Books about Writing
I have a lot of books about writing. I think I may have read a greater percentage of these cover to cover than any of the other types of books lining my shelves. I eat these up as though they can somehow cure me of my writing troubles. My troubles can't be cured by a book, however. The problem with my writing is simple: I get distracted. I change everything. I shy away from writing difficult or boring scenes. I never reach the middle of a book, or even the end.
Those of you who have seen me in person recently probably know that I am working on a novel. It's a fantasy novel about... well, I'm not really sure what it's about. I've been working on this monster for a year and a half now. I have 74,000 words. It has occurred to me that I should not be writing the story in first person because it doesn't make any sense at all to have it in first person. Still, I plug along. Usually in first person. I have reached a point in the plot where EVENTS need to happen. Instead, I piddle with the beginning. I like beginnings, you see. Middles and endings I could do without, but beginnings I like. I have some sort of mental block against moving beyond this part of the writing process. I keep thinking I need to develop things more, to get a clearer idea of the motives of the characters, of what should happen. And then I think I need help... and I reach for my books about writing.
Everyone who writes has their favorite writing books. Only a few have ever actually been helpful to me. Today, I'm in a spot in my writing where I'm just going nowhere. So, for your entertainment and my refreshment, I'm going to go over some of these books that have accumulated on my shelves.
"NO PLOT? NO PROBLEM!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days" by Chris Baty was one of the first that I loved. It's witty and light hearted reminder that the most important thing to do is to fill your pages with words, even if those words have nothing to do with the plot (that, and it's really a pleasure to read). You never know what weird little scene might reveal the direction of your story. You can always cut these going nowhere scenes later, and they keep you moving so you get to the next important scene. This book has influenced how I write a lot. You know that 74K I mentions? Well, I plan on leaving most of that on the cutting room floor. But it has helped me develop my characters and make decisions. I've gotten lots of words down because of these book... but it sure hasn't helped me with my plot.
The next book in my stack is called "Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for creating effective dialogue." I'm honestly not sure how much of this book I've read. I don't remember it being helpful, and it's certainly not going to help me with my plot issues. Perhaps this is a book to revisit when I actually know which dialogue is going to be kept and which is going to be tossed.
But the next book might help. It's called "Plot" and it's a book in the "Elements of Fiction Writing" series. I bought this book within the last year in order to help me with the very problem I'm still having right now, and I think I found that this book is going to be really helpful in EDITING my plot, once I have one, but not to much in helping me to actually have one. What I really liked about this book was that it discussed how to weave different plots together to keep your audience's interest. It talks about different types of endings and when you should take time to explain things and when you shouldn't. This book has lots of helpful information in it... but I don't think I'm quite at a point where I can use it yet.
The next book in my pile is called "Inner Drives: How to write and create characters using the eight classic centers of motivation." This book is snooze fest. It reads like a psychology textbook, and I really don't have the focus to get through it. I would need to take detailed notes to really understand and absorb it. Maybe someday.
Next in my pile is Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy," which is the first book about writing I ever read and it's still really the foundation of everything I know about writing that I didn't figure out for myself. One thing that was new to me when I read this book (in high school) is that there are different types of stories: character stories, event stories, idea stories, and world stories. Different types of stories begin and end in different places. For example, let's take Lord of the Rings for example. If Lord of the Rings was a character story, it would have ended when Frodo's journey was over, when he survived his journey and found peace. If it were an event story, it would have ended with the destruction of the Ring and the end of the war. If it were an idea story, it would have ended when good defeated evil, perhaps on a philosophical note. Lord of the Rings was not any of these, however, and that is why the story continued after the ring was destroyed. Lord of the Rings was a story about a world, so the story could not end until the world was restored to the status quo and the hobbits were back at the Shire dancing and partying and eating, and the main players, Gandalf, Frodo, and the Elves, who had no place in the status quo, were gone. "How to write Science Fiction and Fantasy" also points out common mistakes made in Science Fiction and Fantasy plots.... like how people tend to make their main character too powerful (like a king or an admiral) and then the character doesn't get to do anything because they have underlings who should be doing those things for them. Good stuff in that book. It also talks about things to consider while world building.
There's another book that's not in my pile. It's called "Chapter after Chapter" by Heather Sellers and this has probably been the single most helpful book I've ever read with regards to writing. The reason is simple: it tells you how to make yourself write every single day. It gives tips on how not to let the months slip away without writing. VERY helpful. It's unreal how important simple advice like that is. The author has another book called "Page after Page" which I'd like to check out at some point.
I don't have "Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting you'll ever need" but I've heard really good things about it. I've also heard it helpful with plot. Perhaps soon... ?
I do have Noah Lukeman's "The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life" which is quite good in its description of how to build suspense. I actually used his suspense chapter as a lesson in my classes when I taught high school English (days I'd like to forget). Actually... I think this should be the one I will revisit today. It asks lots of questions... which will be helpful right now.
If you've read this far for some reason and you have no interest in books about writing, I will leave you with a book recommendation for the best "idea story" I've ever read: "The Things they Carried" by Tim O'Brien. It is all about truth and how something can be true even if it didn't happen. The ending the book builds up to is not at all what you expect, and in that way, it makes a profound statement about truth and life and death. It is a book with war in it, but it is not a book about war. Read it.
