Books To Improve Writing

DwayneA · Sep 4, 2008

Today, I purchased three books off Ebay to help improve my writing. They are:

"How to Create Unforgettable Characters"
"Creating Character Emotions"
"You Can Write A Novel"

Last month, I purchased the following off Ebay:

"The First Five Pages"
"Writing Dialogue"
"The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes Book"
"Getting the Words Right: How To Rewrite, Edit, and Revise"

Any other recommendations?

Paichka · Sep 4, 2008

Well, yes.

The contents of the ALA's Top 100 Greatest Books, for one. A list of great books in your chosen genre, for two.

All of the books you've got are good (I assume) but they're rather like reading the "For Dummies" guides. They'll only get you so far. You also need to read and apply what you've learned to GOOD BOOKS -- why are their opening pages awesome? What hooked you? What did you like or dislike about the characters?

The next step is to apply that to your own writing.

sunandshadow · Sep 4, 2008

Two of my favorites:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060391685/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1594577781/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

jessicaorr · Sep 4, 2008

I really like Aspects of the Novel by E. M. Forster. There are also a myriad of books about characterization, plotting and dialog that you might find useful. I've found Nancy Kress' Beginnings Middles and Ends, and Dynamic Characters Chiarella's Writing Dialogue and Orson Scot Card's Characters and Viewpoint to be very helpful. General books on writing fiction that I've enjoyed are Making Shapely Fiction (this one is one of my favorites) and Burroway's Writing Fiction: A Guide to the Narrative Craft.

However, the most instructional books on novel writing, I think, are great novels themselves. Classics like The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, Portrait of a Lady. Successful contemporary works, The Thirteenth Tale springs to mind. Look at these books and think about why they're written the way they are. Why did the author choose to put one scene before another, show one scene but not another one. In this vein, Reading Like a Writer is very helpful. Or Adler's How to Read a Book though it's more in the vein of reading nonfiction for research purposes. Still great though.

Hope this helps! There are a million and one books on writing fiction out there, but not one will make you a great writer. They can help you build the foundation though.

Feathers · Sep 4, 2008

I'm slowly eating my way through some of the better-known, most-recommended books. A few really stood out to me:

Bird by Bird (great for coming to grips with writer's block)
Writing the Breakout Novel: the workbook (I soooo recommend this one)
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
The Pocket Muse (this has a lot of macro-advice that I find, surprisingly, makes a big impact on my writing)

And a few I've heard are really great, but never read myself:

Writing the Breakout Novel
Reading Like a Writer
Writing Down the Bones
How to write a d**n good novel
How to NOT Write a Novel

Hope this helps

-Feathers

JamieFord · Sep 4, 2008

Sorry if I'm sounding like a broken record on this one...

OSC's Characters & Viewpoint

Fillanzea · Sep 4, 2008

The books that I never see enough recommendations for are the ones by John Gardner (who is, yeah, kind of snobby about genre lit) and "From Where You Dream" by Robert Olen Butler (who is also a little snobby about genre lit). They're not beginners' books; they're kind of hard-core, to the extent that when I read them I sometimes think, "This is too much work." But I would recommend them to anyone trying to take up their writing to the next level.

ChaosTitan · Sep 4, 2008

You've got some good books already, Dwayne. I'd spend some time with each of those, reading and absorbing the information, before buying any more. Those will take you some time to get through, as it is.

Telstar · Sep 5, 2008

I would get for sure Stephen King's "On writing" and both Gardner books: "On becoming a novelist" and "The art of fiction".

ljcblue · Sep 5, 2008

2 writing book recommendations

James Scott Bell's "Plot and Structure" and Orson Scott Cards "How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy."

I found these two books very helpful in my current editing.

Birol · Sep 5, 2008

There are only so many books about how to write that you can or should read, before they become redundant and just become a procrastination tool. You have enough for this point in your career. When you're finished, try reading books that aren't about how to write. Just try reading a book. At the same time, write because you just can study how to do something; you also have to practice its application.

Sheryl Nantus · Sep 5, 2008

the best way to learn how to write is to READ.

and write.

and read more.

and write more.

'nuff said.

James81 · Sep 5, 2008

"Telling Lies for Fun and Profit" by Lawrence Block

Susan Gable · Sep 5, 2008

GMC: Goal, Motivation, & Conflict by Debra Dixon, avaiable here:

www.gryphonbooksforwriters.com

And I will second Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.

Those two books combined give an excellent writing education. GMC is about the STORY, the big things on how to create a cohesive story.

Self-Editing is about craft on the word level. It explains, in easy-to-understand ways, about things like POV, Show vs. Tell, etc.

I always recommend these two books.

(Too bad I don't get a commission. <G>)

Susan G.

Bufty · Sep 5, 2008

I suspect most of these books would be of more help if read as reference type books after one has finished one's first novel, acting as helpful indicators as to what could be improved instead of risking stifling all initial creativity with the mistaken belief all things must be done a particular way and trying to rigidly adhere to every and all guidelines mentioned in the books.

Birol · Sep 5, 2008

Dwayne has finished multiple novels, Bufty. Beyond that, what you say has merit.

jessicaorr · Sep 5, 2008

Oooh, I just got Gardner's "The Art of Fiction" from Paperbackswap. I'm happy to see it recommended twice in this thread. Now I can't wait to read it!

Telstar · Sep 5, 2008

jessicaorr said:
Oooh, I just got Gardner's "The Art of Fiction" from Paperbackswap. I'm happy to see it recommended twice in this thread. Now I can't wait to read it!

TBH I prefer the other Gardner book. But The Art gives more practical advice. I especially like his opinion on point of views.

jessicaorr · Sep 6, 2008

Thanks! I'll have to put his other book on my wishlist. I'm re-reading Grendel later this week. It's so interesting to read a book on writing by the same author. Getting his perspectives on characterization, plotting etc... and then seeing how he puts it to action in an actual novel... priceless!

Chrisla · Sep 6, 2008

The First Five Pages is especially helpful after you've written your book. The exercises at the ends of the chapters help to find potential problems with your work. I find this a better learning method than before-writing "instruction books."

stuckupmyownera · Sep 7, 2008

Wow - looks like you're going to be buying a lot of books! My three faves are:

Story by Robert McKee. It's aimed primarily at screenwriters, but the analysis of storytelling it provides is so helpful and insightful I (and many others) recommend it to all writers.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King. Helps you pick up on the common mistakes all writers make in prose, such as telling, proportion, repetiton, etc.
Blockbuster Plots: Pure and Simple by Martha Alderson. A unique method of analysing your story scene by scene and ensuring all the elements of a successful scene are present. I usually write my first draft 'by the seat of my pants', then spend some time analysing it using Martha's method to see what needs to be done in rewrites.

Hope this helps

Linda Adams · Sep 7, 2008

The Newbie's Guide to Publishing, by J.A. Konrath, which is available free online.

Diana W. · Sep 7, 2008

I would like to second Stephen King's On Writing. An excellent read and he gives a lot of good clear advice.

Dale Emery · Sep 7, 2008

DwayneA said:
Any other recommendations?

What aspect of writing do you want to learn next?

Dale

ejket · Sep 7, 2008

jessicaorr said:
Thanks! I'll have to put his other book on my wishlist. I'm re-reading Grendel later this week. It's so interesting to read a book on writing by the same author. Getting his perspectives on characterization, plotting etc... and then seeing how he puts it to action in an actual novel... priceless!

He actually makes a couple of references to Grendel in The Art of Fiction, as I recall. Anyway, he died too young. John Gardner was an interesting guy and a fine writer. (The Beowulf legend from the monster's point of view---brilliant.)

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