The Creative Compass

Writing Your Way from Inspiration to Publication

By: Dan Millman, Sierra Prasada

Narrated by: Dan Millman, Sierra Prasada

Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

A guide should give clear directions and then get out of your way. In this unique collaboration that bridges two generations, best-selling author Dan Millman and his co-author (and daughter) Sierra Prasada help orient you as you make your own way through five universal stages of creativity: Dream, Draft, Develop, Refine, and Share. Whether you’re seeking new goals, the discipline to reach them, a shield against self-doubt and inertia, or practical advice on sorting through feedback and connecting with readers - you’ll find a way forward in this fresh approach to writing and storytelling, performed by the coauthors.

Sage advice from writers, artists, and innovators complement engaging stories by Dan and Sierra about their own progress through the five stages and the writing life. Discover for yourself: The Creative Compass will transform both the stories you tell and the stories you live.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2013 Dan Millman & Sierra Prasada (P)2014 Dan Millman & Sierra Prasada

Critic reviews

"A good book about writing will guide you like a torch. You finish it and you’ve learned some useful lessons; you feel enlightened. But a great writing book is hard to finish because it keeps exploding in your face. All it makes you want to do is write. Everything else: blown away. The Creative Compass is like that, a box of inspiring dynamite. And of course that’s just what you want. Boom! Get back to your writing!" (Steven Goldsberry, creative writing professor and author of The Writer's Book of Wisdom)

"This is a wonderfully insightful guide to the art of transforming ideas and stories into books. It presents old narrative and stylistic truths in a new, highly imaginative way." (Stephen Kinzer, author of The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War)

"Thoughtful, thorough, and practical in its application, this is an important work on the creative process, and on the craft, business, and magic of writing." (from the foreword by Terry Brooks, best-selling fantasy novelist)

Let your journey as a writer begin!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I purchased this book as a novice writer looking to get some practical advice from some accomplished authors. The tips and tools offered in The Creative Compass have given me exactly what I needed to get my writing off to an amazing start. After purchasing and reading the book I was so inspired that I also took a three day writing course based on the teachings of this book, taught by Dan Millman and Sierra Prasada. I still have a long way to go to achieve my personal goals but this book has made the path to my goal crystal clear and also gave me the confidence I needed to get started. I highly recommend this book to writers who are just getting started as well as those who have been writing for years. I can say this only because of my personal experience at the seminar; I saw that new writers and some accomplished authors alike were receiving benefit from this book and the Creative Compass Course!

A warm welcome for aspiring writers

If you could sum up The Creative Compass in three words, what would they be?

Inspiring, friendly and thorough.

What did you like best about this story?

This made me believe in my writing dreams and begin with the writing process. It was helpful to hear first hand experiences with different phases of preparing a novel.

Which character – as performed by Dan Millman and Sierra Prasada – was your favorite?

Both were excellent.

What did you learn from The Creative Compass that you would use in your daily life?

It is important to follow your dreams and persist in accomplishing them. When you find your own important idea, it's good to follow through and actually write the story.

Any additional comments?

This book is exceptionally encouraging to beginning writers and the authors' own experiences are warmly delivered to readers. This book gives examples of many feelings during the long writing process. I warmly recommend this book if you feel stuck or puzzled with your own work.

Probably Better on Paper

This book includes tons of helpful tips and strategies, but it seems like it's not really meant for audio. This is the kind of book where you want to highlight, underline, and bookmark numerous pages.

Non-professional narration; jumpy writing.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Please, please, authors, do not insist on reading your own work.There is a reason there are professionals. The two narrators are unskilled (with the female worse than the male). The narration jumps constantly between the two voices (rather than, say, switching only at chapter ends). The content is not bad, but the narration has made this book a fight to finish.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Will I ever get there? Not yet, despite about four attempts to make it through it over the last few months.

What didn’t you like about Dan Millman and Sierra Prasada ’s performance?

Unprofessional, jarring transitions.