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The Writer’s Mentor: A Guide to Putting Passion to Paper
by Cathleen Rountree
Tradeback, 271 pages Conari Press, 2002 ISBN: 1-57324-570-4

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@Book Review

Reviewed by Susanna Carr

How can I stay motivated to write?  Why is it necessary to rewrite and revise?  Does email correspondence count as writing?

If these questions have been bouncing around your head and you haven’t found a suitable answer, read Cathleen Rountree’s The Writer’s Mentor.  The book, which boasts the same name as Rountree’s consulting service, answers the most common questions her clients and students ask. 

The Writer’s Mentor is broken into 12 parts: 

• Divine Inspiration: Meeting the Muse

• The Writing Environment: Creating a Sanctuary

• When to Write: Assessing the Practicalities of Writing

• How: Getting Started

• The Content of Writing: Knowing What to Write

• Writing as Practice: Keeping the Focus

• Page Fright: Overcoming the Fear of Writing

• Writer’s Block and Procrastination: Freeing the Writer Within

• The Craft of Writing: Finding Your Style and Voice

• The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer: Writing as a Solitary Experience

• and The Inner Life of a Writer: Writing as a Life Choice. 

This reference book answers almost 60 of the most troubling questions for all writers.  Using anecdotes, personal experience, inspiring quotes and a question and answer format, Rountree breaks down the creative process and exposes which writing habits work and which ones fail.  She follows up by offers practical tips, advice and exercise suggestions. 

Resource lists are offered, both for recommended reading and websites.  The Writer’s Mentor also draws heavily on films about writers and the writing life. 

While there are many inspirational books for writers, Rountree’s engaging writing style and empathy encourages the writer like no other.  She gives the reader tools and a call for action, leaving the reader ready to face any obstacles in the writing life.

The Writer’s Mentor empowers every author, from the new to the established, from the struggling to the successful.  This book should not only be in every author’s personal library, but should be in easy reach of her writing desk. 

Copyright © 2003 by Susanna Carr.  All Rights Reserved.

Susanna Carr writes sensual contemporary romances.  Visit her website at http://www.susannacarr.com for more reviews, articles and recommended resources.

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