Whether you are an aspiring writer or an experienced professional, these books on writing will support you at every stage of the process.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
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 trade every writer must have. Stephen King’s advice is grounded in the vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999 – and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
Bird by Bird: Instructions for Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilised by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sold, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.
Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
Award-winning author James Scott Bell offers clear, concise information that will help you create a believable and memorable plot, including techniques for crafting strong beginnings, middles, and ends. Tips and tools for correcting common plot problems. Filled with plot examples from popular novels, comprehensive checklists, and practical hands-on guidance. Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure gives you the skills you need to approach plot and structure like an experienced pro.
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
In this collection of short essays, Annie Dillard, the author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and An American Childhood illuminates the dedication, absurdity, and daring that characterise the existence of a writer. A moving account of Dillard’s own experience, The Writing Life offers deep insight into one of the most mysterious professions.
The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker
In this funny, thoughtful book about the modern art of writing, Steven Pinker shows us why we all need a sense of style. More than ever before, the currency of our social and cultural lives is the written word, from Twitter and texting to blogs, e-readers and old-fashioned books. But most style guides fail to prepare people for the challenges of writing in the 21st century, portraying it as a minefield of grievous errors rather than a form of pleasurable mastery. They fail to deal with an inescapable fact about language: it changes over time, adapted by millions of writers and speakers to their needs. Confusing changes in the world with moral decline, every generation believes the kids today are degrading society and taking language with it. A guide for the new millennium, writes Steven Pinker, has to be different.
Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark
Ten years ago, Roy Peter Clark, America’s most influential writing teacher, whittled down almost thirty years of experience in journalism, writing, and teaching into a series of fifty short essays on different aspects of writing. In the past decade, Writing Tools has become a classic guidebook for novices and experts alike and remains one of the best-loved books on writing available. Organised into four sections, “Nuts and Bolts,” “Special Effects,” “Blueprints for Stories,” and “Useful Habits,” Writing Tools is infused with more than 200 examples from journalism and literature. This new edition includes five brand new, never-before-shared tools.
Several Short Sentences about Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg
An indispensable and distinctive book that will help anyone who wants to write, write better, or have a clearer understanding of what it means for them to be writing, from widely admired writer and teacher Verlyn Klinkenborg. Klinkenborg believes that most of our received wisdom about how writing works is not only wrong but an obstacle to our ability to write. In Several Short Sentences About Writing, he sets out to help us unlearn that “wisdom” about genius, about creativity, about writer’s block, topic sentences, and outline. Writing is just as much about thinking, noticing, and learning what it means to be involved in the act of writing. There is no gospel, no orthodoxy, no dogma in this book. Instead, it is a gathering of starting points in a journey toward lively, lucid, satisfying self-expression.
Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide
Some of the nation’s leading journalists and writers offer practical advice, personal anecdotes, and helpful writing techniques and suggestions in a volume that includes essays by Tom Wolfe on the emotional core of the story, Gay Talese on writing about private lives, and other contributions by Malcolm Gladwell, Nora Ephron, Alma Guillermoprieto, and others.
Writing Your Novel From Start To Finish by Joseph Bates
Starting a novel is exciting, but finishing it is the real challenge. The journey from beginning to end is rife with forks in the road and dead ends that lead many writers off course. With Writing Your Novel from Start to Finish: A Guidebook for the Journey, you’ll navigate the intricacies of crafting a complex work of fiction and complete the journey with confidence and precision. No matter your level of experience or where you are in your project, Writing Your Novel from Start to Finish provides the instruction, inspiration, and guidance you need to complete your journey successfully.
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