A major part of being a good writer is reading. If you’re a new writer and you haven’t spent the majority of your life devouring books, you are behind the ball. You should be constantly reading other fiction books. Specifically, but not exclusively, books in your genre. I heard it said once that you need to read at least a hundred books in your genre before you might be able to write a good one. If you have been reading a ton, good for you! Try adding even more reading into your time. The more you read, the more you absorb, and the better writer you can become.
That being said, fiction books aren’t the only ones you should be reading. When I became serious about my writing, I started buying instructional writing books by the stacks. Some were lacking, but there are 5 books that changed my writing for the better. I highly recommend you get your hands on these books and read them…multiple times.
1. The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
This book is written by an agent to help writers stay out of the rejection pile. Lukeman uses his career experience to list all the horrible mistakes writers make that immediately get them rejected. From grammar to tone, he addresses it all.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to read this book. The things he listed were found all over my writing, and he never even read my stuff! When you read this book (because it isn’t optional), do the exercises at the end of each chapter. He says not to move on to the next chapter until you’ve done them, and I took that to heart. I’m so glad I did. It was a lot of work, but it improved my writing so much and gave me a critical eye for my writing. Honestly, if I wasn’t a poor aspiring author, I’d buy this book by the truck load and hand it out to every writer I meet.
2. Self-Editing For Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
Two editors wrote this book to help writers fix some problems on their own before the editor gets a hold of the book. It covers dialogue, beats, proportions, voice, and more. This, like Lukeman’s book above, helps the writer sound more profesional and get the attention of agents and editors.
This book is great for once you have completed a book and want to clean it up. The detailed editing it teaches is not compatible with the writing side of our job. When you write, just let it flow. When you’re done, put on your editor hat and pull out this book. If you’re like me, your new editing skills will shred your inner writer’s work, but, in the end, both your inner writer and editor will be pleased with the better book.
3. Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
In this book, Card teaches the reader how to come up with and fully develop characters. He goes into how to connect with the reader through your characters, and he uses many well-explained examples. POV (point of view) narration is also covered, and it is the best explanation I have read on the topic.
Card is one of the few writers who can actually teach the craft of writing. Most writers can only do it, but I haven’t read a book on writing by Card that wasn’t enlightening. Character development always seemed to come easy to me, but still Card pointed out holes in my writing that I learned to address with his tactics.
4. Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story by James Scott Bell
Bell is an author who lists out 14 plot points for a compelling story. It is by far the easiest explanation of story structure I have read. He spends time on describing what each point is and gives multiple examples for each one. He is also mindful of how writers approach their craft differently, and he gives helpful hints for pantsers and plotters.
The book is small which made it easy for me to finish in a world where time is precious. I will say, you can skip Part I of the book if you want it to be even shorter. Bell does give some good advice in it, but it is surrounded by his rantings on why story structure is important. If you need that lesson, read it. Otherwise, just assume he loves structure. This is one of my favorite books because it helped me really grasp for the first time what makes a good story plot.
5. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
This book is written by an author who took Blake Snyder’s phenomenal book Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, and she applied his methodology of story structure to writing books. She identifies and explains Snyder’s unique story genres, and then she applies his 15 beat (plot point) story structure to each genre. Brody’s book has fantastic examples that are well laid out for easy understanding. She also gives you core components that each genre should include in order to fulfill the readers’ expectations.
I originally picked up Snyder’s book on screenwriting, not because I want to write movies but because even authors were raving about his genius. I did get a lot of tips from his book, but it wasn’t geared toward authors. I had to take his screenwriting exercises and turn them into book ones. It was doable, but, if I could have started with Brody’s book for novelists, it would have come easier. Plus, she gives some great advice for authors that Snyder wasn’t qualified to give. While it’s ultimately Snyder’s wonderful formula for story structure, I’m grateful Brody took the time to interpret it for us bookworms.
Final Thoughts
That’s the list and your homework. If you don’t have a copy of at least one of them in a week, I’ll be very disappointed. Seriously, do yourself this favor. It would have saved me a lot of editing time if I had read these first.
Thanks for reading!
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