Here are 100 books that The Anatomy of Genres fans have personally recommended if you like
The Anatomy of Genres.
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It started with Goosebumps. Then came Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stephen King. King led me to Kubrick, DePalma, Reiner, and Cronenberg, where my passion for film and screenwriting was sparked. This passion eventually led me to write my book. On that path, these 5 books helped me understand storytelling better: how it helps us understand the machinations of the world; makes sure our messages reach our audience; how language can tell its own story; how to find the spirit within the structure; and how storytelling can change your life. My world is richer thanks to these books. My ideas of what is possible are broader. Hopefully, they’ll do the same for you.
I read this book years ago, and it has become such a part of my DNA that I barely remember not knowing the ideas it introduces. A lot of screenwriting books focus on structure and premise, trying to decide what kind of event should happen by which page. This book gave me a freer, more spiritual way to think about and structure stories.
Vogler’s book—heavily influenced by Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces—showed me how to think of stories as mythical journeys, almost Jungian in their symbolism. How even the most modern or intimate story can be seen as a warrior’s journey into an unknown land; How stories can benefit from being a few degrees closer to dreams or the unconscious.
I've been an avid fan of the book ever since, and can barely think of storytelling separately from the ideas in it.
Originally an influential memo Vogler wrote for Walt Disney Animation executives regarding The Lion King, The Writer’s Journey details a twelve-stage, myth-inspired method that has galvanized Hollywood’s treatment of cinematic storytelling. A format that once seldom deviated beyond a traditional three-act blueprint, Vogler’s comprehensive theory of story structure and character development has met with universal acclaim, and is detailed herein using examples from myths, fairy tales, and classic movies. This book has changed the face of screenwriting worldwide over the last 25 years, and continues to do so.
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I discovered my love for story early, growing up on TV and movies. I spent a good chunk of my teen years sitting in the dark watching everything that came out, especially foreign films. It’s safe to say that I learned the basics of storytelling by watching all the greats, from Hitchcock to David Lean to Kubrick. It’s no wonder I became a screenwriter rather than a novelist. But when I realized that story is story, regardless of the story form (book, movie, or TV commercial) a whole other world opened to me and my talent for story blossomed. Over the years, I grew this talent and passion and launched a career in Hollywood.
For years everyone thought the only two options for writing were to pants or plot, i.e., wing it or outline. Turns out there is another method and Lisa Cron lays that out in her book.
I found this to be a truly valuable resource based on science and creative process. Cron’s book takes you from idea to actual writing using an innovative and original take on the conventional writing process.
Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story.
It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite.
The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron…
I discovered my love for story early, growing up on TV and movies. I spent a good chunk of my teen years sitting in the dark watching everything that came out, especially foreign films. It’s safe to say that I learned the basics of storytelling by watching all the greats, from Hitchcock to David Lean to Kubrick. It’s no wonder I became a screenwriter rather than a novelist. But when I realized that story is story, regardless of the story form (book, movie, or TV commercial) a whole other world opened to me and my talent for story blossomed. Over the years, I grew this talent and passion and launched a career in Hollywood.
Beginning, middle, and an end—what writer doesn’t know about these three concepts? Well, Aristotle is the guy who wrote about these ideas in his book, and thousands of years later we’re still using them and thinking about them.
The foundations of modern literature and theater rest on this book and every writer should be familiar with its ideas and concepts. Story is story, and Aristotle started the ball rolling for everyone who is interested in storytelling.
One of the most powerful, perceptive and influential works of criticism in Western literary history
In his near-contemporary account of classical Greek tragedy, Aristotle examines the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to produce pity and fear in the audience, and asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Taking examples from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the Poetics introduced into literary criticism such central concepts as mimesis ('imitation'), hamartia ('error') and katharsis ('purification'). Aristotle explains how the most effective tragedies rely on complication and resolution, recognition and reversals. The Poetics has…
Stealing technology from parallel Earths was supposed to make Declan rich. Instead, it might destroy everything.
Declan is a self-proclaimed interdimensional interloper, travelling to parallel Earths to retrieve futuristic cutting-edge technology for his employer. It's profitable work, and he doesn't ask questions. But when he befriends an amazing humanoid robot,…
I discovered my love for story early, growing up on TV and movies. I spent a good chunk of my teen years sitting in the dark watching everything that came out, especially foreign films. It’s safe to say that I learned the basics of storytelling by watching all the greats, from Hitchcock to David Lean to Kubrick. It’s no wonder I became a screenwriter rather than a novelist. But when I realized that story is story, regardless of the story form (book, movie, or TV commercial) a whole other world opened to me and my talent for story blossomed. Over the years, I grew this talent and passion and launched a career in Hollywood.
