Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

If you walk into a bookstore you can hardly turn around without seeing a "How to Write" type of book. For a time, I enjoyed reading a lot of them and noting what they had in common (the advice that was always there) and what was unique to that particular author. But that was decades ago and the only real reason I was interested in reading through this book was because of the author. I have really enjoyed the fiction I've read from Chuck Wendig, as well as his tweeting ('X-ing'?), and I wanted to see what he had to say about the art and craft of writing. Of course I was immediately struck by the absurdity of the title. Anyone who's read Wendig knows that he is never gentle. An of course he knows this: "One does not kick asses gently. Asses must be kicked aggressively, or they are not being kicked..." he writes.

In many ways, this book can boil down - as all books about 'how to write' boil down - to the idea of: Write! ("BUTT IN CHAIR. FINGERS ON KEYBOARD. WRITE, MONEKY, WRITE.") but rather than being a lecture on how to do it, Wendig, who admits "ultimately this book is about me more than it's about you", notes that the general attitude of the day wasn't working so much for him.

I'd say that thought is pretty common among would-be and wannabe and low-production writers, which is why people keep buying the 'how to write' books. If "write, monkey, write" was all it took, wouldn't a lot more people consider themselves writers?

Here is where Wendig is gentle. "(This book is) here to tell you that's it's okay to take the time you need. (...) It's here to help you find your way through the work ... Because I think we need your voice, should you care to share it. Because your voice has value. Your art, your words, have worth."

Damn. Me? My voice? Who else is saying this in the 'how to' world? (Maybe everyone? As I noted, I haven't read a book like this in decades.)

I could quote from this book all day but it would be easier if you just went out and bought a copy for yourself. Wendig's voice, which I enjoy reading, is on full display here (if you like what he says and how he says it, you really should read some of his fiction) and as I would expect, he bucks some traditional thinking along the way.

"Write. Write every day. Build a habit of writing." says just about every English teacher and every author offering up advice. Except Wendig.

Writing every day is a meaningless metric. A day is a day is a day, and an individual unit of twenty-four hours is not significant in the grand scheme. Maybe you can only write on weekends. Maybe you can only afford one week a month to write. Maybe you do write every day, but only for fifteen minutes here, fifteen minutes there, just a few hundred words. (...) It's all okay. The point is, it's not about the schedule. It's not about the frequency. It's all about whether or not you're writing. Even a little bit. Progress is progress. (...) Don't worry about what other people tell you to do. They don't know your life. You don't owe them anything, and your process doesn't validate theirs any more than their process validates yours.

The irony is not lost on me that the advice to 'not worry about what other people tell you to do' is really freeing advice.
I also really appreciated one other comment Wendig makes, almost in passing. "I also made sure to surround myself with others who also took (writing) seriously and who respected my time and my writing and the work that goes into it." This is great life advice, not just writing advice.

You should buy this book. Did I mention that?

Regular readers of my blog and reviews may recall my mentioning, more than once, a quote I've shared which I attribute to Theodore Sturgeon who, when asked what the difference was between writing a novel and writing a short story replied, "A novel is about people who do things and a short story is about things people do." Wendig boils this thought down even more. "Remember: Plot is Soylent Green. It is made out of people."

Wendig addresses common 'how to write' themes, such as "write what you know" and the use of adverbs and adjectives and metaphors ("No metaphor is perfect, which is why it's a metaphor. If it were perfect it'd be something like, "The ocean was like an ocean." Which wouldn't be a metaphor.")

This book is available right now. You could order it or better yet, go into your nearest physical bookstore and buy a copy. Just sayin'.

While this gentle bit of advice comes relatively early in the book, I think it really sums up what Wendig is saying:
A real writer is one who writes. There is no other test.
Others will want to test you. They will make it about how much you write, how often, what you get paid. But if you want to be a writer, then you write, and you are a writer.
That is the way.

Looking for a good book? Gentle Writing Advice is Chuck Wendig's contribution to the "How To Write" bookshelf and if what you're seeking is the motivation to write, this could well be the last book you need to buy. But you should buy this one.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Gentle with a hint of "Let's f***king do this". The boost we all need to get started and stay moving. Wendig certainly has a way with words.

I like writing books like this. This type where it’s not a straight up do this do that. Wendig spends quite a bit of the book talking about taking care of yourself, which was refreshing. I think this is a good guide for our current times where we push ourselves too hard sometimes. His encouragement to do the writing you want to do verses what you think you should be writing was nice. But for me the best part of the book was the self-care chapter. He definitely leans into the gentle advice as the title states. I recommend this title for new writers and writers who may have hit a wall of some sort. He also has a chapter on what’s referred to as writer’s block.

