In my first six months of writing these posts, I put out a list of five books every writer should read. I still stand by that list, but I’ve been building my library of writing craft books and think it’s time to share a few more gold mines I’ve discovered.
Before I get into the new list, I want to take a moment to encourage every writer out there to keep reading and learning about their craft. Many people say, “You only get better if you keep writing.” While that’s true in a sense (you can’t improve if you don’t practice), it’s also bad advice. Writing more doesn’t guarantee you’ll improve. If you spend hours practicing bad writing, you will continue to produce bad writing. You have to learn and then put that learning into practice. A carpenter may practice making furniture, but if he doesn’t understand each tool and uses a wrench to pound screws into the wood, he’s never going to produce good furniture. You must be intentional in your learning, writing, and editing. Always try to be better and improve. With that said, let’s look at five books that can help you be a better writer.
The 10% Solution by Ken Rand
A while back, a writer friend recommended this book to me. I was trying to figure out how to cut word count and clean up my prose. This was a short read so I gave it a chance. I loved its straight forward tone. Ken doesn’t beat around the bush. He tells you what you need to know and how to achieve your goal.
The book basically explains his theory on how all text can be cut by at least 10% by leaning up the prose. He gives you lists of things to look for in your manuscript to cut out, and he shows examples of how the text reads cleaner after. I made a list of buzz words based off his list and added some of my own for when I do line edits. The book is an easy read, short, and very helpful for anyone looking for practical help with writing clean prose.
Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan
Another book I picked up to improve the overall presentation of my writing is Word Painting. I’m not big into writing long descriptions in my books, but I wanted to understand it well enough to make the reader see and experience my world. What I didn’t expect was for this book to also help me portray characters, push plot, and write inspiring prose.
Rebecca is a poet with an ear for beautiful prose and gripping descriptions. She gives a crash course on description in relation to POV, setting, plot and pacing, metaphors and other figurative language, and characters. My prose has never been poetic, but I feel like I finally grasp what makes prose griping and descriptions memorizing. If you are like me and want to learn more about prose and imagery, this is the perfect book to start your learning journey.
Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain
I don’t remember where I heard the name of this book, but it stuck with me long enough that I finally picked it up and read it. I got to say, if an aspiring author should only read one book on the writing craft, I’d recommend this one. Even though it was published in the 1960s, it’s not outdated in the slightest. Every paragraph seems to cover a topic that authors nowadays spend a book explaining. I almost wonder if the techniques of today’s authors all stemmed from his teachings, whether unconsciously or consciously.
Swain covers all the basics of writing in his book. Healthy habits of authors, brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc. He breaks it down to manageable chunks yet doesn’t sacrifice deep concepts for brevity. He simply understands the process so well he can explain it all in one book. If you are a beginner writer, I’d definitely recommend Swain’s book as one of the first you should read. If you’re an experienced author, you should still put it on your list to read. I’ve spent years deep-diving into the writing craft, and I still tabbed several pages for tidbits I want to work into my writing. Trust me, this book is not a waste of your money.
Fight Write by Carla Hoch
Now this is a book not everyone will want to read, but I recommend it for anyone writing for adults or even young adults. I recently had the opportunity to hear Carla speak at an event where she did demonstrations for fighting scenarios. It was so good that I bought her book, and I am not disappointed. The layout is easy to follow and understand for those who want to write authentic fight scenes but have no experience.
Now, I’m recommending it for all writers because she doesn’t just talk about fights in this book. If you are a murder mystery writer, there are sections on poisons, weapon types (including weapons of opportunity), and wounds that you can work into your crime scenes. If you are writing a romance, there are sections on street fights so that scene where the love interest fights for his woman is more authentic. There’s also a section on threats so writers can know how people genuinely respond to danger. There’s even a section on psychological warfare. Trust me, if you are writing any type of adult or young adult book, you’ll find something in Fight Write to make the book more realistic.
The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
This last book I am only recommending to experienced writers. If you have been writing for years, have many stories under your belt, and other experienced writers are telling you that you have honed your craft pretty well—then you need this book.
Donald is a deep thinker. He doesn’t tell you the how; he tells you the why. He expects you to be good enough in your craft to know how to put what he says into practice. Donald digs deep in this book about your characters’ emotions, but he doesn’t stop there. He examines the reader’s and yours as the writer too. I read this book twice in one week because I was so inspired by it. There are paragraphs that I’ve read over and over because I know there is more there I haven’t grasped yet. If you want to unlock how to make emotion leap off your pages and really impact the readers, this is your book. My favorite part is that he puts exercises for you at the end of each section so you can practice what he teaches.
Final Thoughts
I hope some or all of these books have piqued your interest. If you aren’t reading a book on the writing craft right now, I encourage you to pick up one of these to read. You must keep learning to improve. This is just as true for experienced writers as it is for new writers. I heard a bestselling author say he thinks writing gets harder the longer he does it. That should be true for all of us. Once we learn the basics, we need to keep learning and adding tools to our belt. There will be more to juggle, but it should also produce a better story. So keep learning and practice what you learn!
Thanks for reading!
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