Hi, Friday Fiction Friends! I’m about to break a cardinal rule of this blog but I’m doing it for a good reason. Note one of the words in the title as “fiction.” Yeah, we review fiction here: books and stories from off the beaten track in adult, YA, middle-grade, and children’s genres. Today, though, I’m sharing a book that is non-fiction and it’s for all my writer friends who follow this blog.

Disclaimer: I have over fifty books on writing (I love to study) and so many are good. If you’d like, I can send you my top twenty if you ask in the comments.

My favorite all-time book for writers is:

Drum roll please:

Unleash the Writer Within: The Essential Writer’s Companion by Cecil Murphey

I cannot even find the words to tell you how much this book helped me on my writer’s journey—reading Unleash the Writer Within took me to a different plane than I was on. How?

1. It’s super encouraging. Murphey has been there through all the highs and lows of writing and he shares with honesty and vulnerability.
2. It’s challenging. Murphey presses you to go deeper within, past the shallow and the cliche to where the real story is.
3. It’s brutally honest. Some of his chapters are titled: “Why Do You Write?”, “Being True to Yourself,” and “Searching for the Real You.” See what I mean?
4. It helps you learn. There is so much wisdom about the art of writing from one who has written umpteen books and articles.
5. It challenges you to let go. Stop worrying about everything and just write. I felt like I was given permission to be myself.

I’ve read Unleash the Writer Within at least three times and often look back over the chapters when feeling discouraged. He also has a good book out called Writer to Writer: Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing.

To all my writer friends, I highly recommend this book. If you’re a reader and are curious about what writers go through to produce a finished manuscript, check it out.

You’ll be glad you did…

Click to tweet: My all-time favorite book for writers is, drum roll please, Unleash the Writer Within: The Essential Writer’s Companion by Cecil Murphey. #writingcommunity #FridayReads

Unleash the Writer Within: The Essential Writer’s Companion by Cecil Murphey

Unleash the Writer Within

Beloved NYT bestselling author Cecil (Cec) Murphey says, “The best kind of writing occurs when it comes from the heart. It’s called being authentic or transparent. Too many writers have an insatiable need to be accepted, liked, or admired, and those needs become more important than being true to their convictions. Be you when you write.”

But having the courage to tap into your innermost self and write purely from your spirit doesn’t always come naturally, which is why he wrote Unleash the Writer Within to guide you along the way. In this book, Cec helps you:

* Answer why you write;
* Find the real you;
* Understand your inner critic;
* Determine your strengths and weaknesses;
* Honor, embrace, and grow your voice;
* Discover your rhythm;
* Overcome your barriers to honest writing.

Unleash the Writer Within is sure to become your most-used and marked-up writing companion. It also serves as an excellent resource for writers’ events, group discussions, and conferences.