Sometimes the Magic Works

Lessons from a Writing Life

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Dan Woren, Kimberly Farr

In Sometimes the Magic Works, New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks shares his secrets for creating unusual, memorable fiction. Spanning topics from the importance of daydreaming to the necessity of writing an outline, from the fine art of showing instead of merely telling to creating believable characters who make readers care what happens to them, Brooks draws upon his own experiences, hard lessons learned, and delightful discoveries made in creating the beloved Shannara and Magic Kingdom of Landover series, The Word and The Void trilogy, and the best-selling Star Wars novel The Phantom Menace.

In addition to being a writing guide, Sometimes the Magic Works is Terry Brooks's self-portrait of the artist. "If you don't think there is magic in writing, you probably won't write anything magical," says Brooks. This book offers a rare opportunity to peer into the mind of (and learn a trick or two from) one of fantasy fiction's preeminent magicians.

©2003 Terry Brooks (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Terry Brooks is adamant about dedicating oneself to the craft, while showing awe and humility for the creative process.... Every serious writer should refer to this book regularly for inspiration as well as solid crafting advice.” (Elizabeth Engstrom Cratty, Director of Maui Writers Retreat)

“A marvelously pragmatic initiation to the art of writing.” (Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina)

“[A] succinct and warmhearted autobiographical meditation on the writing life.” (Publishers Weekly)

I wish more writers did this

Did I learn anything that I had not heard before? In my career as a reader I have probably come across all the ideas in one place or another. But it is so fun to hear how an author experienced them. Stories about getting started are probably the most interesting for me. One thing I did not hear in his presentation is how other writers have influenced him (aside from Tolkien's gambit of not focusing on kings and gods). When I read Brooks I am often at a loss to find how he has built on the millennia before, someone whose style informs his. My final comment is that his grandson is right: you can see the whole world from those horses.

meh...

It's alright. Some nuggets of wisdom here and there, but also some meandering about.

The Magic Worked

My best guess is that Terry Brooks wanted to inspire writers to reach higher. he certainly inspired me. my wife died 8 months ago and I haven't really been able to write. I'm working on my 6th book finally. and I'm ready to record two others for audible. I might not have been able to get back without the magic. And I agree . . . Hunter rules!

I highly recommend both the life communicated in this book by both Terry and the excellent narrator.

One of the Best Writing Books I've Read

As a writer who can easily write and imagine stories by flying by the seat of my pants, I have read SO MANY BOOKS about structure. Intuitively, it felt like if I could just find a creative approach to structure that would work great, but, like Goldilocks, most were too structural and rigid or too nebulous to really help with plotting. I kept feeling that if I could just find an author's process that I could relate to...see clearly, then the structure piece would fall into place.

This was the book that finally helped me determine my own process. I had read Robert Olen Butler's From Where You Dream. Butler suggests working with images that your imagination gives you, but then I got lost in how to work with those based on how he suggests. Starting with the images felt right. I write mostly in my imagination and can see the movie playing out in scenes. What I wanted was something more concrete at the story level to make editing easier.

Terry's approach is similar to Butler's. Working with the imagination at the beginning. Letting those images come in. But after that, he starts asking questions. Then moving to really looking at the story. Clarifying the story, characters, other elements so there's a blueprint. I do this scene by scene already. Now I can see that all I need to do is expand this process to the entire book! Very exciting!

This is VERY different than "thinking" through the plot points of a story, which is more logic-oriented. I'm still on the imagination side of the house "allowing" my subconscious to deliver the goods.

Terry's and Robert's processes rely on "dreaming" the story in the imagination. Which is how I work, and. why this book really helped. It even clarified what I was grappling with all along. I just felt there had to be a better way than going back and pulling stuff apart to tighten everything up.

Another thing I loved about this book is his candor about being a writer/author. It offers real-world examples and thoughtful solutions on everything from relating to readers of your books, to writing those books and considerations about how the publishing industry actually works. Although it is an older book, these are strategic considerations and believe they are still valuable today.

Audible suggested this book to me based on prior purchases and WOW, am I so glad I bought it based purely on instinct. I have never read any of Terry's books...did not even know he was the creator of the Shannara novels.

Definitely one of my favorite writing books!