The Happy Writing Book

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What to expect

'There are many guides to good writing but none as valuable as this.' Oliver Kamm, author and columnist for The Times

Creative writing can enhance wellbeing, which can enhance creative writing, which can enhance wellbeing ...

Become a better writer with over 100 inspiring prompts, insights and exercises specially devised by an award-winning author and creative writing teacher. Discover how the practice of creative writing - being expressive, exploring ideas, crafting words, shaping stories - can also deepen your appreciation of life.

Critics Review

  • Few writers can share what they know like Elise Valmorbida, and even fewer teachers can write like her. But her greatest talent is her belief in other people’s creative potential, and in the potential for creativity to bring happiness. Relevant to both seasoned writers and newbies alike.

    John-Paul Flintoff, author of How To Change the World

  • Beautiful, clear, wide-reaching and hugely generous to readers.

    Bryony Lavery, award-winning playwright, author of Frozen

  • There are many guides to good writing but none as valuable as this. In The Happy Writing Book, Elise Valmorbida… explains with acute insight how to convey your thoughts and ideas to the distant reader, while wearing very lightly her expertise in literary criticism. The result is both a stylistic revelation and a pleasure to read.

    Oliver Kamm, author and columnist

  • Insightful, inspiring and brimming with useful tips, it’s the friendliest guide you’ll find to being a writer. Elise Valmorbida shows that the writing process, like the reading process, has all sorts of desirable side effects.

    Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, authors of The Novel Cure: An A-Z of Literary Remedies

  • Elise Valmorbida’s teaching is life-affirming. She imparts information in a way that is accessible and vibrant. She takes the fear out of writing, and inspires students to discover their own voice. I was already writing when I did a course with Elise, yet I discovered new tones of voice that surprised and delighted me. The Happy Writing Book makes Elise’s gifts as a teacher available to all.

    Daniela F. Sieff, anthropologist and author of Understanding and Healing Emotional Trauma

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