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Take Joy: The Writers Guide To Loving The Craft
Are you a writer longing to rediscover the joy that you once had in the craft (or even find it for the first time)? In this inspiring guide, Jane Yolen, an author who has been called America's Hans Christian Andersen, shows writers how to focus on aspects of the craft that bring them joy. She remarks in the first chapter, "Save the blood and pain for real life, where tourniquets and ibuprofen can have some chance of helping. Do not be afraid to grab hold of the experience with both hands and take joy." Addressing topics all writers struggle with, Yolen discusses the writer's voice, beginnings and endings, dealing with rejection, the technical aspects of writing, and the process of coming up with an idea–and deals with each of them in a way that focuses on the positive and eliminates the negative. As Yolen says, "Be prepared as you write to be surprised by your own writing, surprised by what you find out about yourself and about your world. Be ready for the happy accident." Get ready to take joy in your writing once again.
202 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2003
38 people are currently reading
1,126 people want to read
About the author
Jane Yolen
904 books3,171 followersJane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
December 22, 2010
This is about writing. And writing well. As it covers a lot of aspects of the craft, and as I have done more reading than writing, this was an eye-opener for me. The author is an accomplished writer herself, having successfully published a lot of prose and poetry, yet she did not fail to go beyond her own experience in writing. She did not fail to research (yes, serious writing involves a lot of research, apart from those you can get from your own imagination, observation or recollection) on what other writers say about writing. Especially writing well.
She discusses practically all things: style, points of view, plot, the "many voices" of written works, the seemingly endless rejection slips, getting published, and so many others, including the importance of a book's beginning and ending. Obviously, she practices what she preaches. This, for example, is her starting paragraph:
"There are writers who believe that writing is agony, and that's the best anyone can say of it. Gene Fowler's famous words are quoted all the time: 'Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.' Or Red Smith's infamous screed: 'There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.'"
Then she ends this book with this:
"It's your turn to write your own alphabet. Like writing any story, you may be surprised at what you find there. You might also be illuminated, changed, and charged by what you discover. We write not just to show off, not just to tell, or only to have written.
"We write to know ourselves."
Now, tell me if you do not feel the urge to read this book.
She discusses practically all things: style, points of view, plot, the "many voices" of written works, the seemingly endless rejection slips, getting published, and so many others, including the importance of a book's beginning and ending. Obviously, she practices what she preaches. This, for example, is her starting paragraph:
"There are writers who believe that writing is agony, and that's the best anyone can say of it. Gene Fowler's famous words are quoted all the time: 'Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.' Or Red Smith's infamous screed: 'There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.'"
Then she ends this book with this:
"It's your turn to write your own alphabet. Like writing any story, you may be surprised at what you find there. You might also be illuminated, changed, and charged by what you discover. We write not just to show off, not just to tell, or only to have written.
"We write to know ourselves."
Now, tell me if you do not feel the urge to read this book.
September 3, 2018
There’s a famous quote that my tenth grade English teacher had hanging in her office: “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” That and a similarly brutal quote begin this book, but as you can tell by the title, they’re the precise opposite of what the author hopes to convey. It’s true that good writing means exploring your emotional core, but it’s also true that at the end of it all, you might not get published anyway, so you’ve really got to enjoy the process. That doesn’t mean writing has to be all pleasure all the time, but it does mean that achieving the end result of a finished piece has to give you more joy than whatever pain it will take you to get there.
I liked that perspective, so I liked the book, though some parts were more useful than others. The ABCs of writing seemed a little gimmicky to me, but the basic outline of every story – that I wrote down for future reference. Call it formulaic if you like, but I’m grateful to be clued in. May G-d help that if it’s the right thing, I should finish my own book. At any rate, I do expect it to be a therapeutic journey.
I liked that perspective, so I liked the book, though some parts were more useful than others. The ABCs of writing seemed a little gimmicky to me, but the basic outline of every story – that I wrote down for future reference. Call it formulaic if you like, but I’m grateful to be clued in. May G-d help that if it’s the right thing, I should finish my own book. At any rate, I do expect it to be a therapeutic journey.
June 24, 2017
Every morning, I wake before my children like Toni Morrison used to do and sit down to work on the book I've dreamed of writing all my life. In the background, the dryer does its work, since I write in the laundry room, like Tina Fey says she does. I don't claim to be a writer of that caliber, however different from each other they may be, but I like to borrow good ideas and try them on and see what fits.
And every morning for some time, I have been reading one essay on writing from Jane Yolen's brilliant TAKE JOY, just before I dive into my MG world. This book has been an inspiration and a gift. I'm thinking about just flipping back over and starting from the beginning.
And, oh! That last page. That last page spoke to me on the deepest level I have, as a woman and a lover of words and a dreamer. Thank you, Jane Yolen. Your book is a gift.
And every morning for some time, I have been reading one essay on writing from Jane Yolen's brilliant TAKE JOY, just before I dive into my MG world. This book has been an inspiration and a gift. I'm thinking about just flipping back over and starting from the beginning.
