Books on Writing (1/3)

We've found these writing resources to be helpful and inspiring. Do you have a tricky grammar question? Do you like to read about the trials and tribulations of other writers (so that your own attic full of rejection slips don't seem so painful)? Do you need a writing coach/cheerleader to rev you up and send you back to the page newly energized, dedicated, and creative? Then check out some of these resources. Give them as a gift to yourself or to a writer friend. These are books you will go back to again and again. How to Grow a Novel: The Most Common Mistakes Writers Make and How to Overcome Them, Sol Stein. Veteran writer and editor Sol Stein shows you how to examine your writing for effect. If you learn one thing from this book, it is how to focus on the reader - the person buying your book, the agent, or the editor. Although the title is weak and some chapters are loosely written, this book does an excellent job of bringing writers out of their tunnel vision and helping them to see their writing as others do. This guide will make you look at your novel-in-progress with new eyes. It discusses the value of outlining scenes and being aware of what each scene is doing to the reader's emotions (best-selling books don't just express emotion; they create it). It offers tips for drawing the reader in with good beginnings, for giving your characters life, for developing good dialogue, and for what to do when you get stuck. It also takes you behind the scenes of the publishing business. (Hasn't every writer wondered how editors and agents think?) Stein's book is chocked full of writing solutions. Make sure you find a place for it in your library The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. This is the granddaddy of writing books. Originally written in 1959, this slim volume began as a self-published work by Cornell English professor William Strunk. It was known as "the little book" on campus. After Strunk died, one of his students, New Yorker essayist E.B. White, was commissioned to revise -- and revive -- the book. This resource has "rich deposits of gold" for the writer willing to mine them. Its only drawback is that it lacks an index for easy-to-find references, but White's writing style is so enjoyable, you won't mind getting "lost" a few times. If You Want to Write, Brenda Ueland. This 1938 classic is powerful inspirational stuff. Spunky Ueland (she set an international swimming record for over 80-year-olds and was knighted by the king of Norway) maintains "everybody is talented, original and has something to say" -- so if you want to write, then do it. The creative impulse beats inside us like the hammer of a heart, and this book helps you follow that beat. Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg. This could be subtitled "Zen and the Writing Chick." Writing teacher Goldberg mixes high-energy sparks of writing wisdom with blissful moments of personal revelation. These short essays are packed with inspiration and writing exercises. If you have ever stared at a blank page with fear, this is a must read. Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life, Natalie Goldberg. Written in 1990, this is the sequel to Writing Down the Bones (1986). Writing guru Goldberg offers more exercises to jumpstart your writing and creativity. The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron. Journalist, screenwriter, and teacher Cameron started a writing tidal wave with writers and non-writers alike with this 1992 book/12-week program. Through writing daily "morning pages" and weekly exercises, you learn how to tap your creative spirit (or shake it awake from a Rip Van Winkle slumber). This book has inspired discussion groups, Web sites, and workshops -- because it works.