Writing for Life:
The Craft of Writing for Everyday Living
by John D. Bessler
ISBN 9780979271809 | 352 pages | 6 x 9 | Hardcover

Writing for Life: The Craft of Writing for Everyday Living demystifies the writing process—a process that is all too often misunderstood or feared. By breaking down and illuminating each step of that process—from pre-writing to publication—Writing for Life gives readers the know-how and tools they need to write more effectively. In this groundbreaking, inspirational guide, which draws upon the wisdom of the world’s best writers, readers learn valuable techniques, such as freewriting, and discover how to best revise what they write to create high-quality writing.

Part how-to and part essay, Writing for Life will revolutionize the way we write—and learn to write. As it excites readers about the possibilities of language, the book dispels the notions that writing is just for literary figures or professional writers or to be done only when work or school requires it. When properly understood, the writing process is not a chore or a burden, but a life-changing opportunity. In uncovering all of writing’s personal and professional rewards and in unlocking the secrets of the craft, this book makes clear why everyone should want to write in their daily lives.

Writing for Life reveals the writing process for what it is: a thinking process. Writing helps us understand things; it clarifies our thoughts and makes us better, more engaged thinkers and citizens. Because it unleashes new ideas and is such a powerful force for creativity, innovation and social change, writing—as this book so forcefully shows—should be an instrumental part of everyone’s journey through life. Writing for Life will transform the lives of those who dislike, even dread, writing, even as it helps beginning and experienced writers alike better navigate the writing process.

Praise for the book

Writing for Life is filled with wise counsel and sound advice. Reading John Bessler's well-researched book will help those setting out on the writing trail reach their destination more surely. –Ralph Keyes, author of The Courage to Write and The Writer's Book of Hope

Bessler’s book is part inspirational guide and part how-to manual for anyone who has ever encountered a blank page. He demystifies the writing process by breaking it down into manageable steps and offers would-be writers valuable techniques for improving both their writing and their enjoyment of it. He draws liberally upon the wisdom of the world’s best writers to inspire the everyday writer.
–Minnesota Magazine

View more reviews

John D. Bessler, a two-time Minnesota Book Award finalist, is an attorney, writer and adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in political science, obtained his law degree from the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington, and has studied international human rights law at Oxford University. He also has an M.F.A. degree from Hamline University, and is the author of Death in the Dark: Midnight Executions in America, Kiss of Death: America’s Love Affair with the Death Penalty, and Legacy of Violence: Lynch Mobs and Executions in Minnesota. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Abigail.

Contact Us

Bottlecap Books
514 N. Third Street
Suite 105
Minneapolis, MN 55401