Tuesday, March 03, 2009
AMOKArts Resource Review
Creative Calisthenics: A Workout for the Writers Imagination by Terri Main
available through the web site http://www.creativecalisthenics.com
Did you ever spend your time staring at a blank page and hoping for inspiration? I think it happens to all of us. Well if you’re a writer, Terri Main has a book that will come to your rescue. It’s called Creative Calisthenics.
Creative Calisthenics started out it’s life as a very regular, very valuable contribution to the Fellowship of Christian Writers. Quite a few of the members of the list encouraged Terri to compile these contributions into a book and I for one am glad they did. The book is filled with writer’s prompts, idea generating ideas guides for creating believable characters and settings as well as tips on organization and plotting, poetry, improving your writing and even games to enhance your creativity.
I’ll be the first to confess, I didn’t use this book properly. Main advises the reader to open the book at random and start writing. I read it cover to cover in airports and on planes while traveling to Nashville (for a gathering of writers incidentally) and found it extremely engaging. There are a wealth of ideas contained in this small volume and as I was reading I really struggled to resist the urge to quit reading and start writing. This book is a treasure trove of great ideas that will never be far from my desk. Now all I need to do is find the time to write.
Interestingly enough while this book is designed for writers, in reading it, I began to realize that this resource could also be helpful to artists working in other disciplines. After all what artist couldn’t use help with a good idea now and then. I heartily endorse this book.
Creative Calisthenics may be ordered through Terri Main’s website:http://www.creativecalisthenics.com or for more information contact Terri Main at webservant2003@yahoo.com