Books On Writing

Emma B

I have quite a few, some I've found really useful (On Writing by Stephen King is a fave), some I've dipped into and some have sat unopened on my shelf for a substantial length of time!

What are your favourites?
Which ones do you recommend and why?
And which ones are a waste of time?

St Force

On Writing by Stephen king is very good. I've read how to write a novel from the how to books which is a complete waste of time as far a plot is concerned. The First Five Pages are pretty good but I've not finished reading them yet.

red-lucy

I agree-'On Writing' the best of the bunch :)

Jenthom72

I used to buy lots of how to write books until I realised I spent so much time reading them that I'd no time to write:)

Emma B

I think that's a valid point Jenthom!

kado

I agree about 'On Writing'. I also like, 'The Creative Writing Course Book', by Julia Bell and Paul Magrs. Julia writes occasionally for WM.

casey

I've got a shelf full of writing books. (I've also got a shelf full of cookery books but it doesn't make me a great cook.)
As I mostly write short stories I found Della Galtons Book, How to Write and Sell Short Stories one of the best. If I'm looking for inspiration the What If book of writing exercises always comes to hand.
I hope this is helpful.

Carol

I'd agree on the Della Galton book, Casey mentioned.
And also Della's 'Love Writing- How to Make Money Writing Romantic and Erotic Fiction.' Takes you through al the things that are important and how to shape the work.

And Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance'. Stage by stage with excercises at the end of each chapter.

Tiny Nell

I've never owned a book on writing. Would you recommend getting one then? Do all writers have them?

Carol

I'm sure there are some writers who don't have books on writing. I think it just depends on the individual.

Tiny Nell

Oh, I hope I haven't been missing out all these years! I think I'll read all these comments and get myself one.

dora

I read a review about the Della Galton one, saying it told you things you'd already know if you write short stories already.

I'm pretty sure they all say more or less the same thing, but in a different way. Bit like the articles in the writing mags.

Yet I like re-reading all my old writing mags. I like going over stuff I already know, as there's no harm in a refresher course methinks.

Carol

[quote=dora]I read a review about the Della Galton one, saying it told you things you'd already know if you write short stories already.[/quote]

In general I'd agree, but I still found it useful in clarifying areas I thought I understood, but hadn't completely (at the time of buying it).

Tiny Nell

[quote=dora]I'm pretty sure they all say more or less the same thing, but in a different way. Bit like the articles in the writing mags. [/quote]


Well, as I subscribe to writing mags, I'm probably covered...

Claudia

The best I've come across is Sol Stein's: Stein on Writing
Stein's book is packed with practical information for fiction and non-fiction writers and is worth a hundred of King's which I've read twice and still don't understand why people think it's a great book for writers. :rolleyes:

Carol

I couldn't even get into King's book. I have another one of Steins too.

red-lucy

[quote=Jenthom72]I used to buy lots of how to write books until I realised I spent so much time reading them that I'd no time to write[/quote]

Definitely agree with this too-it's a valid point. I bought them all when I started so have quite a few-but apart from 'On Writing' and 'So you Want To Be a Writer' by Jane Wenham Jones most of them are rather useless. Some good exercises but generally just a bit 'Look at Me' type books.

I realised that when it comes down to it you just have go with your own 'gut' feelings. However I'm really struggling at the moment with confidence issues, I keep mulling over who wants to read what I'm writing and I'm sure everyone feels like this occasionally so reading how other's have done it seems a a bit like rubbing salt in etc etc.
'On Writing' is just a different kind of book and it is inspiring when you're feeling down.

Actually-I think I'll go and get it out again now and have a re-read ;)

Edited this post because I just opened 'Advice to Writers' on Twitter and saw this

http://www.advicetowriters.com/home/2012/8/14/fear-stops-most-people-from-writing.html

Kangaroo

I've got King's 'On Writing' too as well as Anne Lamott's 'Bird by Bird'. Anne's book takes you through the process one step at a time. When she was young, her brother had left an assignment on birds to the last minute, so Dad helped him through it and he said 'Bird by bird'. I've enjoyed reading this book, something you can go back to again and again.

SuzieW

I've just gone off and checked on Google for 'On Writing' and it's available for my new Nexus - yaay - it is now purchased, downloaded and waiting for me to finish many others in front, although it may have to skip over the top of some others waiting in line.

