Fiction writing craft books. Do any of you know any good ones?

Which non-fiction crafts books are great for figuring out pacing, execution, and more?

I only want two books. I was also looking in the books by Becca Ackerman, I have to get those in stages.

I just want these books to help me out in a pinch AFTER finishing the first draft of my works.

Any help?
Thoughts and feelings?

3 Likes

@Akje
@Xelyn_Craft
@JojoDahlia
@CoffeebyNight
@SecretDurham
@alenatenjo
@TheTigerWriter

I don’t understand. What kind of books are you looking for? Books about writing non-fiction? Or books about writing - as in, writing guides.& reference books?

1 Like

Non-fiction books on how to get better at writing fiction and the writing craft overall.

I’ve read a few:

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash
Steering The Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
Pep Talks for Writers by Grant Faulkner
Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
The Writing of Fiction by Edith Wharton
The Art of Creative Writing by Lajos Egri
Murder Your Darlings by Roy Peter Clark
Power Up Your Fiction by James Scott Bell
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway et al.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft by Natalie Goldberg
Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier by Joni B. Cole
Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell

And that isn’t even all of them. (♯^.^ღ)

But as for which one was the absolute best…? I could narrow it down to the first four on the list. ¯\_(ﭢ)_/¯

2 Likes

I believe you just won the game!

:smiling_face:

1 Like

The Fantasy Fiction Formula by Deborah Chester. It’s comprehensive guide for SFF — talks about everything from the first sentence to pacing and structure of the book to querying.

What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernard and Pamela Painter. Pretty useful to get creativity flowing, thinking about plot points, twists and so forth.

Secrets to Editing Success by K Stanley and L Cooke. All about editing.

The best advice I’ve gotten on writing/ refining prose and narrative is to closely read and study a writer. (Tbh it’s the only writing advice I’ve received that was worth anything).

2 Likes

Thanks so much.

Sorry for not being clear enough. :sweat_smile:

Interesting. Like understanding and reading an author whose work you enjoy as an inspiration?

Treat it like taking notes, by not taking notes (though annotating exists). LOL!

Yep. And not just one or two books – their entire body of work. You’ve got to figure out which author(s) suit your taste though.

I’ve enjoyed discovering my own authorial voice through the authors I love. It’s not a lot of work, or at least it doesn’t feel like it. I always keep a pencil on hand in case want to make notes lol.

Anyway I think it’s more useful to read a novel (which is the culmination of all that writing knowledge) rather than seeing some abstract list of the things you must do.

2 Likes

I’ve tried that with two people who aren’t even authors. Eiichiro Oda and SIU aren’t authors, just comic artist from Japan and Korea. Aside from those two, I haven’t had an actual stage when I tried doing that with an author. Like I do like the way certain authors write, craft their stories, and build their worlds, yet never truly tried to take from them.

1 Like

Have you ever tried copy writing your favorite book? Where you just copy out the whole book word for word? Makes you examine each sentence so you can see its structure and flow. I found it really useful!

1 Like

Never. I feel weird thinking about trying that.

1 Like