Here are 100 books that Writing for Story fans have personally recommended if you like
Writing for Story.
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I have been a reader and writer for most of my life. From the moment I could spell a handful of words, my mum encouraged me to write stories. With a few prompt terms, I’d be off. As a writer, I spend countless hours editing and refining my work because it makes me better and because I love it. My favourite part of a book is often a single, beautifully structured sentence. This passion has led me to wonder what other people have to say about writing and language. The more I hear about the practice of writing, the more I fall in love with it.
What I love most about Bird by Bird is the way that Anne Lamott characterises writing as a gift, a giving over to someone else in a manner akin only to being a parent.
While I am not a parent, I am inspired by this idea that the written word can make a person braver and better by virtue of opening them up to the world and people in new ways. Despite the hurdles and difficulties of the practice, which Lamott deftly outlines, she ultimately decides that a writer is pursuing an act of generosity and openness. I really love this idea.
There is a real lack of pretentiousness to Lamott’s writing, which allows you to take these nuggets and accept what otherwise might be sentimental claims that “writing is life” as simple truths.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times).
“Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” —The New York Times Book Review
For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
I’m an oral historian as well as a writer, so I’ve always been fascinated by how people speak and how they interact with each other through dialogue. I soon realized some of the ways spoken language differs from written language and began exploring those differences. When I started writing, the dialogue came fairly easily, but this was deceptive, as I wasn’t being rigorous enough–I wasn’t making the dialogue really work for the script. So, I’m always trying to get better at that. I’ve had over 60 scripts performed on stage, radio, and screen, but I still gobble up books about speech and dialogue–there is always more to be learned.
I loved the voice of this book–it’s the voice of Stephen King, clever, yes, and a brilliant novelist, of course, but also absolutely down-to-earth. King is a perfectionist, continually going back through his writing to hone it–a useful reminder to all of us not to be satisfied with a first or second draft.
The book shows how, in the best writing, both dialogue and plot arise out of character. And I particularly valued his emphasis on cutting, cutting, cutting–dialogue and everything else. He’s made me do that more than ever!
Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME
Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.
“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the…
As a published author with an MFA in Writing, I know how hard writing can be in terms of how to find a muse, employ an elusive craft, and deal with the soul-shaking consequences of digging deep. But as a survivor of life, including multiple moves, broken relationships, alcoholism, illness, and debilitating grief, I've also experienced the transformative power of writing. I took that belief into the community, and developed writing workshops for cancer survivors, women facing domestic violence, and many other people wrestling with trauma and illness, often recommending some of these books in my workshops. And along the way, I’ve witnessed time and again what the written word can do.
Writers often struggle to think of themselves as “writers” because the world has us believing that we can only carry that title if we aresuccessfully published, and of course words such as “success” and even “published” can be fraught with subjective controversy. One of the lessons I learned from Brenda Ueland, among other great thinkers, is that we need to focus first on our own authenticity and only much, much later dare we think about what the world might have to say. This allowed me to let go and move on and trust myself on my writing path. It wasn’t easy, but as emphasized in If You Want to Write, we will be all right if we believe in our inner richness.
Brenda Ueland was a journalist, editor, freelance writer, and teacher of writing. In If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit she shares her philosophies on writing and life in general. Ueland firmly believed that anyone can write, that everyone is talented, original, and has something important to say. In this book she explains how find that spark that will make you a great writer. Carl Sandburg called this book the best book ever written about how to write. Join the millions of others who've found inspiration and unlocked their own talent.
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is real—but hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to act…
From my days as editor of The Barret Banner in sixth grade, I wanted to find out about people and tell their stories. Through decades as a newspaper reporter and editor, I discovered again and again how much stories matter—and how fascinating in-depth research and interviews are. Everyone has a story, and capturing the voices of real people is important. Getting to know ordinary families whose lives were turned inside-out by an adoption scandal has been a great honor. Listen to someone’s story. You may be surprised what you learn.
Oh, boy! I came upon this book while seeking the answer to a basic style question, and, wow, am I glad I did. Dreyer, copy chief of Random House, knows his stuff and can help you learn yours, too, from word usage to punctuation. The book’s way more than that, though. You’ll feel like you’ve taken a lively college class in writing and wish you could have coffee with the professor. I’ve bought copies for several word-nerd friends — it’s humorous, too.
