Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly

As a grown and happily married woman who is blessed to juggle my writing interests with a prosperous career I’m rationally and intuitively aware that I am outside the target audience for this kindlebook. However, I am in the process of using writing as a tool to cross train myself skillwise and sharpen my creativity and I fortunately came away with some ideas for doing both because of some of the following in this kindlebook; A Running Start with one of the fun writing prompts It was a witchy house, why it is helpful to save what you write for up to 15 years ideally if possible regardless of how you feel about the writing creation, why she wrote this kindlebook, other writing prompts such as an idea to write a fictional book about Jane Austen, a getting into it chapter and an example given through a story about a baker, some more creative writing prompts such as imagining a magical drink, imagining a hearing aid that allows the wearer to hear anything on earth no matter how distant, and much more.

I purchased this for my son (10) to use in our homeschool curriculum this year. As a writer, I understand the need to build the foundations early, and this guide offers that in a fun, witty, yet easy to understand. Last year, my son began creative writing on his own. He loves building worlds, characters, and engaging his imagination. I couldn't ignore it, but I realized I needed help. After reading over each lesson and the instructions, I'm in love. I even found myself asking, "Where was this when I was his age?" While a seasoned author might not find anything new in this book, I do think it has a place on our shelves. For me, it will be for creating memories with my children through the exercises, while honing my craft, and engaging their imaginations. That's priceless.

I really like this book. It was an easy read and helpful. Written for young writers, I feel it has an approachable nature that could suit a writer of any age with an open mind. The writing exercises are really good whether you’re young, old, new, or have been around a while. Ultimately, for me, there was nothing that really made this book stand out from all the other writing books out there. I definitely got something out of it, but it didn’t blow me away. Also, I felt like a lot of the book focused on coming up with ideas or fixing or developing an idea that was lacking. I guess I wanted more in terms of writing technical tips instead of creative tips. Honestly, with a book that has the word magic in the title, I may have been barking up the wrong tree. Blown away or not, worth reading. Perhaps a re-read will do me good. Recommended to writers at any level looking to practice and or hone their creative skills.

I considered buying "Spilling Ink" instead of this book based on some of the reviews, especially one that stated the buyer had tried all the other young writers' books and liked that one best. But as I skimmed through it online, I felt it had a jaded quality. I also concurred with one reviewer who thought it had some harsh topics and language to which her children had not been exposed, and I certainly did not want that. So I went with this one. Its title, cover, unpretensiousness, and lack of "attitude" appealed to me and seemed a better fit for my daughter. I am so glad I did. It fits my daughter's interests, personality, and writing style so much more. It's not trying to turn her into a young sophisticate; it is geared toward bringing out the magic, wistfulness, creativity, and wonder in a young writer's heart. My 12 year old will be receiving this for Christmas along with a special journal and other writing supplies.I know she will love it.

It's honestly a shame I didn't run into this book when I was much younger and at the beginning of my writing career. I probably would have devoured and adored this book back then. As it was, I ended up being perhaps a bit old for the target audience and far too familiar with practical writing advice. So I ended up mostly just nodding along and not learning anything new. Still, it's Gail Carson Levine, and she writes in such a fun and engaging way that I still ended up reading the whole thing anyway. If that's not a testament to her skill, I'm not sure what is. Something about her writing is just engaging and soothing all at once. I may not be the perfect target audience for this book at this point in my life, but I can at least recognize the help it could provide to someone who IS in the right demographic. If I run into any young budding writers who need a word of encouragement, I'll be quick to give them this as a gift.

I am reading this book with my daughter, who is 11 and writing a historical novel as part of her homeschool project. We have a lot of writing resources, workbooks, online classes, worksheets and so on and so forth. A lot of them are too simplistic ( ex. write a sentence about something you see, hear or smell- ugh, boring), or too geared towards common core testing criteria ( ex. Do you know what hyperbole is? Let's tell you 200 different ways for 50 pages.). This book is easy enough to follow, but has a depth and richness that makes it appropriate for a wide range of ages and writing experience. Actually useful.

This book includes interesting writing strategies, but they were the same old thing that every other textbook is teaching. Useful for homeschooling.

Ok

What a magically writing book! It's very nice to read ... Very helpful to come in touch with you inner writing voice ... Must-read for writers and people, who wants to write ...

fantastic.

I loved the whole book. The session Gail wrote on publishing was very helpful. I gave an outline at the weekly writers group I attend, and now several are wanting to also read it. I do plan to reread it several more times. Linda

Bien entendu, Writing Magic : Creating Stories That Fly ne vous donnera pas les clés pour devenir un excellent auteur en deux leçons et trente secondes. Bien entendu, ce n'était pas le but de l'auteur (ni le mien en achetant ce livre ;) ...) mais autant le préciser dès le départ ! Mais ce petit livre, plein d'humour, regorgeant d'exercices d'écriture, de créativité, est un livre qui vous donne envie de vous (re)mettre à l'écriture, parce que Gail Carson Levine se base sur son expérience, nous donne des exemples, n'hésite pas à dire qu'elle même à cru faire des trucs nazes... et alors? Son premier conseil est de garder tout ce que vous écrivez, peu importe la qualité. Il y a plusieurs conseils sur la narration, l'auteur livre des conseils intéressant. Bien entendu, il faut réadapter ça aux spécificités de la langue française, mais cela coule très bien ;) L'anglais n'est pas tellement difficile à comprendre. De plus, la façon dont Gail Carson Levine écrit nous met tout de suite dans une ambiance sympathique. Elle nous écrit comme elle écrirait à une bonne connaissance. On a tout de suite envie d'en savoir plus. De continuer, de voir ce qu'elle a à nous offrir. Et des choses à nous offrir, elle en a beaucoup ! Certains trouveront certainement ce livre un peu enfantin, mais rappelez vous : il n'a pas été écrit pour des adultes, mais des pré-ados, essentiellement.