And now I go to see if "The Plot Thickens" can't help me thicken my plot... or, at least, thicken my blood enough to punch into scenes I'm not sure I am capable of writing.
Those of you who have seen me in person recently probably know that I am working on a novel. It's a fantasy novel about... well, I'm not really sure what it's about. I've been working on this monster for a year and a half now. I have 74,000 words. It has occurred to me that I should not be writing the story in first person because it doesn't make any sense at all to have it in first person. Still, I plug along. Usually in first person. I have reached a point in the plot where EVENTS need to happen. Instead, I piddle with the beginning. I like beginnings, you see. Middles and endings I could do without, but beginnings I like. I have some sort of mental block against moving beyond this part of the writing process. I keep thinking I need to develop things more, to get a clearer idea of the motives of the characters, of what should happen. And then I think I need help... and I reach for my books about writing.
Everyone who writes has their favorite writing books. Only a few have ever actually been helpful to me. Today, I'm in a spot in my writing where I'm just going nowhere. So, for your entertainment and my refreshment, I'm going to go over some of these books that have accumulated on my shelves.
"NO PLOT? NO PROBLEM!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days" by Chris Baty was one of the first that I loved. It's witty and light hearted reminder that the most important thing to do is to fill your pages with words, even if those words have nothing to do with the plot (that, and it's really a pleasure to read). You never know what weird little scene might reveal the direction of your story. You can always cut these going nowhere scenes later, and they keep you moving so you get to the next important scene. This book has influenced how I write a lot. You know that 74K I mentions? Well, I plan on leaving most of that on the cutting room floor. But it has helped me develop my characters and make decisions. I've gotten lots of words down because of these book... but it sure hasn't helped me with my plot.
The next book in my stack is called "Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for creating effective dialogue." I'm honestly not sure how much of this book I've read. I don't remember it being helpful, and it's certainly not going to help me with my plot issues. Perhaps this is a book to revisit when I actually know which dialogue is going to be kept and which is going to be tossed.
But the next book might help. It's called "Plot" and it's a book in the "Elements of Fiction Writing" series. I bought this book within the last year in order to help me with the very problem I'm still having right now, and I think I found that this book is going to be really helpful in EDITING my plot, once I have one, but not to much in helping me to actually have one. What I really liked about this book was that it discussed how to weave different plots together to keep your audience's interest. It talks about different types of endings and when you should take time to explain things and when you shouldn't. This book has lots of helpful information in it... but I don't think I'm quite at a point where I can use it yet.
The next book in my pile is called "Inner Drives: How to write and create characters using the eight classic centers of motivation." This book is snooze fest. It reads like a psychology textbook, and I really don't have the focus to get through it. I would need to take detailed notes to really understand and absorb it. Maybe someday.
Next in my pile is Orson Scott Card's "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy," which is the first book about writing I ever read and it's still really the foundation of everything I know about writing that I didn't figure out for myself. One thing that was new to me when I read this book (in high school) is that there are different types of stories: character stories, event stories, idea stories, and world stories. Different types of stories begin and end in different places. For example, let's take Lord of the Rings for example. If Lord of the Rings was a character story, it would have ended when Frodo's journey was over, when he survived his journey and found peace. If it were an event story, it would have ended with the destruction of the Ring and the end of the war. If it were an idea story, it would have ended when good defeated evil, perhaps on a philosophical note. Lord of the Rings was not any of these, however, and that is why the story continued after the ring was destroyed. Lord of the Rings was a story about a world, so the story could not end until the world was restored to the status quo and the hobbits were back at the Shire dancing and partying and eating, and the main players, Gandalf, Frodo, and the Elves, who had no place in the status quo, were gone. "How to write Science Fiction and Fantasy" also points out common mistakes made in Science Fiction and Fantasy plots.... like how people tend to make their main character too powerful (like a king or an admiral) and then the character doesn't get to do anything because they have underlings who should be doing those things for them. Good stuff in that book. It also talks about things to consider while world building.
There's another book that's not in my pile. It's called "Chapter after Chapter" by Heather Sellers and this has probably been the single most helpful book I've ever read with regards to writing. The reason is simple: it tells you how to make yourself write every single day. It gives tips on how not to let the months slip away without writing. VERY helpful. It's unreal how important simple advice like that is. The author has another book called "Page after Page" which I'd like to check out at some point.
I don't have "Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting you'll ever need" but I've heard really good things about it. I've also heard it helpful with plot. Perhaps soon... ?
I do have Noah Lukeman's "The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life" which is quite good in its description of how to build suspense. I actually used his suspense chapter as a lesson in my classes when I taught high school English (days I'd like to forget). Actually... I think this should be the one I will revisit today. It asks lots of questions... which will be helpful right now.
If you've read this far for some reason and you have no interest in books about writing, I will leave you with a book recommendation for the best "idea story" I've ever read: "The Things they Carried" by Tim O'Brien. It is all about truth and how something can be true even if it didn't happen. The ending the book builds up to is not at all what you expect, and in that way, it makes a profound statement about truth and life and death. It is a book with war in it, but it is not a book about war. Read it.
And now I go to see if "The Plot Thickens" can't help me thicken my plot... or, at least, thicken my blood enough to punch into scenes I'm not sure I am capable of writing.