Thank you for the recommendation :)

pbw

[quote=Tiny Nell]Would you recommend getting one then?[/quote]

I need to redo this page on my new blog, but the information still holds good, if it interests you TN.

http://fiona-maddock.blogspot.co.uk/p/writers-reference-shelf.html

localfreak

I enjoyed On Writing too. I have a couple of other books but the only ones I really use properly are 'An Ode Less Travelled' by Stephen Fry - I dip in and out of it to remind me of poetic forms and just general help and inspiration. I also try to use Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynn Truss because I know my grammar- particularly in prose- is somewhat lacking, but I find that a bit hard to follow at times. I did have one called 'The Writer's Block' which was a series of prompts in a fat sqare book that you could flip open on random pages and use the prompts, which was quite helpful. It's only small though so I keep losing it!

SuzieW

[quote=localfreak] I did have one called 'The Writer's Block' which was a series of prompts in a fat sqare book that you could flip open on random pages and use the prompts, which was quite helpful.[/quote]
This does sound useful

BuickMackane

Read the poem 'So You Want To Be A Writer?' by Charles Bukowski. It's just about the best advice I've come across. Stunning

SuzieW

I've just had a read of the poem you mention BM - there are some very odd comments relating to his poem on the site I used! I agree with you, it is excellent - thank you for highlighting it

BuickMackane

You're welcome, Suzie. Really? Odd in what way haha?

SuzieW

[quote=localfreak] I did have one called 'The Writer's Block' which was a series of prompts in a fat sqare book[/quote]
Do you have any more information on this book? I've done a search but many come up.

megrose

I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any more writing books, but couldn't resist Linda Lewis' 'The Writer's Treasury of Ideas'. It's does what it says on the cover and is full of extremely useful suggestions for finding story ideas.

SuzieW

*covers eyes from all the suggestions!

Actually, apart from my recently-started WN writing course and the Stephen King book mentioned above I am bereft of writing books - so that means I can go and buy doesn't it :)

Gardening books, on the other hand, are in far too plentiful supply over here are Warren' Rest

pbw

You could see what your local library has got, have a browse, and you might get ideas for ones you'd like to buy. I do the same things in bookshops too, I have a browse first.

Philip

I have quite a few writing books, but I rarely get past the first chapter except for Stephen Kings - On Writing which I have read a few times. I think books like Virginia Woolfs Diaries and Maughans A Writers Notebook can also be useful. I am about to read E. M. Forsters Aspects of the Novel - still in print after 85 years. Flannery O connors Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose is also a good read.

SuzieW

[quote=Philip]except for Stephen Kings - On Writing which I have read a few times[/quote]
I'm just at the point of the poison ivy .....ouch!!

Philip

[quote=SuzieW]I'm just at the point of the poison ivy .....ouch!![/quote]
Is that before or after the electro magnet, that did sound like fun!

SuzieW

Just after if I remember correctly - I felt his pain!

Debby

I thoroughly enjoyed Stephen King's 'On Writing'.

I also had 'The five-minute writer' recommended to me, and it has just arrived in the post today. The blurb on the back says that the author, Margaret Geraghty, wrote a monthly column for Writing Magazine and Writers' News for 12 years. Each chapter has a writing-related discussion, followed by a five-minute exercise. I thought it would be a great incentive to write every day, with no excuses! Has anyone else read it/used it?

Onlinegenie

Any recommendations for a book on playwriting? Preferably one that's available for the kindle.

tunna

[quote= Debby]Has anyone else read it/used it?[/quote]

Yes, I got this, Debby. It's OK, some good advice, but in the end I wondered why I was spending my time doing exercises instead of actually writing a story. Haven't picked it up for a while now.

Debby

[quote=tunna]It's OK, some good advice, but in the end I wondered why I was spending my time doing exercises instead of actually writing a story.[/quote]

Thanks, Tunna. That's a fair point. My problem is that, since I started writing short stories and flash fiction pieces last year, I've always done so from a 'prompt' - whether a competition theme, or the OWC, etc.

I'm hoping that the five-minute exercises (which include things like; viewing everyday items in a different light, tapping into memories, making lists, rewriting cliches, to name but a few) inspire me to think 'outside the box'. Maybe get the creative juices flowing, hopefully resulting in me coming up with stories that I might not otherwise have written. That's the hope anyway.... :)

Tiny Nell

Oh, first I was going to buy one, then I thought I was covered by subscribing to WM/WN so decided not to get one... but I keep popping back to have a look at this thread and I definitely feel I am missing out now by not having a book on writing! I shall have to make myself a grid to compare comments. How else am I to pick one from all those mentioned?!

