Kicking in the Wall: A Year of Writing Exercises, Prompts, and Quotes to Help You Break Through Your Blocks and Reach Your Writing Goals grew out of three decades of creative writing courses by Barbara Abercrombie.

If anyone knows how to help writers achieve their goals, Ms. Abercrombie has it all figured out. Here in Kicking in the Wall you’ll find motivation to break through your own wall, with daily practice and exercises.

What makes this book different? Ms. Abercrombie writes with an infectious energy that will draw you in to her motivation. The 365 prompts and exercises are mostly practical and very direct…. No staring at the sky in this book, but hundreds of great prompts to make you think, such as: 

“Write about something that you don’t want to remember
but don’t want to forget.”

“Write about a time you couldn’t see. Literally or figuratively.”

Most surprisingly, Abercrombie suggests your success will grow with as little as five minutes a day spent on the exercises. Kicking in the Wall is geared to writers who want to move ahead but don’t know where to start. Other writers who doubt the direction their work is taking will be motivated and energized by the tone of the book. If you doubt a five-minute writing sprint can yield good results, the book includes dozens of five-minute exercises done by people in Abercrombie’s classes. These essays will empower you to give the technique a try. The book’s extensive bibliography could also serve as your lifetime library of writing at its best. It reflects the great amount of writing knowledge Abercrombie has amassed over thirty years.