Top Ten Writing Books

My friend Suzanne, over at panhandleprofessionalwriters, posted her “Top Ten Book on Writing Everyone Should Read.”  If you haven’t stopped by her blog, you should – awesome posts on authors, writing, books, conferences, and other creative writing topics.

Panhandleprofessionalwriters: A blog that bring together writers of the Panhandle of Texas and surrounding regions

Here is her list:

1.   The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

2.   Bird by Bird:  Some Instruction on the Writing Life by Anne Lamott

3.   On Writing by Stephen King

4.   Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

5.   Ernest Hemingway on Writing Edited by Larry W. Phillips

6.   The War of Art:  Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battle by Steven Pressfield

7.   How to Create a Sentence by Stanley Fish

8.   How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren

9.   The Writer’s Journey:  Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler

10.  Word Painting:  A Guide to Writing More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan

My list matched 6 out of the ten (so far), how about you?  Do you have a list?

 

Feed the soul…

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They depen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”

― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Anyone can write…

William C. Knott, in The Craft of Fiction, cogently observes that “anyone can write – and almost everyone you meet these days is writing.  However, only the writers know how to rewrite,   It is this ability alone that turn the amateur into a pro.” — taken from Writing Fiction, A Guide to Narrative Craft (Burroway and Stuckey-French).

I don’t think Mr. Knott could be any more write right- because revision, I’m afraid, is a pain in the [____].  It takes an insane amount of determination and dedication; in most cases, it’s fueled by desire and rather than creativity.  It is subject to constant battles against procrastination, this post just the latest piece in the onslaught.  I remind myself that people, like the three mentioned authors above, have conquered this process before, and so, so can I.  Look at the bright side, 80,000 is nothing when it comes to revision!

 

Creative Writing: Getting Started and the Craft of Fiction

The following how-to-write books have been absolutely instrumental in my quest to learn the craft of fiction: 

My creative writing collection.

• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anne Lamott): this is a fabulous book, a must read for anyone who endeavors to write.  For me, it simply took some of the fright of writing.

• Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft (8th Edition) (Janet Burroway and Elizabeth Stuckey-French): no offense to God, but this is my bible.  I refer to it often, I honestly could not survive without it!

• The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers (John Gardner): A fantastic resource to use along side Writing Fiction.

• The Elements of Style (4th Edition) – (William Strunk and E.B. White): According to Stephen King, in On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft, every aspiring writer should read this book.  I totally agree, this book is a must have (you can carry it in your pocket)!

• An American Rhetoric – (William Whyte Watt): This is an amazing guide to “Good Writing and Correct English” – it is hard to find, even harder to find at a decent price – try Better World Books, I scooped a copy up there for less than $20!

• Solutions for Writers: Practical Craft Techniques for Fiction and Non-fiction: Though I also included this in the section for revision, I also think it is a fantastic read before you dive into your novel.  The guy is simply straight forward with his advice, and his proven track record makes it worth following.  I am serious, this book is awesome!

Follow the links for user reviews.  Any other recommendations?  Please do share your resources on creative writing.

Creative Writing Prompts & Other Writing Exercises

Creative writing prompts can be extremely useful, just like warming up for a jog it is important to get your mind in the right form before you plunge ahead into your story.  I have even based a few chapters in my book off of a few prompts, you just never know where your pen will take you!

My collection of creative writing prompts.

• Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life – Natalie Goldberg:  Easy to find and work through, and some of the exercises were actually quite enjoyable!
• What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers (3rd Edition) – Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter: The older editions are easy to find used, and much cheaper.  Very effective exercises and lessons.
• The Writer’s Idea Book – Jack Heffron: The reviews do not lie, with over 400 prompts Jack takes your creative energy for a ride and provides an amazing platform for dealing with dreaded writers block.
• The 3 A.M. Epiphany: Uncommon Writing Exercises that Transform Your Fiction – Brian Kiteley: An uncommon approach to writing prompts that should be on your shelf (also by Brian, 4 A.M. Breakthrough: Unconventional Writing Exercises That Transform Your Fiction).

There are scores of books with writing prompts out there, these just happen to be the ones I came across. Please recommend others that you have found useful.  Additionally, there are online writing prompts, though I have not used them these are the online writing prompts that I have heard of (again, please recommend others):

• Writer’s Digest – a large collection of writing prompts (with word limits and the ability to post your response).
• Creative Writing Prompts – scroll over a number and a prompt appears!  What you see is what you get, if you are looking for a prompt this is not a bad place to start (it is not instructive by any means).

Do you have any other sources for creative writing prompts?

Creative Writing Fiction

Creative Writing Revision is an art in its own right.  I am right in the middle of this process, and it has been an uphill battle to say the least (if you want to know how I really feel about it, read here).  However, I believe that there are some very good resources to arm ourselves with before jumping in with the red pen.  These are the books I am currently using, please recommend any others that you have (follow links for reviews)!

Creative Writing Revision Resources

• Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness – Kirt Hickman: A systematic approach to revision, covering – Theme, Fictional Worlds, Characters, Plot, Point of View, Setting, First Draft, Research, Organization, Chapter Breaks, Scenes, Emotions, Prose, Dialogue, Formatting, and Critiques.  Any out there find anything better?

• How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them–A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide –  Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman: Now Not to Write a Novel is not for the faint of heart.  It is straight forward, and the bluntness can be rather harsh.  But at the end of the day, it is a useful tool if you are serious about getting your manuscript published.

• Solutions for Novelists: Secrets of a Master Editor – Sol Stein:  Don’t be fooled by the old school cover design, Sol Stein is awesome and so is his advice.  From the perspective an editor, he is candid in reminding writers of their responsibilities towards their audience, and his solutions to common writing errors are brilliant.  His tone is heartfelt; he truly wants to improve the quality of your work.  Buy and read this book, trust me!

• On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft – Stephen King: This may be a surprise as the book is more of a memoir than a technical approach to writing.  I found King’s description of his revision process enlightening – he makes it sound manageable, which makes reading it worth your time and certainly justify’s the space on your writer’s shelf.

Do you have any suggestions on creative writing revisions resources?

Master Collections

Have you used The Writer’s Digest’s Master Box Collection as a resource?  If so, I would love to get your thoughts on it!  It is expensive, but worth it?  The reviews on B&N.com are not exactly stellar, and I’m generally not a fan of The Writer’s Digest dry style (not to mention the price, which just seems ridiculous). Anyone a fan?

The Writer’s Digest’s Master Box Collection is available at Barnes & Noble but not Amazon.

Quotes About Writing

Harrison Shepherd, in one of his notebooks transcribed by stenographer Violet Brown (The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver), said it best: 

Accumulating words is a charlatan’s career. 

Quotes About Writing

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” 


— Barbara Kingsolver

Quotes About Writing

Run fast, stand still.  This, the lesson from lizards.  For all writers.  Ray Bradbury  Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You