This book is an old standard but one of the best books ever written on how to write. More about the writing process than story, per se, it is still essential for any writer interested in upping their story development game. Don’t be put off by the focus on “young writers” in the title; this is for old and young.
Gardner systematically guides the reader through both theory and practicum, delivering a primer on how to not just write solid fiction but how to think like a writer. I love this book.
This classic guide, from the renowned novelist and professor, has helped transform generations of aspiring writers into masterful writers—and will continue to do so for many years to come.
John Gardner was almost as famous as a teacher of creative writing as he was for his own works. In this practical, instructive handbook, based on the courses and seminars that he gave, he explains, simply and cogently, the principles and techniques of good writing. Gardner’s lessons, exemplified with detailed excerpts from classic works of literature, sweep across a complete range of topics—from the nature of aesthetics to the shape of…
One of the questions that I’m constantly asked by other authors is how do you make characters memorable in a genre that has done it all? My criteria are twofold–the characters need to be flawed and relatable; no one can truly relate to Superman. Secondly, I believe there is strength in a group. When I write with a diverse group of characters with their own personalities, the characters tell the story for me. I find that if I can emphasize and start having fun like I’m part of the group, I become enthralled with the novel. I am passionate about characters and letting them breathe and feel real.
I think some of the strongest and most compelling stories can be told in video game RPGs, and I consistently refer to this one as having some of the best characters. I read this novel after playing the game, and I loved being able to learn more about Loghain.
In this book, he is lorded as a powerful figure, and he affects major parts of the story. I loved exploring his backstory and seeing his character evolve and grow into how he is in the game. I also enjoyed connecting the pieces of his personality to the plot of the novel. The author captured the formula of creating “real,” flawed characters from the game and translated it excellently into prose.
This is the thrilling prequel to "Dragon Age: Origins", the hit role-playing video game from award-winning developer BioWare! After his mother, the beloved Rebel Queen, is betrayed and murdered by her own faithless lords, young Maric becomes the leader of a rebel army attempting to free his nation from the control of a foreign tyrant. His countrymen live in fear; his commanders consider him untested; and his only allies are Loghain, a brash young outlaw who saved his life, and Rowan, the beautiful warrior maiden promised to him since birth. Surrounded by spies and traitors, Maric must find a way…
My family moved from America to rural China when I was four. We never stayed in one place for very long. Ever since, I’ve been searching for home in books and countries around the world. The themes of home, belonging, and identity are important ones to me that I explore in my young adult novels. My love of travel, martial arts, and tech also lend themselves well to writing fast-paced adventure books with epic battles and fight scenes. I hope you enjoy the novels on this list as much as I do!
Warcross hooked me from page one and never let go.
First off, the near future American and Japanese settings were super fun to explore. Secondly, there were hackers, dark web bounty hunters, and virtual reality games—I mean, come on!
This book had all the fun tropes that I love in a series.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu - when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships -…
Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks…
In the 1970s and '80s, I lived in New York, made noise in downtown bands, wrote incomprehensible texts. And obsessed about dinosaurs, ancient civilizations, Weimar, and medieval cults. The past became my drug (as I tapered off actual drugs). I couldn’t cope with the present, so I swallowed the red pill and became a historian. Took refuge in archives, libraries and museums (my safe spaces), and the history of anatomy. Because it was about sex, death, and the Body and seemed obscure and irrelevant. Pure escapism. But escape is impossible. Anatomy seems a fact of nature, what we are. But its past—and present—are tangled up in politics, aesthetics, the market, gender, class, race and desire.
No one reads this book nowadays, but in the 1840s and 50s, readers were captivated: it was the nation’s most popular novel. Published in monthly installments, the style is lurid, hallucinatory, a fever delirium, as befits a hastily improvised serial novel written by Edgar Allen Poe’s bestie.
The plot is impossible to summarize, but try this: “Monks Hall” is a place where Philadelphia’s elite—politicians, ministers, publishers, medical professors, businessmen, judges, and lawyers—go to fraternally seduce and rape virgins, torture and murder their enemies, and revel in their hypocrisy. And the ringleader, or maybe just the concierge, is Devil-Bug, a ghoulish murderer, blackmailer, thief, and bodysnatcher.
The novel consists of a succession of terrible things these terrible men do to good women, orphans, and weak men. One bad thing after another… It’s like Dickens on a bad acid trip. And, of course, anatomy figures. I’ll just cite two memorable scenes. First,…
America's best-selling novel in its time, ""The Quaker City"", published in 1845, is a sensational expose of social corruption, personal debauchery and the sexual exploitation of women in antebellum Philadelphia. This new edition, with an introduction by David S. Reynolds, brings back into print this important work by George Lippard (1822-1854), a journalist, freethinker and labour and social reformer.
