Writing Creativity and Soul

By: Sue Monk Kidd, Ann Kidd Taylor - introduction

Narrated by: Jane Oppenheimer, Ann Kidd Taylor

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Book of Longings: an intimate work on the mysteries, frustrations, and triumphs of being a writer, and an instructive guide to awakening the soul.

When Sue Monk Kidd was in high school, a home economics teacher wrote a list of potential occupations for women on the blackboard: teacher, nurse, librarian, secretary. “Writer” was nowhere to be found. On that day, Kidd shut the door on her writerly aspirations and would not revisit the topic until many years later when she announced to her husband and two children that she was going to become a writer. And so began her journey into the mysteries and methods of the writerly life…

In Writing Creativity and Soul, Sue Monk Kidd will pull from her own life and the lives of other writers—Virginia Woolf, Maya Angelou, Harper Lee, and many others—to provide a map for anyone who has ever felt lost as a writer. At the heart of this book is the unwavering belief that writing is a spiritual act, one that draws inspiration from the soul, that wellspring of creativity between imagination and feeling. Once you tap into that part of yourself, said Maya Angelou, there are only three more things you need as a writer: something to say, the ability to say it, and, perhaps most difficult of all, the courage to say it.

Equal parts memoir, guidebook, and spiritual quest, Writing Creativity and Soul is a pilgrimage and a touchstone, a journey into the transformational force of the imagination and the creative genius that lies in the unconscious.

Fabulous!

Not since reading Stephen King’s book, On Writing, have I read such a wonderful book about writing!

I highly recommend this one.

Priceless guidance and advice

Sue Monk Kidd has once again rocked my world in all the best ways. In this book, she pulls back the curtain on the art, science and spirituality of her writing life and methods. This is a must-read for aspiring authors, especially for those who love her work. Highly recommended!

Useful, generous with novel insights

I enjoyed this title and would recommend it. The narration is excellent and the ideas shared are novel and generous, no small feat in a genre overstuffed with repetitive, me-too advice. Though at times the book comes off as a self-serving commercial for her books (and her daughter's), there is so much good and interesting material that the author can easily be forgiven. I especially loved all the ecclectic references to other people's work, including great writers but also Carl Jung and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi which dutiful readers (and aspiring writers) can choose to explore further. This blending of ideas and diverse influences was fascinating for me. There are errant notes too. I found the part about her husband's illness touching but also a touch heavy-handed (and manipulative). Also, the author doesn't talk about the commercial side of the endeavor leaving readers to figure that part out for themselves. All in all though, this is an endearing, insightful and enjoyable contribution; a gift to aspiring writers and all who yearn to more fully express their creative gifts. Humbly, it is very much worth listeners time and attention.

She made me want to write again

I gave up on writing a decade ago. My ego suggested I had nothing to say and I had no counter argument.

Writing, Creativity and Soul appealed to my inner five year old. The child who once proclaimed, “I want to write an award-winning book when I am old and wise.”

That child rammed my heart like a Mattel jack-in-the-box, her orange perm, earnest hazel eyes, and skinny, freckled arms demanding recompense. “Your hair is white! Write!”

Sue Monk Kidd inspired me to reorganize time and space behind my desk wall of heart rocks.

Sue Monk Kidd is my new best friend….

Oh, the conversational tone of this book! It made tears well up sometimes, as I listened to this heartfelt accounting of a writing life. Her helpful guide and all the quotes from so many other esteemed writers, have made all the difference to me, as a writer, and as a person.