Here are eleven great books about how to write.
First You Write: The Worst Way to Become an Almost Famous Author and the Best Advice I Got While Doing It by Joni Rodgers. The author writes about her circuitous route to becoming a New York Times best-selling memoirist.
Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern. The author breaks down sixteen story archetypes in this tongue-in-cheek book.
On Moral Fiction by John Gardner. “Art discovers, generation after generation, what is necessary to humanness,” says the author.
On Writing by Stephen King. “This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit,” says the author.
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin. This is the author’s second book on writing, intended for the more experienced writer.
Still Writing by Dani Shapiro. A roadmap to writing, peppered with personal insight and history.
Story by Robert McKee. A renowned screenwriter illustrates good plotting and structure for any writer.
The Elements of Style by William Struck and E.B. White. The original style manual.
The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner. An editor’s advice to writers.
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard. A must-read for all aspiring authors.
Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman. “Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing,” the author says.