I have been fascinated by the richness of fairy tales since I was a child. The fantasy writing offers endless possibilities to nourish my mind’s eye and pearls of wisdom that I can transfer to real life. I remember from childhood that I cried reading the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. This childhood memory never left me. Fantasy writing is interwoven with the realm of nature and beings other than humans that offer a tapestry for the tradition of storytelling and nature writing, which I found a fascinating field to explore. I hope you can find the same in the books on this list.
The introduction of this book struck a chord with me because it describes in such detail the trials and tribulations of the traveler children’s way of life between the historical period of 1914 to 1955.
It was a time of poverty and suffering for the youngest born from families of an outcast minority community, considered the oldest indigenous group of the population in Scotland.
I understood that the oral tradition of storytelling to the traveler children was like a precious inheritance the children would receive from their parents.
The book offers diverse stories, including animal fables, wonder, and horror tales handed down through generations of traveling people.
I also love the cover illustration with the painting “Harvest Moon” by John Maxwell.
Duncan Williamson was a Scottish traveller who went on to become one of Britain's master story-tellers. During his lifetime he was acclaimed 'the greatest English-speaking storyteller', 'the national monument of British storytelling' and, at his death, Scotland's 'greatest contemporary storyteller'. Fireside Tales, his first book, reveals this artistry and mastery in all its glory. This new edition is edited by his wife, Linda Williamson.
Fireside Tales is narrated with an intense commitment to generations of the travelling people, who used animal fables, wonder tales and splendid horror stories to instil in their children moral judgment and a knowledge of right…
I grew up in a family of writers; my parents and three sisters were all successful writers, and I was the odd one out with a passion for teaching. I love to simplify, diagram, and make the complex graspable. And what’s not to like about a career in which people listen to you tell them what to do? I began writing after years of teaching, and my first novel was a mystery—a genre that no one in my family had yet written and which I’d been loving since my first Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie. Now, I combine the two: teaching and writing. Playing to both strengths and passing along what I’ve learned.
This is not a how-to book. It’s a series of essays written by a really smart and funny guy about something at which he excels: writing fiction.
He offers great advice, often with his tongue planted firmly in cheek. His essay on rewriting is titled Washing Garbage. His essay on getting to the finish line is titled Do It Anyway. His great advice: “Give yourself permission to write badly.” I like to have it on my bedside table for leavening those moments when I take myself too seriously.
Characters refusing to talk? Plot plodding along? Where do good ideas come from anyway? In this wonderfully practical volume, two-time Edgar Award-winning novelist Lawrence Block takes an inside look at writing as a craft and as a career.
From studying the market, to mastering self-discipline and "creative procrastination," through coping with rejections, Telling Lies for Fun & Profit is an invaluable sourcebook of information. It is a must read for anyone serious about writing or understanding how the process works.
The Bridge provides a compassionate and well researched window into the worlds of linear and circular thinking. A core pattern to the inner workings of these two thinking styles is revealed, and most importantly, insight into how to cross the distance between them. Some fascinating features emerged such as, circular…
Botswana is not one of the sexy African countries; I sometimes joke in response to people who tell me, a writer from Botswana, that they have never before heard of any writers or literature from Botswana. By that, I mean that my small, landlocked country hardly ever makes international news and is often overshadowed by bigger, more populous countries on the continent. However, there has been a plethora of writing from Botswana published mostly within the African continent but also increasingly in the West. I think this list of books is a great introduction to anyone who is curious to know the country and its people.
I love this humorous coming-of-age story narrated by a naïve yet academically smart girl who is juggling the various conflicting truths of her life—what she is taught in school, what she learns at home, what she learns from her friends and her siblings, what she is told about how life is and what she observes for herself. How is a person to reconcile all these truths?
By becoming the Queen of England, which is what Monei, the narrator, says she wants to become when she grows up since the Queen is the only woman, as far as Monei can tell, who can make decisions. This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Dow brilliantly captures the perplexed voice of a growing girl and the idiom of Botswana life around Independence.
Unity Dow's third novel, Juggling Truths portrays the childhood of Monei Ntuka in the Botswanan village of Mochudi in Africa. Go to the past with me, so you can take the past to the future, asks her Nkoko. Nei takes us on an extraordinary journey through the many truths that shape her life; the truths of the colonisers and their churches and of her own people. We travel with her through dreams and share the wisdom of her grandmother as she lets the never-ending stories weave their own reality in face of a universe of conflicting truths. Unity Dow recreates…
