Books on Writing

ratsy

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Hey everyone, I am sure this thread exists a few times but I want to throw it out there again.

What books on writing would you recommend? I know I have seen a lot of comments from some of you saying READ BOOKS ON HOW TO WRITE!!

I agree but have no idea which would be the best for me? I think I have a skill hidden somewhere down deep and I need some help to uncover it with technicality. I think learning to write just from reading fiction books is tough, especially when you don't have the technical part down. So in an effort to better my understanding of the written novel I want to learn structure.

Any recommendations are welcome and thank you
 
I'm sure someone will come along and recommend Save the Cat...

Personally I haven't, and wouldn't, read How To books (on anything, not just writing). I think you can learn from reading novels. You can learn more by doing. You can read a how to book until you're blue in the face but unless you actually try and fail yourself a few times, then it won't be much good.

Just my opinion, of course.
 
It depends on how advanced you are.

First "How to write books" include Stephen King's On Writing, which is a good prep talk.

Then you need to look at issues such as POV use, which Orson Scott Card covers in his writing book.

After then it's the more advanced stuff on issues such as mythic structure and character arcs, of which Save the Cat and The Writer's Journey are especially good.

The caveat is that writing books don't tell you how to write - they simply explain the typical tools of writing, so that you can understand how to apply them better.
 
Story Engineering by Larry Brooks is great for learning how to structure your plot. Be aware that the author is long-winded and a bit of a blowhard, though.
 
I agree with Mouse. Although, I've read a couple, and I would recommend Stephen King's "On Writing". The best book out there. He doesn't take your hand and guide you step by step, but he tells you everything you need to hear, with some minor technical things sprinkled in.
 
I'm with Mouse - I learn more by writing than I do reading about how to write. I have read On writing and enjoyed it, but mostly I write, get feedback, incorporate said and then wite some more. And read things I like, regardless of quality, and consider what I like about it.
 
It's kind of a given that you're going to learn about writing BY writing, but people pick this stuff up in different ways.

For me it's a combination of: reading, writing, craft books, academics, critique groups and online forums. A pretty solid recipe. Someone else will have another method that works for them. The trick is finding YOUR method and working the heck out of it.

As for books I enjoy....
Chuck Wendig's "250 Things to Know about writing." :) Best 99 cents I ever spent.
Stephen King's "On Writing" is good.
I'm with Brian on "Save the Cat" for plotting.
"Beginnings, Middles, and Ends," Nancy Kress
"Writing Fiction" by Janet Burroway
"Fiction Writer's Workshop" by Josip Novakovich helped me quite a bit.
"Zen in the Art of Writing," by Ray Bradbury has some great essays.
"The Art of Fiction," John Gardner
"Worlds of Wonder," by David Gerrold
 
It's kind of a given that you're going to learn about writing BY writing, but people pick this stuff up in different ways.

For me it's a combination of: reading, writing, craft books, academics, critique groups and online forums. A pretty solid recipe. Someone else will have another method that works for them. The trick is finding YOUR method and working the heck out of it.

As for books I enjoy....
Chuck Wendig's "250 Things to Know about writing." :) Best 99 cents I ever spent.
Stephen King's "On Writing" is good.
I'm with Brian on "Save the Cat" for plotting.
"Beginnings, Middles, and Ends," Nancy Kress
"Writing Fiction" by Janet Burroway
"Fiction Writer's Workshop" by Josip Novakovich helped me quite a bit.
"Zen in the Art of Writing," by Ray Bradbury has some great essays.
"The Art of Fiction," John Gardner
"Worlds of Wonder," by David Gerrold

Yep, our learning styles govern our approach. As a pragmatist/activist, doing works for me. Reflectors will find books combined with writing work best. :)
 
King's On Writing is good, and Dance Macabre, while less obviously relevant, is a useful analysis of why stories work, and has a good list of suggestions. I'd also recommend How to Write Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, edited by J.N. Williamson. It was written before the internet got going, but the writing advice is good.
 
There's definitely a disconnect between understanding something intellectually and actually being able to do it. So reading a bit of advice that says "Use adverbs only sparingly" is great and all, but it doesn't necessarily stick unless you have it hammered in from multiple sources and (at least for me) with examples from your own work.

That said, there's no reason not to read 'how to' books. Just be careful that you don't fall into the Trap. That is diving into these things and not coming back up to write. It's a weird Catch-22.

I certainly don't know everything there is to know about writing, so there's definitely more than a few books out there I can learn from. Nine times out of ten the people who write these kinds of books have a career that I could only dream of. If I can spend a few hours reading their advice and get a head start on learning that much more about the craft, hell yeah.

Even if you're only picking up one or two tricks from each 'how to', those are tricks you didn't have before that might have taken you years to figure out otherwise.

Here's my list:
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Browne & King. Walk don't run. Really. Recently read this and it's stellar. Not a writing book per se, but there's still a lot of great stuff here.

Chuck Wendig's blog, Terribleminds.

On Writing, Stephen King. General advice and inspirational.

Story, Robert McKee. Dull in places but very structure and mechanics of story oriented.

Save the Cat, Blake Snyder. Basically two things: 1) Every scene needs conflict (><) and most if not all scenes need emotional change (+/-), and; 2) To make even the most despicable character likeable you need to give them a 'save the cat' moment, ie have the MC do something early that shows they're the good guy.

Craft of Writing Science Fiction That Sells, Ben Bova. Not too fond of the shorts he uses to illustrate his points, but there's a lot of really useful advice in there.

Here's a free bit of advice from Matt Stone & Trey Parker. Beats here refers to the screenwriting sense of beats, ie scenes. The Creators of South Park: "If the words "and then" belong between those beats, you're ******. Basically. You've got something pretty boring. What should happen between every beat that you've written down is either the word "therefore" or "but"... This happens and therefore this happens, but this happens, therefore this happens."

And then there's the FILM CRIT HULK! destroying the myth of three act structure, here.
 
Find exercises, writing exercises, and do them.
(pulls random book from shelf of writing books) - Something About Words - Ernest Weekly 1937. Still good today, tho tis more etymology than actual writing drills. There's a raft of them out there, try the local library.
 
There's definitely a disconnect between understanding something intellectually and actually being able to do it.

Once, twice, thrice and a hundred times this. All the books in the world will not help you if you don't put things into practice. Everything you learn by making the mistakes and getting there yourself you'll remember longer and understand more deeply. Read books, by all means; but write a lot, make mistakes a lot and improve a lot. That is the key to progress in anything.
 
I found "Your Writing Coach" by Jurgen Wolfe a good read and some very useful ideas in it.
 
OK, well thanks for the advice. I think I will find a copy of On Writing by King since it seems to be a favorite (and I am a big King fan)

I do agree that you will get better at writing by writing but I know I could use the advice of a pro for structure.

And I am not confident enough to think I do not need advice.

But in the mean time I will keep writing. I actually have a cool book that gives you scenarios and you have to write them. A cool gift from my wife. I will have to delve into that one deeper.
 
Ratsy, if you're looking for structure (plot), then I suggest "Scene and Structure" by Jack Bickham as well. I am still reading it and find it really helpful. Very "how to" in a sense.
 

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