The writer’s library, thus far
Thought I’d share the list of writing books that I own, and personally found very helpful. (Obviously, if I hadn’t found them helpful, I wouldn’t own them…)
Stein on Writing – Sol Stein
A standard. Anyone who wants to write good fiction should read this book at least once. Better yet, attack it with sticky tabs and a highlighter.
Writing the Breakout Novel - Donald Maass
Same as above. Really, if you were going to buy just two writing books, this one and the one above are probably your best bet.
Spunk and Bite – Arthur Plotnik
Remember Strunk and White, and their little book full of rules for style? This book shows you how to bend those rules.
Dynamic Characters: How to Create Personalities That Keep Readers Captivated- Nancy Kress
This was actually my first writing book. It was a required text for the only creative writing course I ever took (and subsequently had to drop, because I couldn’t keep up with that and two art classes in the same semester). It’s a good solid guide to how to build character, come up with backstory, etc…I didn’t find it particularly useful at the time, because character is the one thing that I’m naturally good at.
Bullies, Bastards, and Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys of Fiction – Jessica Morrell
I saw the title of this and just had to open it. I loved it immediately, because I like my characters to be, for the most part, a little bit on the edgy side. She covers everything from villains, sociopaths, and monsters to dark heroes, anti-heroes and even unreliable narrators.
Writing Great Books for Young Adults – Regina Brooks
Good solid book if you write YA fiction. I’d really like to find a book that deals specifically with YA fantasy fiction, but this was a good place to start.
On Writing Romance: How to Craft a Novel That Sells – Leigh Michaels
This book covers a lot of ground, and although it deals primarily with romance novels and the romance genre, a lot of the principles are things that carry over into general fiction writing. Most of my stories have a love story in them somewhere, even if they don’t fit specifically within the romance genre guidelines.