Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers

In a political climate where many believe there is a "war against women" and in a business where the subject of motherhood is "a subject not worthy of real literature", Kate Hopper has raised the genre of motherhood literature to a new level - a REAL level.Through her work and her research, she has proven that motherhood literature is more than one story of "sleepless nights, diaper changes, and nursing debacles". It is "women - mothers - crafting memoirs and essays dealing with issues of identity, loss and longing, neurosis and fear, ambivalence and joy" - and more. This is what real literature and real life is all about.On top of her excellent work that redefines and elevates motherhood literature, she has created a book to help women craft their stories and start or improve their writing. Hopper has opened herself and her heart to provide a path for others to follow. This is not a narrow "do this to succeed" path, but just a lighted way where we can find ourselves. The book is broken into chapters with stories, examples, and writing prompts - excellent for any writer at any stage of the craft.And for fathers? Join us! There is more than enough room for fathers to add their stories and hone their craft as well.

Kate Hopper's Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers is a beacon for women writers who want to share their stories. Her book is brimming with valuable writing tools for the novice or very seasoned writer.Kate's writing connects on such a raw and universally emotional level that one can't help but think, I CAN write my story. As a mother, who is beginning to write about my own mothering journey, I use Kate's writing guide as an essential part of my daily writing. Her writing exercises and prompts spark my creativity when I am blocked.Use Your Words: A Writing Guide for Mothers shows the reader, in an honest and fresh way, that Kate Hopper understands what connects and motivates mothers (and women) to WRITE their stories.

What a great book. Not only have I learnt tons but it is really interesting to read. Kate Hopper writes clearly and imaginatively. I would thoroughly recommend this book to any writer who would like to improve their writing, but particularly if you are a mother or have kids in your life in some way. Very empowering.

Not through it yet but it was exactly what I was looking for to "force" me to write more and work on tightening up my style.

I bought this for my mom. She liked it and she said it has good ideas. It arrived really fast, so that was good.

great book for mother writers! I haven't written anything for a long time and kind of gave up after all the rejections. This book has rekindled my passion to start again. It's packed with material to jumpstart your own writing! The exercises will really get you thinking and writing if you use them.

Okay, first off, let me rave. I love love love this book. And I was astonished at how much is packed into it.First, I write a little, when I can fit it in. It's difficult with kids to find the time. When you do get a free moment, your brain is fried. So it's refreshing when author Kate Hopper gets that, and addresses it immediately. But she goes further than the simple tried and true advice to "write all the time". She acknowledges time is hard to come by, and gives ideas.But it's more than that. And she includes motherhood as a genuine topic to cover. She states, "When you say you're writing about "motherhood" some people assume that the story --if indeed there is any story at all--will consist of only sleepless nights, diaper changes, nursing debacles, and tantruming toddlers. They assume if they opened your book they would be sucked into the minutiae of daily life with children." Isn't that exactly right? To say you're a mother who writes makes most people dismiss your work as less than serious.Yet, instead of trying to prove that isn't the case, she urges readers to hone their craft by writing about everything in their life, and not just through the lens of mothering. Moms are complicated: "women--mothers--crafting memoirs and essays dealing with issues of identity, loss and longing, neurosis and fear, ambivalence and joy....last time I checked, this was the stuff of which real literature was made".To that end, she gives legitmate writing advice (concrete terms, sensory images, selective word choices). Then she shows prompts to make you practice writing about an event to make it feel real, not just a vague memory. This in itself is terrific practice.Beyond that, she includes numerous essays by writers who happen to be moms. These reveal the very truths about what Hopper urges: honesty, tangible descriptions, and the freedom to discuss what may not appear to follow the June Cleaver image of motherhood.I can see using this over and over. It is not paced to be read in one sitting. It's more of a workbook that will only help if you sit down and try it....do the prompts. Interact with the essays. Make notes. And go back and do it again.Lastly, it's a great introduction to the works of some wonderful female authors I had never heard of....now I have a larger list of books to search out.Highly recommend...

Kate Hopper's "use your words" is a great guide for mothers getting (back) into creative nonfiction.Kate shows the budding mama writer how to write a compelling story. Each tip/ chapter is backed up with examples and writing exercises, with additional prompts at the end of the book. Being a busy mother herself, she also dispels some of the common writing rules in favour of more mama-friendly ones.I loved this book. Like many mothers I feel compelled to remember/ write down the stories of pregnancy, birth and childhood, but would be bored stiff writing a "then I did this and this happened" kind of account. I want to write proper, fleshed out stories, but haven't written anything like it in years. This book reminded me how to go about it