Bruce Holland Rogers and Word Work

I originally read Bruce Holland Rogers’ “Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer” two years ago and I still remember the invigorating courage it filled me with. I went away from this book energized and confident. I spent the next six weeks writing a complete first draft.

Rereading Word Work this weekend has reminded me why I love this book so much. Bruce is honest and open. Through the chapters of this book he shows the reality of a writer’s life. There is no special dressing up that makes it seem glamorous or easy. He connects with writers by sharing his own struggles that continue, every day, despite having been a successful author for many years.

Rather than providing a how-to write guide for writers Bruce Holland Rogers created a how-to live guide. It focuses on the emotional impact of writing and the mental struggle all writers face to create a life full of words. Bruce uses anecdotes from his own life and connects to readers with truth and experience.

"You won’t find anything in these pages about marketing your work. The only chapters about technique address not what you put on the page but how you get anything onto the page at all. There’s very little here that will show you how to write better. Instead, this is a book about how you can more thoroughly, more happily, more productively be a writer.

Word Work is not, in the end, a book about the work you produce. It’s a book about you. It’s a book about how you can be more of what you want to be." - Bruce Holland Rogers, Word Work, p3

Word Work offers a fresh outlook on the writing life and the difficulties writers face. Bruce considers the various styles of writing. In fact, his first chapter reminded me of the difference between Planners and Pantsers like we’ve been talking about in my Six Part Series this week. He compares Hunters and Farmers.

Hunters are distractible, and maintain a broad focus able to accommodate the changes of life as they happen. Farmers are steady, plodding along with firm ideas about what should be done when. This chapter shows writers why it is important to be able to find a mixture of the two degrees that works for them. Without some solid Farmer tendencies writers will never focus enough to complete any goal but steadfast Farmers will struggle to follow their instincts and find the depth in their work that will keep it interesting.

Other chapters focus on procrastination, dreams, time, criticism, moods, rituals, friendships, success and so much more. This is a book that offers sincere guidance for writers. I think all writers would benefit from reading it regularly. For those of us with added barricades to our aspirations (such a Bipolar in my case and ADD in Bruce Holland Rogers') the reassuring tips and encouragement in this book can restore our fading faith in our ability to walk this path.

Bruce Holland Rogers has written far more than this book however. His voice and passion carry into the multitude of short stories he’s written and continues to write. He is also a motivational speaker, a teacher, and writing for Speculations Magazine. Despite having such a broad range of interests he continues to produce new stories and strives to help writers from all genres survive the gruelling challenges every writer faces.

A great interview with Bruce by Carl O Roach at Infinity Plus
And an interview with Bruce by John C. Snider at SciFi Dimensions

These books are by Bruce Holland Rogers:

• Word Work: Surviving and Thriving as a Writer


• On Being A Minor Writer... and why all writers are minor, an Amazon Short


• Why Writers Are Cranky and Five Emergency Tools for Writing a Short Story, an Amazon Short


• Thirteen Ways To Water And Other Stories


• Wind Over Heaven