Feminine Writes Compiled by Sheri McConnell

Feminine Writes Compiled by Sheri McConnell
Edited by Angel Brown and Julie Ann Halick
National Association of Women Writers
2002 Trade Paperback
ISBN: 0971477514
Adult/For Writers Inspiration/Self-Help (Writers) Explicit (violence, language)
Excerpt/More Info Link: http://www.naww.orgreviewed/

Women, Wisdom and Writing
Women Writers Bare Souls, Share Knowledge for Other Writers
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, columnist and reviewer for MyShelf.Com and author of This is the Place, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered and the How To Do It Frugally Series of books for writers

The three big Ws. Women, Wisdom and Writing. An apt subtitle for Feminine Writes, a kind of writing genre all its own.

Compiled by Sheri McConnell, president and founder of the National Association of Women Writers, this book is a little of many things. Eclecticism like this could be the kiss of death for a book, the path to self destruction, but in this case it works very well. The first five chapters are composed of inspirational works culled from essays by members of NAWW--a huge organization that is growing every day. Covering subjects like The Identity of a Woman and Passion and Creativity, they appear in this book by invitation and Sheri has been careful to include only the best.

These are lovely pieces that should be read by any writer, whether she journals only for her own needs, is a hard-working reporter or writes creatively. These essays may be read one by one and savored or devoured nonstop. Intended for women, many would be of value to men.

The second section is designed to give a writer experience but also to Ignite the Woman Writer’s Soul. Section three is all (or almost all) about the practical. It answers 25 commonly asked questions about the writing life. A woman writer may find something here that she had thought to ask but never did, or a new slant on an answer that she long thought she had the answer to. At the end of the book is a Directory of Wisdom. There is a surprise here that I shall not reveal. It may be sufficient to say that wisdom does not always spring from expected sources.

Feminine Writes, edited by Angel Brown and Julie Ann Halick, is available, along with many other perks, at no cost to writers who choose to become a member of NAWW. Or it may be ordered on Amazon.

I highly recommend this book. It is, in part, a mass memoir. Women share their innermost selves with other writers. It is a workbook extraordinaire. All in all, it is a book full of camaraderie. If I used a star system for rating, I would wave a flag full of them for Feminine Writes. A pretty pink flag, for women writers everywhere.

~Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s first novel, This is the Place, has won eight awards. Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, is a book of short creative nonfiction. It has won two. Both are seeing renewed interest because they are set in Salt Lake City, Zion to Mitt Romney. Howard-Johnson is also the author of The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Learn more at http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/.)