'An utterly delightful book to read, Dreyer's English will stand among the classics on how to use the English language properly.' ELIZABETH STROUT
'A complete joy. For those who care about words - and for those who don't - Dreyer's English is the book we have all been waiting for. Wise, funny, no-nonsense, stylish and brilliantly practical.' RACHEL JOYCE _____________ An indispensable, New York Times-bestselling guide to the craft of writing from Random House's long-time copy chief and one of Twitter's leading language gurus.
We all write, all the time: books, blogs, tweets, emails, emails, emails - and we all…
I love language and its power to inform, inspire, and influence. As I wrote Seven Cs: The Elements of Effective Writing,I researched what others have said about writing well and honed it down to these resources, which I quote. During my decades as a journalist and marketer, I developed and edited scores of publications, books, and websites. I also co-wrote two travel guides—100 Secrets of the Smokiesand 100 Secrets of the Carolina Coast.I’ve written for such publications as National Geographic Travelerand AARP: The Magazine. A father of three women, I live in Springfield, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, with my wife, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter.
Just as King is a master of fiction, the late, great John McPhee is a nonfiction master. He gained fame as staff writer forThe New Yorker, then authored dozens of books on such diverse subjects as fishing, geology, and transportation. (Trust me: His fascinating novel-like prose is more engaging, enlightening, and enrapturing than those topics imply.) In 1999, he finally won a well-deserved General Nonfiction Pulitzer on his fourth try. In this treatise on writing well, McPhee offers insight into his craft, including diagrams of story structure he shared with journalism students at Princeton. The book appeals to my logical side; in my book I say I see writing as like building with Legos, putting together one colorful block at a time to eventually form a 7,541-piece Millennium Falcon.
Draft No. 4 is a master class on the writer's craft. In a series of playful, expertly wrought essays, John McPhee shares insights he has gathered over his career and has refined while teaching at Princeton University, where he has nurtured some of the most esteemed writers of recent decades. McPhee offers definitive guidance in the decisions regarding arrangement, diction, and tone that shape non fiction pieces, and he presents extracts from his work, subjecting them to wry scrutiny. In one essay, he considers the delicate art of getting sources to tell you what they might not otherwise reveal. In…
My passion is helping women write the stories they need to write. I’ve spent the last twenty-some years helping women write, polish, and publish the hard, gritty, beautiful, and awe-inspiring in their lives. I teach Motherhood & Words and lead retreats and women’s writing circles. I am also a writing coach and developmental editor. I’m the author of Ready for Air: A Journey Through Premature Motherhood and co-author of Silent Running, a memoir. I’m currently working on a rom-com.
It’s clear that in this book, we are in the hands of master writing teachers. Miller and Paola’s guide will help any writer, but particularly a beginning writer, find their way into a fruitful writing practice. The book contains essays on craft, inspiring examples, and writing prompts that are sure to launch readers into their own stories.
Though this book is specifically geared toward nonfiction writers, a writer of any genre will find useful and encouraging nuggets of wisdom here.
Demonstrating the range of creative nonfiction from memoir to travel writing to the lyric essay, Tell It Slant combines practical guidance with an illustrative anthology of 34 essays from Margaret Atwood, David Sedaris, E.B. White, Virginia Woolf, and others. The result is a stimulating collection of writing and activities that makes it easy and enjoyable for students to begin to write and to try new modes of writing.
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New York’s wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, it’s time to dig into the details and see…
I’ve been working with words for over 25 years, as a writer and editor in publishing houses, design studios, and now as a freelance. I help everyone from big brands and small businesses through to academics and consultants get their ideas out of their heads and on to the page. I was an original co-founder of ProCopywriters, the UK alliance for commercial writers. I’ve written and self-published four books, the most recent of which is How to Write Clearly. The books I’ve chosen all helped me to write as clearly as I can—not least when writing about writing itself. I hope they help you too!
I bought this when I saw it recommended online by a famous writer—and I’m very glad I did.
The title is apposite, since this is less of an all-encompassing writing guide, more of a toolbox of 55 practical ideas to help you write better. Some are about the basics, while others are ways to give your text a compelling structure or a touch of extra polish. Away from the actual hands-on craft, Clark also recommends 11 useful habits to help you become a better writer.
Buy it, keep it on your shelf, and dip in whenever you need a new direction or a dose of inspiration.
Tools Not Rules' says Roy Peter Clark, vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, the esteemed school for journalists and teachers of journalists. Clark believes that everyone can write well with the help of a handful of useful tools that he has developed over decades of writing and teaching. If you google 'Roy Peter Clark, Writing Tools', you'll get an astonishing 1.25 million hits. That's because journalists everywhere rely on his tips to help them write well every day - in fact he fields emails from around the world from grateful writers.
