Writing The Natural Way

Writing The Natural Way by Gabriele Lusser Rico.

I had written  about clustering, one technique that Gabriele teaches.  This was post five in a six post series on blogging, filed in Categories under Writing.  I wanted to write a book review here however, because this book has so much more to offer.

The book's byline is: Using Right-Brain Techniques to Release Your Expressive Powers.  Gabriele leads us through a journey of writing techniques and exercises designed to meld our Sign mind (left brain) and our Design mind (right brain) into one unit of expression. 

Here are a few Chapter titles and brief commentary:

The Childhood Origins of Natural Writing - As children we wondered about everything.  In turn, we translated that wonder into expression - scribbling, coloring, drawing,talking and writing.  As we age, wonder fades and callouses into strained, cliche-driven expression.  Gabriele guides us back to our roots and a time of wondering.

Discovering Design: the Trial Web - Following the randomness of a cluster, the Trial Web is our Design mind's way of formulating a pattern and attempt to draw a focus from our fragmented thoughts. 

Recurrences: the Unifying Thread - Recurrences are the meaningful repetition of words, images, phrases etc.  I use this technique in the first paragraph of my essay set to launch on Talking Story  September 14.  Recurrences are fun.  Recurrences have sedative power like the ocean's waves.  Recurrences are rhythmic like a tribal drum.  Recurrences are a writer's melody.

Language Rhythms: the Music in Words - Gabriele teaches how the rhythmic flow of language provides a sense of continuity and wholeness in writing (her words). 

Wedding Word to Image: Metaphor - The metaphor is a writer's hammer.  The power of connecting steel to wood, word to image is a writer's magical elixir.  Gabriele offers a tall, frosted glass of iced-tea awaiting our parched lips.

Coming Full Circle - In this chapter, Gabriele brings us back from our journey in search of expressing the meld of our Design and Sign mind.  This technique ties the beginning to the end in our writing excerises. 

Writing The Natural Way is a must read for the writer determined to improve!

Gabriele Lusser Rico

Both Gabriele and Julia Cameron speak highly of Dorothea Brande and her book Becoming a Writer .  Although I haven't picked up the book yet, I will.

Comments

[Dick Richards]

Dave - I recently did a bookshelf purge. Had books that I kept for thirty years and the only reason I was keeping them was that I had them for thirty years. Out they went.

The interesting thing is what I kept. "Writing the Natural Way" is one of them. Another that you might want to look at is Brenda Ueland's "If You Want To Write."

[Dave]

Thanks for the recommend Dick!

[Dwayne Melancon]

OK, so now I *have* to read this book I've never even heard of. I can hardly wait - thanks for writing about it!