Wednesday 14 January 2015

Book review - The No Excuse Zone, by Terri Main



This great little book approaches the work (yes, the work, not the 'art' or other highfaluting term, but the WORK) of writing from the point of view of project management.

One reads so much airy-fairy twaddle about writing today that it was utterly refreshing to encounter Main's completely no-nonsense approach. Starting with a merciless, although not unkind, exposition of the fallacy of making excuses for non-performance, she takes us step by step through a solid, do-able methodology for setting realistic, achievable goals and then achieving them. Reliably, every time.

Main's work, as always, distinguished by limpid clarity and painstaking detail-mindedness. No assumptions are made unexamined, no steps skipped in this blueprint for a successful job of writing (at least, successful in terms of finishing the job; of course Main cannot guarantee talent to anyone). I particulary cheered at her contemptuous dismissal, just in passing, of 'the myth of inspiration.'

I would heartily recommend The No-Excuse Zone to anyone struggling with productivity, not just as a writer but in any long-term, self-directed project.

The No-Excuse Zone is available from AMAZON.

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