Doodling for Writers Out October 6!

I haven’t posted here since the Before Times. Life is still mired in fear and chaos and the daily efforts to carry on during the Pandemic, but I have some most excellent news to share.

Doodling for Writers is available for preorders and will be out next month! I was inspired to make this book after many conversations with writers who, after learning that I draw, would confess, with much visible sadness and regret, that they can’t draw, had given it up in 3rd grade, wished they could draw but weren’t artist. And so on.

Doodling for Writers is a tiny book as my big hug to all these writers. It is designed to (1) help them see that anyone can draw and (2) give them techniques, ideas, prompts, and encouragement to help them feel empowered to draw and (3) help them incorporate drawing into their writing life.

Doodling for Writers includes 75+ of my cartoons, featuring puppy and cat.

Cartoon in Doodling for Writers, drawn by Rebecca Fish Ewan

Here’s what four amazing writers say about Doodling for Writers:

“I love this book! Insightful, instructive, charming, and encouraging, Rebecca Fish Ewan’s prompts and provocations will open new doors into your writing practice – and a drawing practice, too. In Doodling for Writers, erasers are like editors, lines have – or are – their own vocabulary, writers can be deciduous, and pleasure is paramount. A mix of practical advice and inspiring prompts, this book is a must for any writer who wants to enrich their process. It’s also a gentle but complete rebuttal of the all-too-common claim, “I can’t draw.” You can! And this book delightfully shows you how.” 

Randon Billings Noble, author of Be with Me Always

“Rebecca Fish Ewan’s Doodling for Writers gently takes the reluctant drawer on a masterful journey into the vast world of doodling. Full of easy to follow prompts and direct ways to connect doodling to the writing process, this book will be a must-have on any writer’s shelf. It’s funny, rich, irreverent and profoundly relevant to today’s creatives.” 

Laraine Herring, author of A Constellation of Ghosts: A Speculative Memoir with Ravens. 

“A delightful and wise guide to creative empowerment through the understated power of the doodle. Rebecca Fish Ewan is the perfect drawing buddy and Doodling for Writers contains a wealth of practical advice to get you drawing and visual perspectives to enrich your writing. It’s essential reading for any writer who draws or who aspires to, even if you doubt your artistic abilities. With this book as your companion, you’ll be happily drawing before you know it.”

Vanessa Berry, author of Mirror Sydney 

“Rebecca Fish Ewan’s Doodling for Writers is a super-fun book, but it’s also subversive, giving a view into the mechanics of creativity while posing as a craft book. Not only will this wonderful volume take a seat on the shelf next to Hillary Chute’s Why Comics?, Scott McLoud’s Making Comics, and Lynda Barry’s Syllabus—it extends the conversation about how visual thinking can help us all. All writers benefit from a comics mindset, Fish Ewan proposes. Part an inspirational call to one’s inner artist, part a compendium of engaging and inspiring prompts, part a quintessential work of show don’t tell, Doodling for Writers is full of good cheer and wise words. One wants to caution the reader: don’t be fooled, this is a weighty book. But in the end, it’s a call to enjoy the process and above all have good time.”

Elizabeth Kadetsky, author of The Memory Eaters

I’m so happy to be able to share this little book with writers and anyone else who yearns to draw! Welcome to the Doodleverse! Of course, Kafka makes a few appearances to lend his ever-encouraging hand. I leave you with his wise words about lines:

Cartoon in Doodling for Writers, drawn by Rebecca Fish Ewan