Must Reading For Writers
Discover essential reads for writers with our curated list of must-read books. Elevate your craft, gain inspiration, and master storytelling with these top literary picks.
Book
On Writing
by Stephen King
The author shares his insights into the craft of writing and offers a humorous perspective on his own experience as a writer.
Book
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition
by Renni Browne
Hundreds of books have been written on the art of writing. Here at last is a book by two professional editors to teach writers the techniques of the editing trade that turn promising manuscripts into published novels and short stories. In this completely revised and updated second edition, Renni Browne and Dave King teach you, the writer, how to apply the editing techniques they have developed to your own work. Chapters on dialogue, exposition, point of view, interior monologue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an expert editor would go through to perfect your manuscript. Each point is illustrated with examples, many drawn from the hundreds of books Browne and King have edited.
Book
The First Five Pages
by Noah Lukeman
Using examples from actual manuscripts and query letters he's received, a publishing professional illuminates principles that can be applied to virtually any type of writing--fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and even poetry.
Book
Creating Character Emotions
by Ann Hood
In this unique book, Ann Hood will help you find fresh, creative images, words and gestures to evoke feelings in your fiction. In 36 "mini-lessons," Hood sheds new light on love, hate, fear, grief, guilt, hope, jealousy and other major emotions. Each lesson offers instruction on rendering that particular sentiment; "good" and "bad" examples illustrating how writers have succeeded and where others have gone wrong; and imaginative exercises for putting the feeling into words.
Book
The Plot Thickens
by Lawrence Block
A collection of eleven wonderfully imaginative tales that both chill the spine and warm the heart. Each tale features a thick fog, a thick book, and a thick steak.
Book
The Writer's Journey
by Christopher Vogler
Shows how writers can use mythic structure to give coherence and weight to both narrative fiction and nonfiction.
