Review of "Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life" by Terry Brooks

(Please note: All book reviews are unsolicited and unpaid. The reviews represent the viewpoint of the reviewer alone and are offered as an aid to other writers.)

(Book Review by Debra E. Chandler)

Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life
By Terry Brooks

In this book, legendary fantasy writer Terry Brooks takes on the writing life, and offers aspiring writers and other readers a glimpse into his own writing journey. Along the way, he offers some serious gold in the form of lessons learned and a list of five “rules” for writing, which I will summarize here for you.

For anyone unfamiliar with the name, Mr. Brooks is the author of The Shannara Chronicles series of books, and has written for the screen as well, writing the novelizations of such films as Hook and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. While Mr. Brooks’ experience is arguably with the “old school” of publishing, many of the guidelines he offers still bear weight in today’s writing world. The life lessons he offers up are as priceless as they are timeless.

But this is much more than just an autobiography. Brooks leads the reader (presumably one who is interested in either writing or Brooks’ journey) along his path to publication, and gives them an in-depth look at some of the pitfalls and serendipitous events that it entailed. From wild triumph to deep despair, he holds nothing away from his reader. Not that it comes across as all that dramatic, but it is a gripping read. And then there are the rules.

Just to give you a sample of some of the goodness offered in this book, here are the ten rules he lays out, somewhere near the middle:

1. Write what you know – but not literally—use research to fill in the gaps fir your reader.
2. Your characters must behave in a believable fashion. (Must feel right in the context of the story.)
3. A Protagonist must be challenged by a conflict that requires resolution.
4. Movement equals growth equals change. Without change, nothing happens.
5. The strength of the protagonist is measured by the threat of the antagonist.
6. Show, don’t tell.
7. Avoid the grocery-list approach to describing characters.
8. Characters must always be in a story for a reason.
9. Names are important.
10. Don’t bore the reader.

These are pretty cut-and-dry, as I’ve condensed them here, but he goes into much more detail in the book and actually gives the reader the whys and wherefores of each one. While much of this is review for a seasoned writer, as a relative newbie, it was earth-shattering for me the first time I read it. It’s clean. It’s basic. And it’s totally worth the time of even a seasoned writer who has already covered this ground until they’re sick of hearing “Show, don’t tell.”

While there isn’t just one sentence that sums up why he writes nicely with a bow, he says that for him it naturally evolved out of playing pretend. He simply needed a bigger playground, and the only one he could find was in his mind. He goes on to say that “writing is habit-forming. It is addictive.” Then later he says that if he doesn’t write, he grows bad-tempered and unsatisfied, and that it is not only an emotional response, but a physical one as well. He feels writing has become so much a part of his identity that if he was to not write, he might cease to be.

I suppose it’s possible somebody might love this book more than I do, but I happen to think it’s one of the best written. And that is from someone who hasn’t read much of Mr. Brooks’ work. I know, gasp…. But I can tell you this: I will be reading much more from him.

Recommended. ***** stars.