This is the last installment of posts that will help you write better and self-edit in order to save you money in the end on editing. If you have missed any of the installments you can get them here:
First week: Grammar basics
Second week: Podcast about WRITING (not publishing)
Third week: Reading with links to well-written short stories
Fourth week: Practice writing with links
Let’s talk about books that investigate the craft of writing or books that delve deep into how certain author do or have written. These types of books always seemed a bit heavy to me and I never bother to read them. I had a bit of a snobbish attitude towards them because, well, I thought them a bit snobbish themselves.
But the truth is, reading about the form of plot and how other authors have used it, or how another great author used words and form and plot actually help us to see what the world we are trying to do.
Have you ever been writing and you sit back and think, “What the heck does this character want? What are they doing? What am I trying to say here?” …and have no answer for it?
I have. When I started reading books about how and why other great authors wrote the way they did or why their stories had the IMPACT that they did, I started to get clearer in my mind how to do the same thing. How to get across what I want to say with my work, how my work can have a lasting impact, how my writing could actually really touch someone as books have done for me. Because in the end, other than making money, what we all want is for our work to impact people for the better, right?
So here goes. Quite a few books. Some better written than others. some will speak to you more than others. I tried to get a variety for all the different personalities and interests. Some of these are also available as audiobooks.
