Summer Break
As I’m about to throw myself properly into writing Novel 3, this is advance warning - during July and August, I’m going to be taking a break from writing here.
I have a post scheduled for next Tuesday, but after that I will be posting mostly interesting links.
If anyone would like to contribute a Guest Post for that time - if you have a writing topic you’d like to write about, a favourite book to share - one of someone else’s or one of your own, do let me know.
Some books about writing that I recommend
Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing
I first read this in 2009 when I was on the Open University Creative Writing course. I found it very useful, although I also felt it was a bit too much “How to be Stephen King”
Not that it’s a bad thing - clearly he’s an excellent storyteller. I am just more inclined to be wishy washy and think we all need to find a way of writing that suits us an individuals.
This book I really love, and I dip back into it when I need inspiration. Anne Lamott is very compassionate and understands how difficult many of us find it to let ourselves write - even when it’s what we want to do more than anything.
She’s also very clear that the time is never right, so we need to start anyway.
She’s very strong on writing a crappy first draft - once you have that down on the page, you get on with the task of editing it.
I recently attended an online seminar with her and it was brilliant - it reminded me what I should be doing!
The Art of Time in Fiction, by Joan Silber
This little book is absolutely perfect for those of us who struggle with issues around time and timelines in our stories. Very probably, that’s all of us.
I saw it recommended by Margaret Atwood, and I have to say it was likely more useful in writing my memoir - but that’s probably more to do with the kind of psychological thrillers I’ve written so far, which are mostly chronological, although driven by emotional backstory.
Samuel Delaney - About Writing
I read this one in the Open University years too. I confess a whole lot of it went way over my head - I may need to read it again.
That said, there were a few pages where he showed how to write a scene, and it was the clearest piece of writing about writing I’ve ever read.
Worth it just for those few pages!
Tor’s List
Several of these also appear in Tor’s List of Books about The Craft of Writing
There are also books which are new to me, and which I plan to check out later - Meander, Spiral. Explode really appeals to me as I do have a bit of a thing about structure, and it sounds like an intriguing and creative approach.
Oh, and from the Tor list I also recommend This Year You Write Your Novel from Walter Mosley. It’s a very good, but basic, introduction to everything you need to know to write a novel - and that simplicity can be very useful for beginners. My fondness for it is partly rooted in the fact that it was the writing book I was reading the year I did, finally, write my first novel.
Please do share your favourite writing books in the comments!
Ann
If you would like some editorial help with your novel draft. please do get in touch and we can have a chat. Check out my Facebook Page, at The Accomplice and message me there for more details, or get in touch through my substack email.
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LINKS
One of the best blogs about writing I’ve found - Emma Darwin’s This Itch of Writing
There are various TED talks about writing, but this is one of my favourites