Way of the Cheetah- Review

Heh. Well, I'm not quite sure how to start this puppy off, so, to put it succinctly, Way of the Cheetah by Lynn Viehl is 72 pages of solid advice on how to manage the trade-off of making writing work for you and making you work hard writing.

Pros: She has something on just about every controllable thing that could stop you from writing: how to remain focused, how not to let other people discourage you, how not to discourage yourself, how to set up good writing spaces, how to keep your computer clean, even how to stay healthy. Then she's got a nice bit devoted to the actual writing writing, and editing. She includes examples from her own life and at least five tips at the end of each chapter on how to apply each concept. To top it off, she doesn't demand that you follow every single one of her methods with the devotion of a secondary religion- she even has suggestions on how to gently implement individual techniques into your life.

Cons: It's 72 double-spaced pages. While the wisdom imparted is valuable, it's not a long book. And a lot of that is cheetah metaphors, which, I suppose, are only to be expected.

Buy it if: you need a good guide on how to write, if you don't have a set writing work ethic, or want a better writing work ethic. This is a fabulous manual for you don't have a productive writing schedule. I did before I read this, and now it's better, but it's really geared towards inventing (or reinventing) a writing workday.

I highly recommend this to beginning or frustrated writers, and if you don't fall in this category- it's ten bucks, and I'm positive you'll find some worthwhile advice in there. Probably a lot of worthwhile advice.

Final word: It's not indispensible, but it's darn helpful. It's ten bucks. Splurge.

Second opinion: Another review and here.

Go for it, guys.