Review: Way of the Cheetah

I’ve owned this book for about two years now and I reread it often.  It never fails to inspire me.  Secretly I want to be Lynn Viehl.  When she wrote Way of the Cheetah, she had published thirty-two novels in six years.  She’s up to 38 novels now over 5 genres.  Can you imagine writing so much?

She continues to refine her writing process toward greater efficiency and productivity and she shares her methods and philosophies in this book.
 
How It’s Put Together:  Lynn uses the cheetah as a model for writers and includes examples of the parallels that can be drawn between how a cheetah behaves and how a writer should behave. Each chapter of the book begins with the cheetah example, how it applies to a writer and ends with exercises that the writer can do to practice the advice Lynn provides.

Part One: Eye of the Cheetah

The chapters in this section cover why we write, the importance of telling a story, how to focus to increase your productivity, and how to use self-discipline to write every day.

Part Two: The Writing Savanna

Lynn talks about the lack of respect that writers often experience, especially from family members who think writing is just a cute hobby. She then gives advice on how to set up your environment (your work space, writing equipment like computers and printers, and even your mind and body through diet and exercise) to support and provide legitimacy for your writing. It’s important that you take your work seriously, even if no one else around you does.

Part Three: Running Down the Story

This last section goes into the writing itself. Lynn relates her own process for writing – a very methodical, step-by-step process that she’s used for over ten years. She lists out the ten steps she uses when writing a first draft along with her own daily schedule – writing new material from 4 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with an hour break mid-morning, followed by editing the day’s work from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. or midnight. She wisely recommends that a new writer NOT follow her own schedule, but instead work out a writing schedule that fits his or her own life. She then explains the daily edit process she uses, along with the full manuscript edit that she does when the first draft is complete.

How It Helped Me: This book gave me hope. I don’t have to be the most talented writer out there. I just need to be persistent and productive, because this is where many writers fail. If I keep focused on the story and keep producing the best writing I can, I have a better chance at succeeding than a more talented writer who spends most of his time talking about writing, rather than producing work.  (Come to think of it, Heather Sellers said the same thing in Page After Page.)

As Lynn says in the beginning – by following the advice she details in this book, she’s managed to turn out over thirty novels in six years. You may not achieve that level of productivity or you might surpass it. Either way, this book can point out ways for you to be more efficient and more productive in your writing routine. 

Who Can Benefit From Reading It:  This book is good for beginning writers – to help them start out efficiently. It’s also great for more seasoned writers who are looking to increase their productivity and move beyond their current level.

Get this book and read it thoroughly. It’s a great investment in yourself and your writing career for only $9.95. 

Format:  72-page PDF file (e-book)

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