Description

“Crystal clear, bracing as ice water, Escaping Into the Open should be read by all scribblers regardless of material success.”  —Rita Mae Brown

Bestselling, award-winning novelist Elizabeth Berg knows a thing or two about writing, having graced the world with wonderful works of fiction including Talk Before Sleep, The Year of Pleasures, and the acclaimed Oprah Book Club Selection, Open House. With Escaping Into the Open, she offers an inspiring, eminently entertaining, and delightfully practical handbook on the joys, challenges, and creative possibilities inherent in the writing life. Now revised with new material—a classic in the vein of Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird—Elizabeth Berg’s Escaping Into the Open is an indispensable guide for any aspiring storyteller.

About the Author

Elizabeth Berg's work has won the NEBA Award for fiction and has been included twice on the ALA Best Books of the Year list. Her novel Open House was an Oprah's Book Club pick, and her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook, and the New York Times Magazine. She lives outside Chicago, Illinois.

Praise For…

“As a writer Elizabeth Berg hit the ground running. Her very helpful advice to would-be authors is the equivalent of a good pair of track shoes. She knows how the publishing industry works, how sentences work, and why writers need to answer only to themselves.” — C. Michael Curtis, senior editor, Atlantic Monthly

“Crystal clear, bracing as icewater, Escaping into the Open should be read by all scribblers regardless of material success.” — Rita Mae Brown

“Elizabeth Berg has shown herself to be an author of astonishing talent. What is even more astonishing is the generosity with which she now shares her insights and wisdom on the process of writing.” — Mary Mitchell, writing instructor, The Adult Learning Center, Framinghams Massachusetts

“Elizabeth Berg’s writing exercises are wonderfully inventive. They capture the play and pleasures of writing. Her book is an insightful guide.” — Ronna Wineberg Blaser, president, board of directors, The Tennessee Writers Alliance

“I’m grateful as can be for having Escaping into the Open. It’s part of my library now, and I’m recommending it to anyone with the slightest urge to write—it tells it as it is.” — Eileen Herbert Jordan, freelance writer

“This is a really good book . . . anyone who ever needs to write anything will find bright shards of useful stuff here.” — Booklist