Book Review: The Right to Write

Kristen King

The Right to Write
by Julia Cameron
Penguin Putnam
236 pages, 1998

reviewed by Hope Wilbanks

www.inkthinkerblog.com — In The Right To Write, author Julia Cameron explores the writing life. She covers every imaginable topic, from bad writing and letting yourself write to being an open channel and beating procrastination.

The thing I love most about The Right To Write is that there is a constant “welcoming” theme. Cameron welcomes the writer to take the leap to begin. She welcomes writers to meet the page daily. She beckons writers to create a habitual practice of writing regardless of time or circumstance.

I’ve read this book twice, and each time I’ve taken away something different. When I pull this book from its shelf, I bring along a stack of Post-It notes with me to jot notes as I read. In fact, if you could see my copy right now, you’d see a colorful splash of those sticky pieces of paper peeking out from countless pages.

The first reading was like sitting down to a huge, thick steak, juices flowing and steam rising. I gleaned great inspiration from The Right To Write; so much so that it motivated me to sit down at my desk and start writing again after a long dry spell. The second time around was as if feasting on a dessert of hot fudge cake with piping hot fudge sauce melting pools of ice cream. It’s that good.

The chapter “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?” delves into a popular theory among writers: “disciplined” writing. I have personally struggled long and hard with the issue of perfection—writing at the perfect place, during the perfect time of day, “perfect” writing…period.

It’s easy to become trapped in a mindset of telling yourself that your writing must be “perfect” in some sense or fashion. Cameron suggests however, that writing is perfect in itself. There is no perfect way to do it. The key simply lies in writing. Or, to quote Cameron, “Writing is about making brain children. When it comes to conception, it can, but doesn’t need to be in missionary position.” This clear-cut, unpretentious statement opened my eyes to the simplicity of the writing process.

In another chapter called “Making It,” Cameron discusses every writer’s fear, the fear of not “making it” as a writer. I believe this single chapter was probably the most inspiring one to me the first time I read it. “Think of it like making a chair,” says Cameron. “You make a chair and someone buys it. You write something and someone buys it.” Every writer would be less stressed and enjoy writing more if we could embrace this ideal.

The Right To Write is food for a writer’s soul. Cameron has a special way of turning ordinary everyday occurrences into deep, spiritual learning lessons for writers. In this book, writers are invited to become rooted in the process and take ourselves seriously.

If you have reached a place where you feel like you just can’t write any longer, grab a copy of The Right To Write. You will be encouraged to begin again, to enjoy the process, and to write from your heart.

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Hope Wilbanks is an inspirational writer living in central Louisiana. She is the author of The Self-Empowered Woman and publisher of Cup of Hope Magazine.

Although this article was published by Kristen King, the original author retains all copyright and should be contacted for reprint requests.