Zen in the Art of Writing

By: Ray Bradbury

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a land mine. The land mine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces back together. Now, it's your turn. Jump!"

Zest. Gusto. Curiosity. These are the qualities every writer must have, as well as a spirit of adventure. In this exuberant book, the incomparable Ray Bradbury shares the wisdom, experience, and excitement of a lifetime of writing. Here are practical tips on the art of writing from a master of the craft - everything from finding original ideas to developing your own voice and style - as well as the inside story of Bradbury's own remarkable career as a prolific author of novels, stories, poems, films, and plays.

Zen in the Art of Writing is more than just a how-to manual for the would-be writer: it is a celebration of the act of writing itself that will delight, impassion, and inspire the writer in you. In it, Bradbury encourages us to follow the unique path of our instincts and enthusiasms to the place where our inner genius dwells, and he shows that success as a writer depends on how well you know one subject: your own life.

©1994 Ray Bradbury Enterprises (P)2018 Recorded Books

Frangione is perfect

Jim Frangione brings Bradbury’s words and wisdom to life in this entertaining read. I laughed out loud, nodded in affirmation, and jotted down many sage passages. Highly recommend in all ways.

Inspiration from a true writing master

It’s more inspirational stories and advice than tactics step by step but life changing ideas on habits, how to grab the muse and work.

Through consistent writing comes true relaxation.
The muse is more cat than dog. Let it go and it comes.
Write 1,000 plus words a day for ten or twenty years and bingo….

The writer must write

The writer must work, must rest, must think of nothing, then work/write again. Write at least 1000 words daily for 20 years, perhaps a short story weekly. These are truths to live by. The book is part biographical, part discussing the art of writing.

Good advice - re-readable.

Glad I bought this one, I'll be listening to it again. Bradbury had immense innate talent, but he also had a perseverance and discipline that can be learned.

Very inspiring!

I found this book just as fascinating as the Martian Chronicles, for different reasons. It informs, educates, and entertains. My only peeves with this recording is the tone of the narrator. He read the entire book with a emphatic almost bombastic tone that didn’t match the content.

Does not deliver

Unfortunately, this book did not meet my expectations. To start, the narration was absolutely obnoxious. Also, I wanted to walk away from this book with writing advice I could share with my creative writing class, but this book did not deliver. I did like one idea about list-making and how it might help a writer generate story ideas and story title names. However, that was it.

inspirational

If you've been feeling blocked, unmotivated or forgot how much FUN it can be to write, this will help. It's humorous and inspirational. He talks about how he got started writing and how he kept going. There's also a chapter where he answers reader's questions about his books, which was interesting.

Insightful

Truly a remarkable work. This book was a wonderful peek into the mind and habits of a wonderful author.

Fantastic!

Beautiful, inspirational series of essays and poems by Ray Bradbury. Don't look for a lot of technical advice here. This is exactly the kind of writing book you could expect from Ray Bradbury - inspirational, abstract, artistic, and beautiful.

Excellent

This is one of the best books on writing I have read. Written with depth and honesty.