I am so disappointed in this book. Only half the book is actual writing advice, and nothing new was presented in this book. The other half of the book is a collection of short stories and columns. While I adore Binchy's novels, I've never loved her short story work. ( )

I didn't expect much, so I wasn't too let down. I was unappreciative of the first part of the book (about 120 pages), her weekly letters imparting her insights on different writing topics. The information was very basic and could be picked up elsewhere. The sketches are cute, and she's nice enough, but I didn't really see the point of publishing these. The appendix of writing awards/competitions and list of magazines to submit to, found in the middle of the book, was awesome however. The second half of the book consists of seven short stories and 12 columns of Binchy's. This was kind of nice because I'd never actually read any of her work. Some of the stuff was pretty good. Some was so-so.

The best thing about the book was that it got me to start writing short stories and made me excited about submitting them. The worst thing about the book was the pointless journal pages in between each letter and story. Who's really going to use the blank pages in The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club as a journal? ( )

A lot of useful advice told in an engaging way with some contributing writers adding some advice from their own areas of expertise.

I really need to stop reading these books and use that time to write. ( )

This is a great little book. The first half is a stern how-to-write book. The second half is comprised of short stories, in that familiar, comforting Maeve Binchy style; a story meant to illustrate each of the points she makes in the first half of the book. This is very helpful for those of us who like to not only be told, but also shown what to do. It’s helpful (for me) to see a published, successful writer show you how to apply the principles of which she speaks.
It’s not just about writing novels. She devotes chapters to writing plays, short stories, and so on. She doesn’t pretend to be an expert on blogging, for example, but does have someone who is an expert (and again, also a published, successful writer: Chris Bohjalian ring any bells?) guest-write that chapter. I have read other books that talk about blogging as a way to help you get your book (or whatever you’ve written) published so this was an especially welcome chapter. If you are not a big Binchy fan, you may still benefit by picking up the book at the library and just reading the chapters that apply to what you are working on. Or buy it; it’s a paperback. ( )