Trying to Find Your Writing Voice? Read “Writing is My Drink” by Theo Pauline Nestor

I finished reading “Writing is my Drink: A Writer’s Story About Finding Her Voice (and How You Can Too) by Theo Pauline Nestor a few months ago, and I found it to be very interesting and educational. In this review I’ll provide more information on the book and the kind of information Theo provides in it.

The first thing that intrigued me about the book was the title “Writing is My Drink.” I imagine she’s saying writing is an addiction for her, or a way to escape, which it is for me too. I know a lot of people who use drinking, drugs or smoking as a way to escape their problems. Personally, I’d rather write about my problems than temporarily forget about them with any of these harmful “escapes.”

The best way I know to describe “Writing is my Drink” is it’s part memoir, and part workbook. Theo talks about how she got started writing, and how her writing career progressed. Some of the events she talks about in the book include:

• How she started writing in college
• Different topics she wrote about.
• When she decided to enroll in the Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) program.
• Some of the jobs she held while trying to make it as a writer.

At the end of each chapter, she provides exercises for the reader to do to star to find their writing voice and eventually write a memoir. Some of these exercises include:

• Making lists about different subjects
• Writing about different subjects for a specific length of time.
• Reading essays or certain books, which she provides links to in the book, or mentions where they are on her blog.
• Looking into different things like classes and writers retreats.

In one of the last chapters, she challenges the reader to write a 26-minute memoir about some event or recurring theme in their life, and email her to have it published in the “26-minute Memoir” section of her blog.

“Writing is my Drink” is an excellent book for anyone who wants to improve their writing and find ways to expand their creativity. I highly recommend checking out this book, as well as her Writing is My Drink website.