Naked, Drunk, and Writing by Adair Lara

With a title I didn’t like and a cover that affirmed my first thought of “male student flat” (being red stiletto heels abandoned on the carpet, a cream silky item of clothing discarded on the part of a sofa we can see) and an author whose name was unfamiliar to me, this book very nearly didn’t get a second glance. Boy, am I glad it did!

Firstly this lady: Adair Lara knows what she’s talking about – being a seasoned journalist, writing a twice-weekly column for the San Francisco Chronicle for twelve years, and winning the Associated Press Award for Best Columnist in California for it, an author of ten published books and a writing coach whose workshops sell out.

On top of that Anne Lamott, whose own book Bird by Bird I loved and highly recommend to any wannabe writer, describes Lara as “very savvy and smart and highly entertaining.”

One of the many reasons I agree with her includes this book's list of contents which speak to the heart of writers, with listings such as:

• What’s your angle? 
• How to trick yourself into writing [with hilarious subtext “Apply Part A (butt) to Part B (chair)]
• Getting published

And though this is obviously slanted towards an American audience there is plenty to follow up on. The text is liberally dosed with examples (many from her own students) which illustrate her points and seasoned with tips. She also has a list of really helpful questions to assist in revising your work and boxes labelled “Try This…. ” An excellent tool and one I am so pleased to have found.

Catalogue link: Naked, Drunk and Writing