In 2015, when I decided to write a novel, I had no idea of what I was doing. Come to think of it, I still don’t! But I keep trying, keep improving, keep moving forward. I thought you might enjoy a peek at my bookshelf to see what books have helped me along the way. These are in no particular order:
- No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty. I came across this book when I was reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It is the book that started my writing journey. It talks about how to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days and is the basis for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. I followed the steps and wrote my first book this way.
- Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott. This one is full of anecdotes told to her by her father, who was also a writer. It chronicles the ups and downs of a writer’s life and gives advice along the way.
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. I will admit that I have never read a Stephen King novel, but I have watched The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. Two of my all-time favorite movies. The first half of the book is an autobiographical look at his life as a writer. Very interesting stuff! The second half is all advice. Great advice.
- What a Writer Needs by Ralph Fletcher. I took a writer’s workshop many years ago and this book was recommended along with books by Lucy Calkins and Katy Wood Ray. I was looking at it then through the lens of an elementary teacher looking for ideas for students, but it is just as relevant for adult writers.
- Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. I borrowed this one from the library and ended up buying my own copy. This one looks at writing a novel like you would build a building or a bridge. It has chapters on everything you need to think about BEFORE you write the story.
- Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. The original Save the Cat book was about screen writing. This one takes the same concept of “beats” and shows you how different genres of novels use them effectively. It has wonderful examples of contemporary novels and breaks them down so you can see where the beats are and how the author uses them to build the storyline.
- Take Off Your Pants by Libbie Hawker. There are two camps of writers: pantsers and plotters. Pantsers like to do discovery writing where they sit down at the computer without any planning a just start writing. Plotters, on the other hand, like to plan things out and create an outline to follow to ensure they have all the parts in the story before they start. This book shows you how even a pantser can live with an outline to turn out quality work.
- How I Write by Janet Evanovich. I have enjoyed reading many of the Stephanie Plum books. When I discovered that the author had written a book about her process, I searched it out immediately. Her novels are a little bit formulaic, but I wanted to see the thinking behind her work. There are some good nuggets in there.
There is a plethora of writing books out there. I hope you find at least one of them helpful! If you know of any that I should read, drop a comment below. I’m always on the lookout for more ideas on how to improve my craft.