If You Want to Write

In her ninety-three remarkable years, Brenda Ueland published six million words. She said she had two rules she followed absolutely: to tell the truth, and not to do anything she didn’t want to do. Her integrity shines throughout If You Want to Write, her bestselling classic on the process of writing that has already inspired thousands to find their own creative center.

 

Carl Sandburg called this book "the best book ever written about how to write." Yet Ueland reminds us that "whenever I say 'writing' in this book, I also mean anything that you love and want to do or make."

Praise

"An inspirational tract aimed at all those who would write but are prevented from so doing by shyness, fear or humility . . . I was with [Ueland] right up to the end and wanted to shout, 'Amen.'"—Andrei Codrescu, NPR

 

"Ueland argues that anyone can write well once the imagination is freed from self-consciousness, anxiety and fear of failure. This is a fresh and vivid approach to creative endeavors."—Publishers Weekly

About the Author(s)

Brenda Ueland

Brenda Ueland (1891-1985) was born in Minneapolis and spent many years living in New York, where she was part of the Greenwich Village bohemian crowd. She received an international swimming record for over-80-year-olds and was knighted by the King of Norway.