Book Review: How to Write Like a Writer

Combing anecdotes and hard-won lessons from decades of teaching and writing—and invoking everyone from Hemingway to your third-grade teacher—retired professor Thomas C. Foster, the New York Times bestselling author of the beloved classic How to Read Literature Like a Professor, guides you through the basics of writing. With How to Write Like a Writer you’ll learn how to organize your thoughts, construct first drafts, and (not incidentally) keep you in your chair so that inspiration can come to visit.

With warmth and wit, Foster shows you how to get into (and over) your best self, how to find your voice, and how to know when, if ever, a piece of work is done.

Packed with enlightening anecdotes, highlighted with lists and bullet points, this invaluable guide reveals how writers work their magic, and reminds us that we all—for better or worse, whether we mean to or not—are known by what we put on paper or screen, both our thoughts and our words.

How to Write Like a Writer comes out in September of 2022; Harper Perennial provided me an early galley for review

I have been an amateur writer, dabbling in the craft, for the better part of close to five decades. Some of my favorite courses in high school and college were those of the liberal arts, where I could stretch my creative muscles on essays and papers. And the filing cabinet next to my desk in my man-cave is full of folders with partial literary indeavors I've attempted.

I am also no stranger to books on writing. Over the years, I've read plenty. One shelf of my many bookcases is devoted to tomes on the subject. So, How to Writer Like a Writer instantly appealed to a fundamental element of my nature.

I enjoyed Foster's approach to the topic of writing. It was done in a methodical manner but was also infused with a sense of wit to go with the wisdom. It was like sitting through an enjoyable composition course with a professor you would want to hang out with after class.

The advice and guidance were pretty standard, based on the many books I have read on writing. By that, I mean that this is tried and true, evergreen instruction. It is the kind of stuff we writers need to be reminded of every now and again. For those reasons, I very much would recommend this book to anyone looking to polish their own craft.