To cheer myself up, I’ve been rereading some of my favorite writing books and thinking about what I would recommend to readers. There are so many good books on writing, it’s hard to pick just a few to suggest, but here are three that I feel should be on most writers’ to-read lists. All of these books are available on Amazon.com and can easily be ordered by your favorite local bookstore. Check them out and let me know what you think.
Help! For Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces by Roy Peter Clark (Little, Brown, and Company). I love the problem-solving approach this book takes. It divides the writing process into stages, then addresses the typical issues writers confront at each of those stages—from “I don’t know what to write” to “I’m slow and miss deadlines” to “I resent criticism and editing.” I can’t imagine a writer, no matter how accomplished, who won’t find her- or himself in the pages of this book—and find some clear-cut solutions to problems that plague writers throughout their lives.
The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes by Jack Bickham. This book takes a slightly different approach from Help! For Writers. Rather than solving problems that come up while we’re writing, it focuses on problems that appear in the work itself. While Help! tells us how to get our words onto the page, revise them, and put them out to the world, The 38 Common Fiction Writing Mistakes tells us what our fiction should look like when we’re finished. Essentially, it is a guide to what not to do in your fiction—such as “Don’t have things happen for no reason” and “Don’t lecture your reader.” Self evident? Not necessarily. Going through your own finished novel or short story with this book as a guide can be a revelation—and a stepping stone to much better writing.
On Writing Fiction: Rethinking Conventional Wisdom about the Craft by David Jauss (Writers Digest Books). When I was studying writing at Vermont College (now Vermont College of Fine Arts), David Jauss was one of my teachers. The individual direction he gave me was among the most insightful I’ve ever received, and the lectures he gave were known throughout the writing program for their unusual depth and originality. You never left a David Jauss lecture without feeling that you’d learned something you couldn’t have from anyone else. The subtitle of this book can be taken seriously: It will change the way you think about writing.
Do you have a favorite book on writing? Leave a comment and let us know about them.