And, oh! That last page. That last page spoke to me on the deepest level I have, as a woman and a lover of words and a dreamer. Thank you, Jane Yolen. Your book is a gift.
January 25, 2019
I used this as a daily meditation of sorts. The chapters are short and light-hearted which made them perfect to read with a cup of coffee before beginning the day. There wasn't much new ground covered in the craft sections of the book, but I strongly resonated with her message of joyful, irreverent, and hopeful writing. The final page where she gives heradvice as a woman and writer in her later years--a "winter queen"as she calls herself--was perhaps the best part. It's definitely the section I'll remember the most.
April 5, 2019
I can tell I'm going to like a writing craft book when I want to write down at least one quote a chapter. No one is quite like the great Jane Yolen and as a result there's no writing book quite like this one. It is a bit of a hodgepodge, almost intentionally, with little "interlude" thoughts between each chapter, but it's all here...the whimsy and mystery as well as the hard work with chapters on everything from plot to poetry. I love that this book includes tips for kidlit and poetry writers as well as novelists and, well, everyone. I expect this will be one I will come back to.
December 23, 2011
This book has something of use on nearly every page. I kept a pen clipped to my pages as a bookmark so I would always have something handy to underline or write in the margins if something seemed especially useful.
More a "how to" than an essay of the joys of being a writer, I especially liked the quotes that lead off each chapter and all the examples from Jane Yolen's own work and experience as well as those from other writers.
This book reminded me why I love being a writer.
More a "how to" than an essay of the joys of being a writer, I especially liked the quotes that lead off each chapter and all the examples from Jane Yolen's own work and experience as well as those from other writers.
This book reminded me why I love being a writer.
October 27, 2019
I picked up this book because I felt like I needed some writing motivation instead of the more complicated books on craft I'd been reading a lot of. It turned out to be a nice, positive collection of essays on writing. Some solid advice, although nothing I didn't already know. The humour is a bit too silly or gimmicky for me in places. But overall it was a nice way to put my mind to writing without making it difficult right away, which was a bit of a challenge in a busy time.
January 8, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up.
Some oft repeated writing advice mixed with some lovely interludes and a few funny examples of various writing techniques. I enjoyed reading about all the genres and age levels she's written for. With 300+ books, she certainly knows a thing or two!
Some oft repeated writing advice mixed with some lovely interludes and a few funny examples of various writing techniques. I enjoyed reading about all the genres and age levels she's written for. With 300+ books, she certainly knows a thing or two!
December 31, 2010
Jane Yolen is a wonderful writer, and this book was a fun, enjoyable read. Its tone is that of a friend telling you--sometimes with wry humor, but always with an undercurrent of passion and seriousness--how to love the writing you do, and how to enjoy the craft itself. Through chapters with amusing titles and examples to support her explanations of things like inspiration and voice; to the short, more personal interludes; Yolen wove together a book on writing that I read as voraciously and joyfully as any book with a plot thread pulling me from chapter to chapter.
A writer friend recommended this book to me. I'd definitely recommend it to others who want to write, even casually. Yolen's comfortable, informal approach to issues of craft make Take Joy easy to get into, and enjoyable to learn from.
A writer friend recommended this book to me. I'd definitely recommend it to others who want to write, even casually. Yolen's comfortable, informal approach to issues of craft make Take Joy easy to get into, and enjoyable to learn from.
December 15, 2019
Disappointed there wasn't more about "taking joy." This book was standard in the genre of an overview of writing from a writer. It included a lot on things like plotting, beginnings and endings, poetry.
August 9, 2024
I read this book soon after it was published, before I became a freelance writer, and loved it. It was so encouraging. So inspiring. Five stars!
Now, after retiring from being a freelance writer, and as a failed fiction writer and poet, I tried to read this book again. I had to give up at chapter 4.
It was all just fancy metaphors and fluffy anecdotes about a the world of successful fiction writers.
Key words -- successful and fiction.
The world of fiction publishing has changed drastically since this was first published in 2006. There are fewer publishers with tighter budgets. No one accepts unsolicited manuscripts. Who gets editors anymore? Quite often, writers have to resort to self-publishing. If a self-published book makes noise, then a traditional publisher may come calling.
If you're looking to see how to get published, look elsewhere.
I learned really quick that fiction writing just doesn't pay. I had bills. My Mom was helping me get back on my feet after being homeless for five years, but she was getting pissed off. I tried to work a retail job and write in my "spare time". After I got yet another death threat from a customer that Macy's didn't take seriously, I quit.
In order to pay at least some of my bills, I found online content writing. I wound up making five figures from that ... until Google changed its algorithm and destroyed the industry. I found jobs where I could. I was even desperate enough to write school papers for rich, lazy brats. I worked fourteen hour days. Hell, I even blogged.
Then, Google decided to stop paying me from AdSense. Then, a client I had for 12 years decided to stop paying me. Then ... well, my life because a long series of thens.
None of this is addressed in Jane Yolen's book. Yes, there's a chapter on handling rejection, but that's it.
So, I had to give up writing and become a full-time caretaker to my crippled mother and my dogs. I've given up writing, since there's no money in it. All I have left is these book reviews on Goodreads.
