The Observation Deck
by Raincoast Books
Published by Naomi Epel
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Connie Anderson
My soon-to-be published friend Debra introduce me to The Observation Deck -- which I now lovingly call "a writing class in a box."
This is not new, published in 1998, so I was late to join the fan club, and when I tell other friends about it, some look at me patiently and say: You just found it now!
The idea (should you choose to accept this mission) is to use the deck of get-off-your-duff cards to urge you out of writer's block.
This may sound melodramatic, but it has changed my life -- as a writer, editor, listener and observer of people, places and things.
When writer's block hits, pick from over 20 cards that might say: Take a walk; or zoom in and out; explore the underside; follow the scent.... You get the idea. My favorite is: EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER.
The purse-sized, 160-page book has a chapter on each of the "pushes" on the cards. My book is highlighted in yellow, with X in red and Q for wonderful quotes. I read a little, think a lot, and then an idea, or a new way to look at an idea that has been rumbling and grumbling around in my head pops into my thought process.
Armchair Interviews says: If you are wannabe writer (or better writer), this would be a great self-gift or for family or friends who are writers.