I have 2 favorites for craft that I always recommend to newer writers. (I keep them nearby for myself all the time, too.)
The first is
GMC:Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon. This one gives a great, easy-to-follow overview of how to set up conflict in your book, make sure your characters have both internal and external goals and motivations. To me it helps you to really give your story a strong structure. (This is more for genre fiction than literary fiction.) You can find this book at
www.gryphonbooksforwriters.com
The other is
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. This book is a MUST HAVE, IMHO. Talk about all your craft basics in one, easy-to-understand book. (LOL - anyone notice I like easy-to-understand books on craft? <G>) POV, Show vs. Tell, dialogue, etc. You can find this one at all on-line bookstores and in a lot of brick and mortor ones, too.
I liked Bird by Bird. Another really interesting book, not really craft related, but more writer related, is
Writing from the Inside Out by Dennis Palumbo. The cover says: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within. And it helps. I saw Mr. Palumbo at a writer's conference, and he happened to be saying just what I needed to hear at the time. (I love it when that happens!) He's a writer (worked in tv for a while - wrote for Welcome Back, Kotter among other things. If you don't know Welcome Back, Kotter - Shut UP, young 'un. <G>) and a practicing pyschotherepist who works with writers and other creative people. (He says we're not crazier than the rest of the public, just in case you wanted to know. <G>)
Also a new book I just read and need to reread is
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. That one says: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. (Hmmm...can anyone guess what I've been struggling with lately?)
Susan G.