I need writing craft books that I can use to guide me a bit. I also need some science-fiction or fantasy novels that I can read (or get the audiobook version). I might do a read-along as I listen to the audiobook and do some annotating in the book.
Here is the list that you should follow for the writing craft books:
Self-editing skills and grammar.
Worldbuilding (hard or soft).
Character development and overall story execution.
Narrative, Prose, Tension, Themes, and etc.
Writing a novel series.
Anything else can help too.
Novels (novel series only) to read-along while annotating list that you should follow.
Action and adventure.
Hard worldbuilding
Magic systems.
Unique yet colorful characters.
Fictional worlds.
High Fantasy/Epic Fantasy
Science-Fiction placed on different planets.
No YA novels (I prefer adult science-fiction and fantasy).
It’s not a massively extensive guide, but I do have one on Wattpad on fantasy worldbuilding I remember you don’t use Wattpad, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.
I don’t use guides, so I’ll let someone else help you there.
As for books,
Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein was my first introduction into old-school sci-fi. Idk if it’s your cup of tea. It’s considered juvenile sci-fi where the MC is a high school kid, so maybe it’s not. You might check it out though? It does take place on an alien planet.
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville has unique yet colorful characters, it’s sci-fi and dystopian and with cosmic horror elements. It has romance in the beginning a little bit. But the main focus is not on the romance part at all. Once the two beginning main characters go their separate ways to get into separate drama, the book hardly goes back to the romance. It’s definitely adult fiction.
Bird by Bird / Anne Lamott The War of Art / Steven Pressfield I Should Be Writing: A Writer’s Workshop / Mur Lafferty Good Naked: How to Write More, Write Better, and Be Happier / Joni B. Cole Power Up Your Fiction / James Scott Bell Write Great Fiction - Plot & Structure / James Scott Bell Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft / Janet Burroway Meander, Spiral, Explode / Jane Alison The Art of Creative Writing / Lajos Egri Murder Your Darlings / Roy Peter Clark Wired for Story / Lisa Cron Shut Up and Write the Book / Jenna Moreci Write Like You Mean It / Steve Gamel The Art of X-Ray Reading / Roy Peter Clark Refuse to Be Done / Matt Bell Thunder and Lightning / Natalie Goldberg Blueprint for a Book / Jennie Nash Steering The Craft / Ursula K. Le Guin The Storytelling Animal / Jonathan Gottschall Story Genius / Lisa Cron Save the Cat Writes a Novel / Jessica Brody On Writing / Stephen King Zen in the Art of Writing / Ray Bradbury
Wowies, I hadn’t realized I’d read so many books until I went through my Kindle library. You’d think I’d be a brilliant writer by now. (-᷅_-᷄๑)
But if you could only read one of them, I’d suggest either Story Genius or Wired For Story by Lisa Cron. There’s overlap in both books, so I’m not sure which one is better. Probably Story Genius. Also, Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash was extremely useful to me.
Good for you for being so ambitious! Just don’t overwork yourself and then get discouraged. It’ll all come to you in time even if you don’t read any books about writing. Every time we write, we teach ourselves what works and what doesn’t, and that’s how all those writers listed above learned what they know. ( ˆ◡ˆ)۶ ٩(˘◡˘ )
I think the best thing you can do is to find every single blog, every single video, and every single book you can find on the topic and study the advice that they have to offer.
For SFF I highly recommend reading The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.
It’s about the archetypal hero found in myths all around the world. It looks at the trials of a hero, stages of the journey, and why we gravitate towards these stories. It’s the blueprint for a lot of books on writing, world-building, screenplays etc. and by extension, a lot of novels.
I remember you don’t use Wattpad, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.