Yes this book of gentle writing advice was in fact very gentle. Nothing but the upmost of gentleness. I loved all the advice and I can see myself using it in the future. 10/10!

This is just lovely. It's actual actionable advice but it's also self-care and an antidote to a lot of what's out there. Definitely recommended.

At its heart I think this book is kind - not in that bullsh*t "make America kind again" way, but truly, deeply warm, affectionate, and caring. This book will get up early with you to drive to your doctor's appointment. It will make you have a martini with it on a Friday night because you haven't left the house in a few weeks. It will read the first version of your short story, tell you it's amazing, and point out where you misspelled a few things. This book wants you to succeed in whatever way YOU want to succeed. I absolutely loved it.

The egalley was horribly formatted and made it very difficult to read. However, Wendig's advice is solid. Be kind to yourself and write for yourself. Forget all the other advice you read on social media or life-hack-style articles. To be a writer, all you have to do is write.

This was a good book of writing advice, but for some reason it didn't pull me in. I think I got some valuable things from it and I really appreciate that it focuses heavily on balance, that sometimes self care is not writing and sometimes self care is forcing yourself to write. That was one of the strong themes in this book and I think people need to approach life in this manner more often.

I’ve followed his advice on writing for years through the magazine Writer’s Digest. It’s great to have his tips all in one place. A great resource for the writer’s bookshelf and toolbox!

I like to read writing advice books. This author had some good advice but his whole style wasn't what I thought "Gentle Writing Advice" would be LOL! He does say right at the first that there will be cursing in the book and he was right. Chuck does use a lot of humor to bunk a lot of the writing advice that has been given out through the years. He does say to do your own thing and use common sense. I know writers who have been around the block may not enjoy this book as much as those who are new to the craft. Overall, I liked what he had to say and I'm grateful I had Netgalley giving me the chance to read it.
3.5-4 Stars

This book is extremely helpful for anyone interested in writing. The author clearly knows their stuff, and they present it in a very accessible way. Well worth a read.

Many thanks to Chuck Wendig, NetGalley, and Penguin Random House for this copy.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I powered through it so quickly, I forced myself to go back and read it again at a more reasonable pace. With advice which actually felt like advice--not less-than-constructive criticism like advice often comes across--this was an exceptionally good read for anyone who is interested in developing themselves as a writer. Highly recommend.

This was a NetGalley review.

Gentle Writing Advice is a genuinely funny tongue-in-cheek, but equally useful, writing guide for writers (or would be writers) by Chuck Wendig. Released 6th June 2023 by Penguin Random House on their WD Books imprint, it's 256 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats. It's handy (especially for nonfiction) for looking up info with the search function as well as brilliant for handling the numerous footnotes here, specifically.

Wendig is an experienced word warrior (in his own words). He's been around for a good long while. He's productive, prolific, and gets paid to do the writing thing. He knows what he's talking about. Additionally and importantly, he's -really- funny. He writes well and what he writes is fun to read. Writing about writing can (maybe usually *is*) stultifying and dry. Mr. Wendig manages to make it interesting and relevant. He's a bit sweary, but really, sometimes a swift kick to the backside between friends is needed.

Four and a half stars. This isn't *just* a book of writing advice. It's worth a read for the humor and timing as well.

Very well done.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Nicely produced, easily readable and engaging advice on writing from a popular online voice. It’s not the venerable Bird By Bird by Lamott, but Wendig’s advice will appeal to those who are struggling to organize their thoughts into cogent writing.

I have Chuck Wendig's earlier book on writing tips called 500 Ways to be a Better Writer; I would like to have Damn Fine Story as well since it seems to be an entirely differently type of book by Wendig on the craft of writing. Fortunately, I was able to get the NetGalley approval for his 2023 book on writing tips GENTLE WRITING ADVICE.

Gentle Writing Advice is more like the "good twin" to 500 Ways to be a Better Writer. Some of the advice is the same, but presently is a kinder, still Wendig-witty tone. For example, both books advise writers to meet up and talk about publishing, books they're loving, even writers to avoid. This 2023 post-pandemic, post-Trump apocalypse, Insurrection, and climate disaster version of Chuck Wendig is one who has come out the other side of a lot of shit. All of us have. We're still here. Frankly, you aren't a different person after the last seven years, I don't know what to say.

