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BOOKS
FOR WRITERS
Annotated Bibliography by Nancy Glass West
The
Writer’s Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers (2nd Edition),
Christopher Vogler. The title makes the book sound academic and
theoretical, but it’s not. Vogler’s prose is easy to digest. He
participated in writing the movies Star Wars and The Lion
King, and his book is a classic for screenwriters. Vogler understands
story structure—elements of stories from earliest mythology which
have reappeared in stories through the ages because they resonate
with listeners and readers. Writers who digest Vogler’s concept
of story elements will dramatically improve their fiction.
The
Art of Dramatic Writing, Lejos Egri. The author discusses
how dramatic writing is the “creative interpretation of human motives.”
He talks primarily about stage plays, but almost everything Egri
says applies to fiction. This is a classic and necessary book for
fiction writers.
Scene
and Structure, Jack Bickham. Bickham describes how to construct
fiction with scene-by-scene flow, logic, and readability. Arguably
Bickham’s most valuable book, it divulges the nuts and bolts of
crafting a story. This is one of a series of books on writing published
by Writer's Digest Books. Others are Beginnings, Middles
and Ends; Conflict, Action and Suspense; and Description.
More books by Jack Bickham are listed below.
The
Basic Patterns of Plot, Foster-Harris. This journalism professor
and multi-published writer founded a creative writing laboratory
at the University of Oklahoma. Here he addresses the ingredients
and patterns of plots and gives specific examples. Earlier in his
career, he wrote The Basic Formulas of Fiction.
Techniques
of the Selling Writer, Dwight Swain. Swain followed Foster-Harris
at the University of Oklahoma. His book is helpful and specific
on the creation, execution, and selling of fiction. Particularly
enlightening is Swain’s description of writing a novel in scenes
and sequels.
Don’t Murder Your Mystery by Chris Roerden. By discussing twenty-four fiction techniques, Roerden shows writers how to avoid the pitfalls of mediocre writing—“clues” that signal agents and publishers that “this writer is an amateur” and renders their manuscripts “dead on arrival.” She gives examples of how 130 published authors, mostly mystery writers, have fixed these problems. Plentiful examples and insightful comments make her readable book invaluable to fiction writers. Her book won the Agatha Award for Best Non-Fiction. She is bringing out a new version which incorporates new examples from more writers. For more information about her new book, click here.
Writing
and Selling Your Novel, Jack M. Bickham. The faculty member
of the University of Oklahoma’s creative writing program who followed
Dwight Swain, Bickham reinforces Swain’s methods and adds examples
and brain-piercing instruction to create a valuable tool for fiction
writers.
Get
That Novel Started and Get That Novel Written,
both by Donna Levin. These books, published by Writer's Digest Books,
are designed for beginners, but all novelists will discover new
ways to view their work and fix problem areas.
The
Art of Fiction, John Gardner. The author gives a helpful
overview of fictional theory and variety. Gardner also addresses
elements of fiction.
The
Writer’s Digest Handbook of Novel Writing, Editors of Writer’s
Digest. Various writers address the elements of fiction: action,
character, setting, and plot. By considering other writers’ views
and styles, the reader views her/his own work in a different light
and can make it richer. This is a good book to read after you’ve
been working on your novel for a while.
The
39 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them),
Jack M. Bickham. This is a quick read and good check list for one’s
work.
Writing
Mysteries, a Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America,
Ed. Sue Grafton. This compilation of articles, each on some aspect
of writing mysteries by various professionals in the field, illustrates
goals that mystery writers seek and the problems they face. After
you read an author’s mysteries, it is intriguing to read his/her
discussion of them. Students are guaranteed to come away with new
understanding of various writing techniques.
How
to Write a Damn Good Novel, James N. Frey. Frey’s no-nonsense
guide seems most useful during the time the novelist is creating
his/her novel. At that point, Frey piques the novelist’s mind about
avenues to explore and areas not to overlook.
Bird
by Bird, Anne Lamott. This is the book to read when your
writing sags, your spirit droops, and you wonder why you ever wanted
to write. Lamont’s quirky, painfully honest, lyrical prose about
her own writing reminds you why you love to write.
The
Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book, Susan
Page. Primarily geared to nonfiction writers, this book has pearls
useful to fiction writers in understanding that publishing is a
business and that promoting a book ranks equally with the quality
of its prose in determining a book’s success.
The
Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, Elizabeth Lyon. Lyon reveals particulars
that other authors do not address regarding preparing and selling
manuscripts. She tells how to prepare a query letter and synopsis
that will entice agents/editors to read the manuscript.
On
Writing, Stephen King. Whether or not you applaud King’s
subject matter or his language choices, he is a very skilled writer.
To craft fiction, he teases a story out of a situation. For him,
this method precedes character creation. He talks about images of
place, about action, pacing, and dialogue, and about the purpose
and necessary amount of description. Once his story is written,
King tells how he injects symbols and brings out themes. He discusses
revision and zeros in on elements of style and punctuation that
distinguish the amateur from the professional. No fiction writer
should miss this book.
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