This is one of the best books on writing I've ever read. I didn't think I'd like it because it's because a lot of short, numbered anecdotes/bits of advice divided into sections. It actually worked really well because everything felt important.
The hardest thing about writing advice is that it's different for everyone. There are so many rules, and sometimes following rules is important and sometimes breaking rules makes writing better.
This book talks about all that, and it felt like someone was talking to me. I read a little at a time so I could think over what she was saying.
Towards the end McCracken talks about the motives people have for writing and how it's important not to compete with other writers. Everyone should write what's in their own head and heart. She says that it's pointless aiming to be "the next big thing" because it's not a lifetime appointment.
I'll probably read this again for inspiration. It's practical, sensible, smart advice with real stories of failures and successes.

I always enjoy reading books on writing because they're structure so differently and provide the right push to keep writing. This one is no different. The organization of it is a little different but not bad. I love a book that you can highlight and keep notes on. This is definitely one that fits that bill.

Thank you for allowing me to read this for my honest review

This title provided many meaningful lessons into the writing and creative process. This is a title that I would use in a creative writing or even an AP Language course. It will help students learn ways to break through writers block, how to not judge themselves and their ideas and cultivate new ideas as well.

This is a must-have for the library collection of fiction writers.
The advice is humorous and relatable…
WE ARE ALL DOGS. WHAT WORKS FOR AN AUSTRALIAN shepherd would kill a corgi. A greyhound needs different discipline than a clumber spaniel, though they both have work to do. You have to figure out what will make you heel, sit, stay, be it other people or running out the clock on the day’s distraction.

And there’s much heartfelt wisdom in “A Long Game”.
IF YOU’RE WRITING A BOOK, I TELL MY STUDENTS, you better make it a book of your heart: something you suspect only you can write, something that will menace you if you don’t get it down on the page. Too many people try to write somebody else’s book, hoping that it’s publishable.

You will be happy to refer to this book again and again as part of your long game plan of writing a novel.

It is a joy to read this book, very educational while at the same time maintain a very honest and real tone about the mystery of making art and considering practicalities of craft. None of the pieces came across as a lecture from someone who had figured it out, although when one reads any of Elizabeth's stories the temptation to say she has really figured it all out is strong, but rather from someone who with honesty shares the struggles and the uncertainties and the many difficulties but also joys that are behind the scene of writing. I found it not only practically helpful but also inspiring.

I founds this book very helpful. McCracken is both a wonderful writer and (seemingly) a wonderful college writing teacher.

Whenever students come to her with an idea for a story, she responds, "Could be good. Could be terrible. Try it." McCracken feels there are no "rules" in writing. She spends a lot of time dismissing the things you are supposed to NEVER do. If you do something and it works, then obviously you can do it. She once wrote a draft with lots of footnotes and then in her editing realized she only had one footnote left in the entire book. At first she told herself that she couldn't publish a book with one footnote, but then she realized, why not? If it works, you can do it. This is so liberating.

Amazingly, as great a writer as she is, she has 4-5 novels that haven’t been published. She finds usefulness even when most would view that as failure—

“I didn't understand that each book would change who I was as a writer, even the ones I didn't publish: no writing is wasted."

I have always hesitated writing autobiographical, because I feel like my life hasn't been interesting enough. But then I read what McCracken has to say: "If you're tempted to think of yourself as ordinary--think of the things youu'd be horrified for other people to know about you, your genuine hidden freakishness, the most inexplicable thing you did as a teenager. Something you've never told anyone, or nearly nodbody. Then give the shameful secret to a character." What great advice.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an e-galley in return for this honest review.

Elizabeth McCracken, true to her usual writing voice, gives personal writing advice here. Not as transcendent as Anne Lamott, Steven King, or some others, and written in short note-like snippets.

It is rare that I enjoy a book on writing in its entirety. Each of them have a piece of wisdom or two for me to pull out and woefully misquote a million time among friends, but to have me nodding along and feverishly copying down quotes in my notebook, to have me researching the MFA program at UT Austin, that is a true feat. Elizabeth McCracken's bite-sized formatting and meandering with purpose style are straight from my dreams.

Please if you have ever written or wanted to write do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

"To consider yourself a writer as you move about the world-I truly believe-is a beautiful way to live, a form of open-mindedness"

Elizabeth McCracken has written a really interesting ,entertaining guide to writing .Told through her voice in the form of notes ,I found it really helpful with ideas that were easy to absorb and put to use.# NetGalley #along game.

I enjoyed this book. It’s not a conventional writing guidebook; instead, as the subtitle indicates, it’s written in the format of assorted notes. If the book had clearer organization, I would have liked it even more; it would have been nice to look back at it someday and find a specific section, but instead, I took notes.

McCracken had some great tips that helped me feel inspired to write: mostly, to just keep working hard and to do what feels right rather than seeking others’ approval. Despite my wish for more structure, this book is still a pleasure to read. The writing is very good, even lyrical at times, and the author’s tone is approachable and sincere. I recommend A Long Game to others who are open to a non-traditional craft book on writing fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the free eARC! I post this review with my honest opinions. This review is cross-posted to Goodreads and will be posted on Instagram and Amazon within one week of the book’s publication.