Books for People Who Love to Write . . .

What do we writers LOVE to get for the holidays? Other than a quiet space and time to write?

We love books about writing!

Here are a few suggestions . . .

For general writing, how about these two classics from Stephen King and Anne Lamott?

On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

If you need to learn classic story structure, you can't go wrong with McKee's book. It's a thick book with everything you need to know about creating the form of a good, solid story.

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee

If writing for children is your thing, try this annual guidebook, which is loaded with instructional articles, markets, contests, etc.

2011 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market

And for fun, try this PUNderful book by Avi . . .

A Beginning, a Muddle and an End (The Write Way to Write Writing) -- Avi

Please take a moment to share your favorite book(s) for writers in the comment section below. That way, when someone asks, "So, what would you like for the holiday?" we'll have a great resource from which to draw.

Beginnings . . .

When I finish writing a novel, I don't rush into a new one. I can't.

I read once that best-selling novelist, Jodi Picoult, begins a new novel the minute she finishes writing her old one. Immediately. If I did that, the new novel would sound a whole lot like the old one.

I spend about a month (sometimes longer) emptying, letting the characters and their story go. I also get neurotic, convinced I'm doing nothing of importance with my life and must get a new career. Immediately. I drift. I get irritated with myself for "wasting" time and not writing. I'm cranky sometimes and joyous others. Mostly cranky. (It's no fun living with a writer.)

And then something happens. I start to notice things and think, now THAT would make a great character name. What a funny tidbit. I've got to include THAT in my next book.

Newbery Medal winner, Linda Sue Park, calls this period, where she's sure she must get a job teaching (not writing), RESETTING from one book to the next. I love that term because it's apt. I call this process FILLING THE WELL.

And once it begins, it's a lot of fun -- preparing the mind to begin an entirely new project, full of hope and potential.

If YOU'RE filling YOUR well, here are a few gems from the book: THE SECRET MIRACLE: THE NOVELIST'S HANDBOOK, edited by Daniel Alarcon, which incidentally, came out the same day my new novel did -- April 13, 2010.

"The best first chapters . . . should contain the DNA of the entire book in miniature." Jonathan Lethem

"You shouldn't write a check with your first chapter that your novel can't cash." Adam Mansbach

On the difference between writing a novel and a short story: "Novels are longer and have more shit in them." Stephen King

"I try to get a thousand new words every writing day, five days a week. Fifty-two weeks a year. Try." Michael Chabon

On moving forward when you are blocked:

"Go for more walks. Don't take a book. Throw my mind on its own resources." Stephen King

"I just write anyway, even knowing it's lousy. Ten pages of bad writing are more useful to me than giving up for the afternoon -- let alone the week, or the year." Daniel Handler

If you are beginning, I leave you with this simple, but brilliant quote by Lewis Carroll: "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."

Writerly Inspiration . . . and a Few Laughs

Meg Cabot talks about writing a book in ten days that required no editing . . .




And Meg Cabot's HILARIOUS trailer from her new book, INSATIABLE . . .




Stephen King talks about the magical moment when you know you can be a writer . . .




Writing funny books with Henry Winkler (The Fonz) and Lin Oliver . . .




What will your video be like after you've reached your writing goals?

Novel Writing 101 -- Plot

I love to read books about writers and writing. I always wonder, "How do they do it?" "What's their schedule like?" "How do they juggle competing demands?"

So when NPR's Three Books was titled: Get That Book Deal, Three Books Tell You How, I was excited. Sarah Pekkanen suggested these titles: On Writing by Stephen King, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas and Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell.

Since I've already read and loved On Writing, I got the other two books.

The main thing I took away from Writing the Breakout Novel is that it requires hard work, perseverance and digging deep, deeper, deepest with character development and layered plotting during revisions.

Plot & Structure may not have the sexiest title, but James Scott Bell writes in the most accessible way. I feel like I'm sitting down with a good friend every time I open the book. A good friend who knows A LOT about writing.

I want to share one exercise in the book that I think will help clarify your novel's plot.

(From page 21 of Plot & Structure)

Fill in the blanks for your novel.

• My lead (main character) is a _______________.
• Her objective is to ________________________.
• She is confronted by ______________________ who oppose(s) her because __________________.
• The ending will be a knockout when _____________________.

According to the author, if you fill in the blanks, you'll have the skeleton for a solid novel.


What book about writing most inspires you?