Write It All Down by Cathy Rentzenbrink [8/10]

I have never read any of Cathy Rentzenbrink’s memoirs or her novel but that deficit needs to be rectified after devouring “Write It All Down: How to Put Your Life on the Page.” For this author is a sweet, readable yet deep stylist and this How-To manual is one of the most engaging and inspirational of the many such guides I have devoured over the years. Indeed, in its sagacity and modesty and nitty-gritty helpfulness, I can’t help comparing it to one of the books that first inspired me to write, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. Four sections offer wisdom on the motivational and preparatory foundations; on banging out a first draft; on the rigor and craft of editing; and on the writer’s working life habits. Always gentle yet brimming with firmly held advice, zooming in and out from sentences on the page to life’s discoveries, elegantly encouraging a writer through dint of elegant stylistics … Write It All Down is highly recommended for anyone aspiring to write or in the trenches of writing, whether in the space of memoir or not.