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The Writer's I Ching: Wisdom for the Creative Life |  | Author: Jessica Page Morrell
Publisher: Running Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy Used: $0.01
as of 7/30/2010 05:43 CDT details
You Save: $17.94 (100%)
New (18) Used (29) from $0.01
Seller: whypaymorebooks
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 549415
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0762425474
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.02
EAN: 9780762425471
ASIN: 0762425474
Publication Date: July 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780762425471 | | • | Condition: USED - Very Good | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
The writing life is solitary and challenging, and it takes far more than creativity to become a commercial success. The Writer's I Ching uses the ancient Chinese divination system to provide writers with help mastering the business of writing and choosing the most propitious times to take action. Because writing educators created the book, it also teaches the storyteller and non-fiction craft with lessons suitable for both beginners and seasoned professionals. This unique presentation of the I Ching features a complete deck of 64 cards bound into the book itself. The writer poses a question about how to proceed on a specific fiction or non-fiction project, negotiation, or business matter. He draws an I Ching card and turns to the proper page for the interpretation of that card. Many cases of writer's block have been cured and flashes of insight gained through this simple technique. The I Ching dates back to before Christ and counts among its devotees Confucius, Albert Einstein, and Bob Dylan.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Writer's Helper April 9, 2010
Virginia Degner
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am enjoying the I-Ching book that I just received. It is very helpful and gives lots of good insight to writers. I like that I can read the chapter and apply what it suggests to my writing. I've found it very eye opening.
Virginia Degner
 Not as good... November 16, 2008
Music Fan (Southeastern USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The I-Ching for Writers by Sarah Jane Sloane (written two years earlier, in 2005) is much better!
 A Tool for Metaphoric Thinking September 22, 2008
Robert E. Pierson (Albuquerque, NM USA)
The Writer's I Ching is a book for writers that offers a way to break free of narrow thinking and reconnect writing to a larger symbolic universe. The book includes 64 brightly colored cards that must be torn free from the binding to form the reader's own deck. Each card represents one of the traditional hexagrams of the I Ching. Most of the book consists of Morrell's descriptions of each hexagram and her mapping of symbolism into elements of the writer's process, creating 64 metaphoric episodes that can be drawn out at random and considered for their meaning in the writer's current situation.
Morrell presents a very brief history of the I Ching and its Taoist underpinnings, but this is not her focus. In fact, this introductory material appears hastily assembled and rife with editorial errors. (For example, directional attributes and yin/yang associations are inconsistent between tables and text.) This annoys, but does not detract, since the I Ching serves more as a jumping off point than a destination.
Morrell's focus is on what the I Ching offers the writer: counsel, peace of mind, and confidence. It "focuses and nudges" our understanding, reinforces the intuitive voice within, and reassures that the challenges we face are part of a larger set of universal patterns of change. Morrell warns that the I Ching is not "a quick fix or a substitute for your own common sense," but the I Ching is "invaluable for helping you see deep into the present moment and understand the attributes of this time." This is an exercise in pattern finding and metaphoric thinking.
Morrell's book is no substitute for a more comprehensive book about the craft of writing, but in the midst of the writing (or living) process, it does provide the sudden change of perspective that illuminates new patterns and breaks one free of narrow thinking. Ironically, pulling a card at random reconnects one to a larger non-random whole.
Attention Must Be Paid! Writer's I-Ching Successful! May 5, 2008
Sandra M. Jensen (Eugene, OR)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I note that Jessica Morrell's Writer's I-Ching is available on Kindle as an e-book; it's going to be a big surprise when the avid e-reader realizes the yummy part of this book is the complete set of I-Ching cards in the back that you tear out and assemble into a very satisfying little deck of your own. Once you have the deck in hand, the book becomes useful.
Stuck on a scene in your novel? Shuffle the deck, draw a card and look up the wisdom of the ages PLUS exactly the right writing prompt you need to kick your scene up a notch.
If you're a creative writing teacher like me, you'll have fun taking the deck into class and asking students to each draw a card and write to the image they see on the card. Only after they have written their first freewrite do I let the book loose to wander around the room, so students can look up their card and access another level of idea and a new writing prompt.
This is a super useful and intriguing deck for anyone who enjoys adding intuitive sparks of insight into their writing life.
You don't have to believe in sortilege to want one of these decks: BAD!
One word: GOTTAHAVEIT!
Nice addition to my library April 8, 2008
M. S. HALLECK (Seattle, WA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As the author, Jessica Morrell states, "Writing is discovery." The Writer's I Ching is a guide that helps writer's creatively engage with the synchronicity of the universe, often helping push through writer's block to discovery.
Great minds have consulted the ancient wisdom of the I Ching for thousands of years. From Chinese emperors to Carl Jung, many have sought answers from its teachings and have been enlightened by what they found. Ms. Morrell has put it all together in an easy to use format so we mere mortals can do the same.
Many have found the I Ching confusing or difficult to use and understand. I didn't get it the first time through, but as I use it I gain clarity and often garner insights I feel I would not have reached without guidance. If I'm stuck on a story point or character issue, I can pull out a card and read what the I Ching has to offer. It's like having a story psychic in my pocket for when I seek advice.
The cards are beautifully designed and the format of the book is reader friendly. Ms. Morrell's experience and writing clarity adds depth to the material. Her writing style is enjoyable and aids in digesting what could be obscure material.
The Writer's I Ching is a nice addition to my writing library.
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