SuzieW

[quote= Debby]I also had 'The five-minute writer' recommended to me, and it has just arrived in the post today.[/quote]
I am Amazoning as we type

[quote=tunna]but in the end I wondered why I was spending my time doing exercises instead of actually writing a story. Haven't picked it up for a while now.[/quote]
This makes a lot of sense, but I'm still new and doubting myself

[quote= Debby]rewriting cliches,[/quote]
Not sure I get this?

[quote=Tiny Nell] How else am I to pick one from all those mentioned?![/quote]
Do like I am and pick 'em all ;)

B Darter

Debby: I thought it would be a great incentive to write every day, with no excuses! Has anyone else read it/used it?

My son's partner bought it for me. It does encourage me to write more and I have used it to help with an exercise when it is my turn to take our writing group.

Dwight

[quote=BuickMackane]Read the poem 'So You Want To Be A Writer?' by Charles Bukowski. It's just about the best advice I've come across. Stunning [/quote]

Just had a look, BM. Yes, nice one. Thanks for that. I don't know that it's universally true, though. Some of us get by by digging out what resists being written.

Tiny Nell, HOLD EVERYTHING. There is one book you must get. It's probably useful only to writers who are well versed and can tell when a metaphor would work better than a simile, but if you want to write a good novel, it's a MUST (IMHO). It's not available on Kindle but it is on Amazon. It's blue and red and it's very very good, and it's called 'Solutions for Writers' by Sol Stein. It worked particularly well for me because I had already written a novel and had a blueprint to measure his advice against. So I sat in coffee shops and condensed it to notes, thinking on every page: Yes, oh yesssss, that's right, I'll do that.

The only trouble now is there are only 24 hours in a day, 16 of which are taken up with pesky duties, so progress is frustrating. Imagine Michelangelo looking up in the Sistine Chapel with every scaffold and ladder put into storage, knowing with an ache in his gut what he would add to his half finished ceiling.

I recommend this book.

Tiny Nell

[quote=Dwight]Tiny Nell, HOLD EVERYTHING. [/quote]

*grips tightly and watches knuckles turn white*

snailmale

*wonders just what TN is gripping with such enthusiasm.*

tunna

[quote= Dwight]and it's called 'Solutions for Writers' by Sol Stein[/quote]

He also wrote a follow-up called 'Solutions for Novelists', which I've just started. Pretty good so far.

Tiny Nell

I don't feel I need a book on punctuation, grammar or the nitty gritty of the English language, since I studied English to degree level and, as a teacher, was head of English. What could be useful is something dedicated completely to the art of writing, inspiring and imparting me with the wisdom which I currently lack. Also, because I'm a dabbler, I write a bit of everything - children's novels, the mere beginnings of a thriller, short stories, poetry, shopping lists... so I wouldn't want a 'how to' book that dealt only with one of those aspects. I'll go and have a look at the Sol Stein book, I think, Dwight. Thanks for that!

Tiny Nell

[quote=snailmale]*wonders just what TN is gripping with such enthusiasm.* [/quote]

*hears cracking noise in palm of hand and watches slime dribble between curled fingers*

Tiny Nell

I've browsed the virtual bookshelves. Amazon suggests getting the two Sol Stein and the Stephen King for £25, but I think I'm going to make myself a Christmas/birthday list (round about the same time) and put a few of these books on it. I like the idea of sitting in a coffee shop looking like a writer. I shall wear my new bohemian velvet coat to complete the image.

snailmale

[quote=Tiny Nell] I like the idea of sitting in a coffee shop looking like a writer.[/quote]

When seriously pi**ed, while on a long weekend in Bruge, I purchased a felt hat with a wide floppy brim, which, in my seriously pi**ed state I thought would enhance my appearance and hopefully somehow endow me with a literary aura. Unfortunately it poured with rain and the damn thing shrank and ended up looking like a pork pie on an elephant's arse

Philip

[quote=Dwight] 'Solutions for Writers' by Sol Stein. [/quote]
I was lucky enough to get a very cheap copy on ebay a while ago. One day I might get around to reading it.

Tiny Nell

[quote=snailmale]When seriously pi**ed, while on a long weekend in Bruge, I purchased a felt hat with a wide floppy brim, which, in my seriously pi**ed state I thought would enhance my appearance and hopefully somehow endow me with a literary aura. Unfortunately it poured with rain and the damn thing shrank and ended up looking like a pork pie on an elephant's arse [/quote]

Hilarious!

The things we writers do, all in the name of art...

pbw

I recommend all Donald Maass' books. I worked through his 'Breakout Fiction' series last year, and it improved the structure and exposition of my novel enormously. Now I am working through this one.

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/breakout-novelist