellow students felt like family to me. In fact, I've written some amazing poems and short stories in those classrooms, but that's it. I could never imagine taking on as monumental a feat as writing an actual novel. That is, I until I read Shapiro's book. 

She addressed fears and questions that I had been asking for years, but never bothered to look into until now. More often than not, I had wondered, is this craving- this unyielding thirst to write- normal? Am I stuck-up for preferring to stay cooped up inside, alone with my thoughts or an excellent book, instead of going out and socializing like every other teenager? Shapiro helped me to realize that these thoughts and feelings are perfectly normal for a writer.

She gave me a glimpse into the mind of a writer, and an experienced one at that. Her advice is simply superb, and not to be taken lightly. I will use this book as a reference, an inspiration, and probably even a bible of sorts throughout my writing career. It made that incessant itching in my bones to write that much stronger, and it reinforced the idea that I CAN become a writer, and hopefully a good one too.

Thank you Dani Shapiro! Never stop writing, for my sake, and for the sake of every other aspiring writer.

Still Writing The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life

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