I’m a journalist and critic who fell in love with the ancient art of rhetoric through Shakespeare, Chaucer… and Barack Obama. It was when I watched Obama’s consciously and artfully classical oratory as he campaigned for the 2008 election that my undergraduate interest in tricolons, epistrophe, aposiopesis and all that jazz surged back to the front of my mind. I went on to write a 2011 book arguing that not only is this neglected area of study fascinating, but it is the most important tool imaginable to understand politics, language, and human nature itself. Where there is language, there is rhetoric.
This 1644 book is one of the most charmingly mad documents in the history of rhetoric.
Bulwer thought (rightly) that rhetoric wasn’t just about words: body-language matters, too. So he attempted to catalogue the meaning of hand gestures, which he believed were a universal language, and to explain how best they might be used in oratory.
You discover, if you read Bulwer, that we’ve been blowing kisses and flipping the bird since the seventeenth century; and that clapping your hands as you talk is “a gesture too plebeian and theatrically light for the hands of any prudent rhetorician”. Better yet, the book Is abundantly illustrated with woodcuts.
It’s a tragedy that Bulwer died before producing the planned sequel, Cephalelogia…Cephalenomia, on gestures of the head.
Bulwer’s Chirologia… Chironomia is an extremely rare work. Only thirty-one copies have been located, and they are of dubious legibility of the printed text.
This first modern edition—the first in three centuries—is based on the first printing as sold by Richard Whitaker in 1644. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized, but changes in punctuation and syntax have been conservative. Translations for Greek and Latin passages have been provided, either in the text or notes. And copious notes have been furnished to clarify and dilate all textual obscurities and alterations.
The editors aims, therefore, have been, first, to provide a clear…
As a person who reads solely for pleasure regardless of research, I make it a mission while writing to read books I actually enjoy on topics I wanna learn more about. I chose the books on this list because I’m also a person who reads multiple books at once in various genres, it keeps me honest; aware of holes and discrepancies in my own work and pushes me towards some semblance of completion. All the writers on this list do multiple things at once and I admire their skill and risk in coupling creativity with clarity.
Sometimes I need a book that will inspire me not to continue writing, but to start; kinda like when I binge watch YouTube book talks—that’s the feeling this book brings over me—inspired. It’s a book that helps me write anything because I’m a person who struggles with—yet craves the ability to— strip a piece as bare as possible. Strip a story of its fluff and dissect its roots. I need to know what to save for later, and Gornick expressing the difference between situation and story is something I always go back to in order to help declutter my work.
A guide to the art of personal writing, by the author of Fierce Attachments and The End of the Novel of Love
All narrative writing must pull from the raw material of life a tale that will shape experience, transform event, deliver a bit of wisdom. In a story or a novel the "I" who tells this tale can be, and often is, an unreliable narrator but in nonfiction the reader must always be persuaded that the narrator is speaking truth.
How does one pull from one's own boring, agitated self the truth-speaker who will tell the story a personal…
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 taught writing and copywriting at Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio for thirty-seven years (retiring as an ancient-but-somehow-still-living fossil in 2014). I taught all our majors, but most of my copywriting students were advertising and design majors. During those decades I wrote nonfiction for newspapers and magazines and copy as a freelancer for ad agencies and design studios. My copywriting book emerged from my experiences in and out of the classroom. I hope I’ve given good advice on advertising: how to think about it and how to write it. But you’ll be the judge.
We’re writers before we’re anything else, and over the years I’ve learned from many how-to-write books. I’ll give two recommendations here: One: William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. Justifiably a classic. I’ve gone back to it often and assigned it in writing classes. If you haven’t yet read it, you must. Two: anything by Gary Provost, someone you’ve probably never heard of, but whose books on writing, all of them, give pungent, smart advice on how to write anything better. Brevity, euphony, clarity, surprise, and lots of other elements combine to create prose worth reading. Provost shows us how.
The classic text on writing well, now refreshed and updated—an essential text for writers of all ages.
This is the one guide that anyone who writes—whether student, businessperson, or professional writer—should keep on his or her desk. Filled with professional tips and a wealth of instructive examples, 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing can help solve any writing problem.
In this compact, easy-to-use volume you'll find the eternal building blocks of good writing—from grammar and punctuation to topic sentences—as well as advice on challenges such as writer's block and creating a strong title. It is a must-have resource—perfect for reading…
