Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Big Magic" is a fairly standard self-help style book that talks about creativity (specifically writing, but the principles are widely applicable). Elizabeth Gilbert, who is probably best known as the author of "Eat Pray Love", is one of those authors who has managed to become successful enough that she can write full time. I haven't read anything by her other than the book I am reviewing here, but the fact that she is able to write full time means she is living a life that I dream of, so that's pretty cool.

Gilbert believes that there is a kind of magic that is involved in creativity and in this book she explains the different parts of that magic and how they affect creativity. This is all, of course, through her understanding of creativity and how it has worked in her life. Because of the individuality of creativity and creation, it was easy to take everything in the book with a grain of salt, but even the parts I disagreed with were interesting. Just because her process is different than mine doesn't mean that understanding her process isn't helpful to me. I think the best part about reading self-help books is knowing that you don't have to take everything in the book to heart, you can pick and choose what is right for you.

There were certainly things in the book that I disagreed with. I don't think that an idea can leave you and there is nothing you can do about it. But there were also things that I agreed with, like you can't expect inspiration to come whenever you want it to and there are times where the audience of what you're writing doesn't matter (particularly in early drafts). But with all the things I both agree and disagree with, this book was helpful to me as I figured out how I thought about my creativity. And there was the happy side effect of this book inspiring me to write.

Trying to work on projects outside of college has been difficult and while this book didn't take me completely out of my writing rut, I got some writing done (I drafted a nonfiction essay and a poem) which was very exciting for me. So if you're interested in seeing how someone else thinks about creativity or you need a kick in the pants to get yourself creating again, I think this book could be helpful.

XO, Ellen

P.S. Here's another shoutout to Caroline for recommending the best books and lending me copies of books so I read them in a timely manner instead of justifying putting them off for far too long <3