Creative writing is something I haven't done since I was in school when I basically had to. However it is something that I would like to get into again, but it is something I often find myself struggling with. As someone who often suffers from writers block I can never come up with an idea, but once I have one I can write for hours. So to get me back into the swing of things I decided to purchase this book, after having bought my sister the drawing equivalent for Christmas and seeing as she successfully got on with it I decided to branch out and take another attempt at creative writing, but for fun this time.
As the title would imply the book is filled with 712 prompts for writing ideas and guides you through various scenarios to write about and perspectives to write from. The pages inside vary between those divided into four, two or given one topic, some giving obviously short topics such as lists, personal ads or instructions. One of the great things about the topics in the book is there is such a great range, which include both opportunities for personal writing which allows you to draw on your own experiences "worst date of your life" or "how to get from your house to the nearest supermarket" as well as characters which are far removed from your own situation "the migration of Southern Floridians if sea levels have risen by three feet by 2050, at which point Miami will be underwater and uninhabitable". The topics also range throughout the book to the amount of detail which is provided for the writer from "a place from the past" to "You are a famous actor being interviewed by a bright young reporter about the movie you just made. You thought the script was lousy. You had a terrible time on set with the director. You dated and dumped your costar. You start the interview praising the film but gradually the truth slips out. Write the scene from the beginning" giving you a lot of freedom to expand the characters your creating however you wish with only a minor restriction on what you're supposed to be writing about.
My main criticism of this book would be that some of the topics provide only a small area to write in which if like me you have large handwriting or simply like to write at length then you can find yourstruggling to keep everything contained, although I guess this is dependent on the individual. Overall though I think I will find myself getting a lot of use out of this book as something to sit down with when I have nothing to do and is easy to flick through and pick a page at random. If like me you struggle with coming up with ideas or simply just want to push yourself with your creative writing then I'd definitely recommend it and it would make a great gift for any creative writers you know.
-Cloee xoxo
