7 Books Every Writer Should Own
When you start writing, your need for books doesn’t go away. It gets worse. Now it’s not just the books that made you want to write or the stories that made you fall in love with reading. There’s a whole new world out there, full of writing help books. Full of prompt books and plot help and reference books as far as the eye can see. Before you know it, you’re tossing wads of cash at the bookstore cashiers as you dance away with the newest additions to your personal library, cackling as though you just got away with robbing a bank.
Unfortunately, you did rob a bank, your bank. (Or at least your bank account.) Books aren’t cheap, so you need to be selective about the books you buy, at least until you sell your book for millions of dollars. (We can dream, right?) Below is a list of some of the books I found particularly helpful with my own writing projects. Clicking the title will take you to an amazon page where you can buy it. I get a percentage of the books sold through these links, so if you do buy them, please use the links. (I need to fund my own book addiction after all!)
- Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb - An author and an agent teamed up to create what is the most helpful writing book I’ve ever read. The first half of the book helps you with your writing, taking you from idea to finished manuscript. The second half takes you through the publishing process - and gives you a new appreciation for what an agent does. If you buy only one book from this list, make it this one.
- Book in a Month: The Fool-Proof System for Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Victoria Lynn Schmidt - NaNoWriMo participants will love this one. It helps you get into the mindset required to write a novel in thirty days, then helps you do it. The worksheets are particularly helpful, and I love the weekly mantras. (Plus there are stickers in the back. Who doesn’t love stickers?)
- The Kick-Ass Writer: 1001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, and Earn Your Audience by Chuck Wendig - If you’re looking for writing advice delivered in a no-nonsense, in-your-face kind of way, this is the book for you. Author of the writing blog Terrible Minds, Wendig is well known for his sometimes crude, often rude but always helpful advice. He tells it like it is - you're not a special snowflake but you can write a kick-ass book.
- Writer’s Guide to Character Traits by Dr. Linda Edelstein - The ultimate reference for in-depth character development. If you’ve wondered about the psychology behind criminals or the effect that certain events have on personality, you need this book. I really like the section “Traits of people in 42 careers.”
- What Would Your Character Do? by Eric Maisel, Ph.D. and Ann Maisel - Another book I turn to when developing characters. You drop your character into one of the 30 scenarios and see how they react and what it means for their personality. I use this book when a character is hard to pin and it helps me get a better grasp on things. (The number of times I’ve had to use this book shows what little control I have over my own creations.)
- Careers for Your Characters: A Writer’s Guide to 101 Professions from Architect to Zookeeper by Raymond Obstfeld and Franz Neumann - The perfect resource when you’re writing about an occupation you’re not familiar with. I particularly like that it lists how the job is different from public perception.
- The 2014 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market - The only agent and publisher listing I use, it also lists fiction publications and contests. If you’re looking to sell your work, this is the book you need. It also includes a collection of articles at the beginning that cover different aspects of the writing life. There are different editions of the Writer’s Market to cover different writing needs: the standard Writer’s Market is great for novelists and freelance writer’s alike, and there are the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market, the Poet’s Market, and the 2014 Guide to Literary Agents
There are more books I recommend, but these are my top 7. This also leads to our first Question of the Week: What is your favorite writing help book? This can be a prompt book, a reference book, any book that helps you write.
That’s it for this week. Next Sunday’s post will be a Great Big List of Synonyms for Said, so make sure to come back for that. Have an amazing week and keep writing.
