Writing brave and free : encouraging words for people who want to start writing

Sometimes setting pen to paper requires bravery, and writing well means breaking free of the rules learned in school.

Liberating and emboldening the beginning writer are the goals of Ted Kooser and Steve Cox in this spirited book of practical wisdom that brings to bear decades of invaluable experience in writing, teaching, editing, and publishing.

Unlike "how to write" books that dwell on the angst and the agony of the trade, "Writing Brave and Free" is upbeat and accessible.

The focus here is the work itself: how to get started and how to keep going, and never is heard a discouraging word, such as "no," "not," or "never." Because of the wealth of their experience, the authors can offer the sort of practical publishing advice that novices need and, yet, rarely find. Organized in brief, user-friendly chapters - on everything from sensory details to a work environment, from creating suspense to revising and taking criticism - the book allows aspiring (and practicing) writers to dip in anywhere and find something of value.

Ted Kooser, the nation's Poet Laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, is a professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.In addition to his many volumes of poetry, he is the author of "Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps" and "The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Practical Advice for Beginning Poets", both available from the University of Nebraska Press.

Steve Cox, a lifelong editor and publisher, is now a freelance writer and the director emeritus of the University of Arizona Press.