Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process

Aside from the eye-catching cover and the detailed title, I was apprehensive about reading this book but I'm glad I accepted the challenge I gave myself. As part of the Read With Fey challenge to read something each month to help with your writing craft, I was excited when I came across this title.My fear was that I wouldn't be able to relate to some of what these notable writers had to say and I expected a lot of it to come off as pretentious since it focuses a lot on literary fiction. Honestly, while some parts did seem a little pretentious, most of it was very relatable. Turns out I can be a bit prejudiced. As I continue to grow as a person, I'm happy to admit that I got a lot out of this book and am inspired to continue growing as a writer.I think what stood out most to me in this book about writers and their inspirations is how much it focuses on the experience of the reader. All these writers are readers and use that as a way to inspire them.I was so impressed by the diversity of these creatives and the variety of the works that inspired them. Yes, there are a lot of references to literary fiction, but nonfiction, genre fiction, poetry, stage plays, and music also have a place here. I enjoyed reading about the writers whom I found I had some things in common with and even liked discovering contrary interests that some had to my tastes.Highly recommended to writers at any level of their journey and creatives of any kind who enjoy reading.

I loved this book. It is such a great insight into the minds of some great authors. I have been reading it out of order, just picking chapters that I connect with at the moment and each one has been a treasure in itself. This book will be great as a writing guide, or if you want to delve deeper into some of your favorite authors, or as food for thought, or as a springboard to get to know new authors. Fantastic!

Reading all the articles/essays on this book is like taking a rollercoaster ride. You cannot describe the experience to someone else because each experience is different. First, I loved the premise of the anthology, the focus of each piece. I felt as though the author was talking directly to me. And I learned so much about writing while never feeling lectured to, at, or down to. Excellent material for any serious writer and for readers who want to experience the inner workings of the art of writing.

Like taking a summer writing class with some of the best and brightest in the business. Not only do you get insight into their process, we are treated to their analysis of other great masterworks in American literature. I bought ten books after sampling the essays here. Wonderful resource.

Some great essays, some boring ones. Thought it could have had more great ones.

What a fabulous, inspirational book for all kinds of writers. The concept is simple: pick a passage from literature that inspires you. The resulting riffs are fascinating and extremely revealing as to what makes these published writers tick. My copy is already dog-eared with circled passages throughout.

I was so impressed with the quality and variety of pieces here; there is truly much to engage any or every writer ... or reader. I’ve applied ideas to my work (writing) and purchased books that inspired the authors (reading). This is a special little book!

Excellent contemporary advice delivered in the form of a short essay, each prompted by a significant work of literature. Many gems here. If you learn and are encouraged by skillful stories from people active in publishing now, this book will pull you along. Highly recommended.

All good!

Subtitle is misleading. Theres some good bits in here, but you have to wade through a lot of literary writers disecting the words and meaning of their favourite literary quotes. Overall a very boring book. Took me three years to finish!

Obviously some chapters had more impact on me than others but overall a brilliant insight into the creative process by different writers and artists. Well worth reading.