This excellent book is written in a very friendly and engaging tone. It contains advice on the practice of writing, and retains its relevance despite being originally published in 1938. The author, Brenda Ueland, was a writing class instructor, and she comes across as insightful yet humble, with a consistently encouraging voice. She reminds us of our individual talents, the importance of indulging our creative desires (however you may do so, and not just in writing), and the efficacy of clear, direct writing. “With every sentence you write,” she says, “you have learned something.” I found her examples compelling, and I’m eager to try out some of her suggestions. NaNoWriMo approaches!

This excellent book offers several things: an analysis of why people enjoy exploring interactive fiction (IF) worlds, a literary interpretation of IF as a form of riddle, and (for those of us who played Infocom games long ago) a glorious walk down memory lane in the form of a tour of many classic IF works. Spoilers are carefully marked and enclosed in boxes, so they can be skipped by the reader who wishes to independently discover the secrets of a given work. Montfort also describes the close-knit community of IF authors, who test and critique each other’s work. The annual IF Competition continues, and this book is inspiring enough to get you thinking about how fun it would be to enter a contribution.