Big Magic<\/em> by Elizabeth Gilbert<\/h3>\nElizabeth Gilbert also wrote Eat Pray Love. <\/em>If you haven\u2019t already watched Elizabeth on Ted Talks<\/em> you\u2019re missing out. Big Magic<\/em> is all about creativity and how ideas work. Courage, permission, persistence and trust. This book will become your personal life coach and inspire you to write.<\/p>\nWriting Down the Bones<\/em> by Natalie Goldberg<\/h3>\nThis book introduced me to writing as practice, a meditative Zen Buddhist exercise to be done every day. Natalie says, \u2018write a little every day, fill a notebook each month\u2019. It\u2019s about writing as stream of consciousness, uninhibited, subtracting the rules, letting go. This concept is perfect as you approach Nanowrimo<\/strong>. Personal reflection rather than action packed, but enjoyable to read, and inspiration at whatever stage in your writing journey.<\/p>\nA Novel in a Year<\/em> by Louise Doughty<\/h3>\nYou may know Louise Doughty – she wrote Apple Tree Yard<\/em>, a highly successful BBC one series. I heard about Louise\u2019s idea to write a novel in a year when I stumbled across her weekly column in the Daily Telegraph<\/em>. I was working full time and it was helpful to divide the process of writing a novel into weekly tasks. Each week provides a short inspirational article, followed by an activity or practical exercise. By week 18 you\u2019re really thinking about your plot, developing characters and managing your writing time. Spoiler alert – you won\u2019t finish your novel by the end of the year, but I like the idea of breaking things down into manageable bite-sized chunks.<\/p>\nWannabe a Writer<\/em>? by Jane Wenham-Jones<\/h3>\nThis is a very funny, readable and chatty book full of practical tips and advice:<\/p>\n
\n- How to write when there\u2019s no time<\/li>\n
- Planning on a wallpaper roll<\/li>\n
- The tedious bits \u2013 punctuation and grammar<\/li>\n
- Writing as revenge<\/li>\n
- Avoiding writers bottom<\/li>\n
- What to wear at your launch party<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Hooked <\/em>by Les Edgerton<\/h3>\nMy son bought me this. It explains how to write fiction that grabs the reader from page one. I love the concept, but the book is about so much more than just openings, taking you through inciting incidents, set up, foreshadowing, backstory, introducing characters, transitions, view from the agents\u2019 chair. A pocket-sized bible for the novelist. Very readable and full of examples from book and film. I strongly recommend.<\/p>\n
What If?<\/em> by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter<\/h3>\nThis is such a useful \u2018dip-in\u2019 book. I pull it from my bookcase, open anywhere and I\u2019m immediately sucked in. 83 short chapters covering so many suggestions and exercises, it seems to cover everything. Opening it at random I find – \u2018speech flavour, sounding real\u2019 \u2013 making character voice sound genuine; \u2018the inner life of characters\u2019 \u2013 respecting your characters\u2019 imagination; \u2018changing your life\u2019 \u2013 how to convert your own (boring) life experiences into fantastic ideas for stories. Indispensable.<\/p>\n
Bird by Bird<\/em> by Anne Lamott<\/h3>\nI have had this book recommended to me so many times. This book is a delight to read as it tells a story. It\u2019s about approaching writing one step at a time, \u2018bird by bird\u2019. Anne addresses the shitty first draft, false starts, \u2018how do you know when it\u2019s done?\u2019 Timeless.<\/p>\n
On Writing <\/em>by Stephen King<\/h3>\nStephen King is the master. How could I not include this book? Part biography and part \u2018how to\u2019. Another great read packed with useful tips and advice. \u2018If you want to be a writer, read a lot and write a lot\u2019. The writer\u2019s toolkit, storytelling, dialogue, revising your work and much more.<\/p>\n
Into the Woods<\/em> by John Yorke<\/h3>\nThis is a serious and challenging book about how stories work and why we tell them. Three-act and five-act structures, scenes, showing and telling, characterization and dialogue are examined through the screen. Aimed at script writing, this book delivers lessons that can also be applied when writing a novel.<\/p>\n
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers<\/em> by Renni Browne and Dave King<\/h3>\nThis book is not placed last because I rate it last. It is last because it\u2019s a useful read once you have a rough draft of your novel complete. So, this book would be perfect for after Nanowrimo<\/strong> when you need to knock your 50k into better shape. It covers how to turn your manuscript into a publishable book. There are chapters on show and tell, dialogue, point of view, interior monologue, writers voice\u2026 Lots of examples of good and bad versions. You can become your own editor.<\/p>\nI hope you enjoy these books. Which writing books would you recommend?<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As writers we\u2019re addicted to books on \u2018how to write\u2019. It\u2019s procrastination of course. If you\u2019re reading a book about how to develop your craft, then you\u2019re working on your writing, right? Yes, but there must be balance. If you spend too long reading and not getting words on the page, you\u2019ll never finish that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":33829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[31,67],"class_list":["post-32198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing","tag-writers","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusme.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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