Take that Jane Fucking Yolen
Now, after retiring from being a freelance writer, and as a failed fiction writer and poet, I tried to read this book again. I had to give up at chapter 4.
It was all just fancy metaphors and fluffy anecdotes about a the world of successful fiction writers.
Key words -- successful and fiction.
The world of fiction publishing has changed drastically since this was first published in 2006. There are fewer publishers with tighter budgets. No one accepts unsolicited manuscripts. Who gets editors anymore? Quite often, writers have to resort to self-publishing. If a self-published book makes noise, then a traditional publisher may come calling.
If you're looking to see how to get published, look elsewhere.
I learned really quick that fiction writing just doesn't pay. I had bills. My Mom was helping me get back on my feet after being homeless for five years, but she was getting pissed off. I tried to work a retail job and write in my "spare time". After I got yet another death threat from a customer that Macy's didn't take seriously, I quit.
In order to pay at least some of my bills, I found online content writing. I wound up making five figures from that ... until Google changed its algorithm and destroyed the industry. I found jobs where I could. I was even desperate enough to write school papers for rich, lazy brats. I worked fourteen hour days. Hell, I even blogged.
Then, Google decided to stop paying me from AdSense. Then, a client I had for 12 years decided to stop paying me. Then ... well, my life because a long series of thens.
None of this is addressed in Jane Yolen's book. Yes, there's a chapter on handling rejection, but that's it.
So, I had to give up writing and become a full-time caretaker to my crippled mother and my dogs. I've given up writing, since there's no money in it. All I have left is these book reviews on Goodreads.
Take that Jane Fucking Yolen
March 16, 2021
This was tedious to get through. Yolen has a tendency to infantilize and “euphemize” the creative pursuit: using terms like “whirlygig” for plot complications and “Josephus” (among other oddities) to explain point of view. It may be a holdover from being a children’s writer — this book may be better suited for those aspiring to that audience.
She makes many good and solid points about writing, and this will be helpful and inspiring to those looking for an affected primer.
In my estimation there are many better and more entertaining (and engaging) books about the crafts of writing (see: Dillard, Lamott, Oliver, King, Mosley, et al.)
Paperback, 03/15/21.
She makes many good and solid points about writing, and this will be helpful and inspiring to those looking for an affected primer.
In my estimation there are many better and more entertaining (and engaging) books about the crafts of writing (see: Dillard, Lamott, Oliver, King, Mosley, et al.)
Paperback, 03/15/21.
February 14, 2019
Take Joy is an anecdotal memoir guide to writing. Jane Yolen is a well known name in the fantasy/science fictional field, but she has also many children's books and other writings to classify herself as a writer of over 100 books. Though she does go into some of the "nuts and bolts" of writing, it is mainly as an overview. This is an interesting read for those looking for more than a "how to", it's more along the lines of a "here's what to expect". There are many little gems of wisdom scattered throughout. It is a worthwhile read for beginners as well as those accomplished writers.
March 20, 2018
This is now tied with Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird for my favorite book on writing & craft. Yolen has an elegant way of communicating, smoothly alternating between encouraging and straight-forward advice. Required reading for any writer at any stage of their career.
September 25, 2019
An easy-to-carry bundle of therapy for writers of all genres and experience levels. While some of the book's references feel outdated now, the overall messages and advice still feels very relevant today. Good to keep nearby for the moments when you need a boost of encouragement!
November 17, 2019
This is a lovely little book on writing, although as with most books on writing, I didn't agree with everything that Yolen wrote.
It's also more a series of short essays than a book, but still worth a writer's time.
It's also more a series of short essays than a book, but still worth a writer's time.
August 23, 2020
Finished several weeks ago, actually. This was a re-read; I read this originally a number of years ago. Yolen's book isn't nearly as well known as Stephen King's ON WRITING, but maybe it should be? There's a lot of good advice in here that helps to center and focus one's writing life.
November 17, 2017
Strangely readable craft book
February 10, 2019
Take joy is, predictably, an absolute joy to read. Refreshingly upbeat and playful approach to writing advice.
June 22, 2019
Great! If only I had read it 15 years ago when I started writing. It would have been revelatory.
November 3, 2020
This book got me writing again every day <3
January 14, 2021
Good writerly romp, with wisdom and well-crafted words. Take some, leave other bits. But learn from someone who deeply yearns to weave a yarn.
February 23, 2021
if you need a hug from a book because you're in a writing rut, this is a good one
January 28, 2022
Written with grace and the accumulated wisdom of many years of writing.
August 31, 2023
Had looked forward to this. Had actually bought a copy, which I now regret. It’s fine, but for me nothing beyond that.
December 1, 2023
Some excellent advice from one of my favorite authors.
January 25, 2025
A writing craft book by Jane Yolen— need I say more?
January 28, 2025
Also good advice from Jane, although it's a bit more traditional. But she knows what she's talking about.
March 10, 2019
If anyone wants to learn about the craft of writing, who better than such a prolific and successful author than Jane Yolen to learn from?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews