Book Review: The Writer’s Toolbox by Jamie Cat Callan
The Writer’s Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the “Write” Side of Your Brain by Jamie Cat Callan. © 2007 Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-5429-0. Nonfiction/Writing. $24.95 US. Source: copy from publisher.
This is an extremely nice and quality set. It comes with a 64-page booklet, sticks to draw, wheels to spin, a timer to turn and cards to draw–all with the aim of getting the right-brained person around that creative writing block. The author, Jamie Cat Callan, is a long-time writing teacher. She has taught writing at N.Y.U., Yale University, U.C.L.A. Extension, Fairfield University, and Wesleyan University. So this is definitely a set put together by someone who knows what they are talking about.
However, none of the games and exercises helped me at all. I get about two minutes of writing under my belt and then here would come another wall. I just didn’t have the time to keep pulling cards or drawing sticks for ideas. Especially with NaNoWriMo just around the corner.
It’s a fantastically well-designed set and I wanted so bad for it to work, and it may just be because of me that it wouldn’t work, not the set. And because of that, I’m not going to “rate” this like I normally do. It’s probably something that either works for you, or doesn’t. I couldn’t really find a middle ground.
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