Gentle Writing Advice tells you important information even if you're not a writer, but some other type of person that has the urge to create. Things like:

You're not too old to start.
You're not alone.
The internet can be good to connect with people and an evil hellscape because of connecting with people.
You do not need to write every single day. People are different.
Day jobs are fine, in fact, they are often necessary! You need to eat and pay bills!
Most writers are not living the high life like Richard Castle of the show Castle.

What a lot of this book brings to the table is Wendig's heart being ripped from his chest and handed to you like an Indiana Jones scene. Except in this case, it's not for sacrifice, but rather a gesture to welcome his audience to the profoundly flawed world of writing. He shares many examples about the questions he's been asked at speaking engagements. Some of the best ones are from kids. They get to the bottom of the problem. Rather than, "Where do you get ideas?" or "I have this great idea, will you write it for me and we can split the credit?" Kids have been poignant in the libraries and classrooms.

Something new at the Wendig table this time around—if you read his blog TerribleMinds or follow his socials you'll know it's valuable—self care is not a trend. Wendig explains what self care means to him and the actions he takes when difficult times hit. The Book of Accidents he tried writing twice before getting the story to pull together in his brain and for the time to be right to tackle it (it's a complex story).

I greatly appreciated that he admitted Writer's Block is real. It exists. Some famous authors don't believe it does. I got into a spat on Twitter about it years ago. Here's what's incredible about Gentle Writing Advice's section on Writer's Block: Wendig talks about when it's a creative impasse and presents the possibility that it might not be that at all; it might be a mental illness like depression, which saps the life out of you and sucks all the joy out of your work so you get stuck in a shame loop. I hate to say, it's so brave of him to talk openly about this, but my gods! It's been a stigma for so long. The idea that you must not want it badly enough is an excuse made by people claiming they have writer's block—that is DONE. Don't listen to people who say that!

Wendig gives plenty of pages to his experience with staring at the blank page. It's not just a one time occurrence. That kind of problem comes back again and again. He confesses that while he did spend a year editing two books, that particular time frame didn't birth any new work from him. After his father died, he wrote. Yet, after his mother died, he didn't. He couldn't write. Not books anyway. He could tweet about heirloom apples and how terrible people were to each other during the pandemic. Either way, it's okay. Sometimes, writing will help get you through the madness, but maybe not every time. Breaks are fine. Quitting is fine because you can always un-quit.

Summary:
Chuck Wendig has been the kind of writer who shares parts of his life with the world. While still valuing privacy, that desire to share knowledge and be in a community is a balancing act. Gentle Writing Advice is presented in easily digestible sections. Get your highlighters ready.
Rating: 5 stars

I'm biased - I love Wendig's voice, and this book is full of that quippy, tongue-in-cheek humour. He looks at common writing advice and how it is not always correct, and talks about how no advice can be taken as gospel. I've been in a writing group for a while now and this less-serious, exploratory, forgiving approach is a much welcome fresh breeze.

Chuck Wendig offers great, practical writing advice (as he always does) in this craft book, and delivers it with great humor. I loved reading this and have bookmarked many pages. I can't wait to read through this book again!

Never have I enjoyed the footnotes of a book more.

Gentle Writing Advice is an excellent source of entertainment and, well, writing advice. As a writer, I am always looking for the one piece of advice that will turn me into The Greatest Writer to Ever Write, and Wendig’s book did…not so that (rude). But it did give me solid advice to turn me into a better writer than I was.

Sprinkled in with the advice we have all heard before were nuggets of advisement as to why something may be useful or why it’s actually a lot of crap that should not be listened to. With the reminder of course that writing is subjective and do what works for you.

I came for the writing advice, but stayed for the footnotes. Sometimes this was more advice or further explanation as to prove a point and sometimes it was pure chaos. Reading this book felt like someone was seeing into my soul and, who knows, maybe that’s something Chuck Wendig can do. Probably he can (creepy. Stop staring into my soul! Stop it!).

This has easily skyrocketed to the top of my collection of books on writing. Every writer should read it to be reminded why you do what you do and that everyone is an imposter at some point. It helped me get out of my own rut and maybe it can do that for you too.

Chuck Wendig in the art of writing, is like a bearing wall in a grand old house. When you are looking for sound advice when building out your house of tales, he's the go to guy. The amount of wisdom and experience he's gathered and developed over time is legendary and I'm glad to share a writing world with a sage, madman such as he. This book is flexible enough to apply to both aspiring and established writers. This is a book that should remain on your desk, next to your dictionary and thesaurus. An excellent read and highly recommended.