Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

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Nathan Bransford
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by Nathan Bransford » January 4th, 2010, 3:53 pm

MosesSiregar wrote:
Katrina Stonoff wrote:Moses, I love your list!

I would add Donald Maass' new book, Fire in Fiction. For a more experienced writer, I think it's even better than the Breakout Novel book.
Thanks Katrina, I'll check it out. The night after I finished my first draft, I had an amazing dream in which I talked to Donald Maass for a really long time about my book (and I'm someone who almost never remembers his dreams). I am a little disappointed that Nathan didn't show up, but I know he's super busy. Still ... you know? What's up with that? I mean blogs and forums are great, but he's missing out on a major new avenue for reaching new authors by skipping out on our dreams.
Ha - a guy's gotta rest sometimes.

robena grant
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by robena grant » January 6th, 2010, 2:39 am

I agree with the books already mentioned. Two recent titles I've read recently and enjoyed for different reasons, are The Courage to Write, by Ralph Keyes, and The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp.

musicgirl
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by musicgirl » January 9th, 2010, 3:33 pm

I really like Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb - it's more comprehensive, but has some great chapters on revising sentences and how to make your manuscript sparkle.

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MosesSiregar
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by MosesSiregar » January 12th, 2010, 1:48 pm

musicgirl wrote:I really like Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb - it's more comprehensive, but has some great chapters on revising sentences and how to make your manuscript sparkle.
Oh yeah. That book is literally sitting in a pile next to me on my desk. Maybe I should finally check it out :-)
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MedleyMisty
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by MedleyMisty » January 13th, 2010, 11:32 am

I found Gardner's The Art of Fiction at B & N Friday night and felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. It was exactly what I'd been looking for in the writing reference section for years and had never found. I fell in love when I read this sentence.

"The first and last important rule for the creative writer, then, is that though there may be rules (formulas) for ordinary, easily publishable fiction - imitation fiction - there are no rules for real fiction..."

Definitely going to be looking up some of the others mentioned in this thread.

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Shirls2010
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by Shirls2010 » January 15th, 2010, 10:18 am

Larry Brooks - Story Structure - Demystified. It's an ebook and absolutely brilliant.
Randy Ingermanson - Writing Fiction for Dummies
Janet Evanovich - How I Write
David Madden - Revising Fiction. I don't know whether it's still in print. I borrowed it from the library so often that I figured I'd better buy my own copy.
How to Write a Damn Good Novel - James N. Frey
The scariest moment is always just before you start."
— Stephen King (On Writing)

LydiaSharp
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by LydiaSharp » January 22nd, 2010, 6:18 pm

All my top picks were already mentioned. I recently added a new one to my list, though. Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder. It's a book on screenwriting but much of it can also be applied to novel-writing. I'm about a third of they way through and so far, it's excellent. Highly recommended.
Lydia Sharp
Science Fiction * Fantasy * Women's Fiction
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Bryan Russell/Ink
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by Bryan Russell/Ink » January 23rd, 2010, 7:20 am

A lot of my favourites are already on the list (and I'll second great choices like Anne Lamott'sBird by Bird, David Madden's Revising Fiction(which is better than Browne and King's book, for those interested), and Gardner's The Art of Fiction.

But... a couple of my favourites haven't been mentioned, at least that I saw. James Wood's How Fiction Works(brilliant), and Susan Bell's The Artful Edit. This latter one is my favourite book on editing/revision. Madden's is fantastic and full of great stuff, but Bell's is fantastic and also really enjoyable to read. I also have to love my man Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (not just about running!), and enjoyed Terry Brooks' Sometimes the Magic Works. And every writer should read the series of The Paris Review Interviews. Fabulous stuff from the world's best writers.
The Alchemy of Writing at www.alchemyofwriting.blogspot.com

Elizabeth Poole
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by Elizabeth Poole » February 7th, 2010, 7:26 pm

I am going to second-third-fifth the previous mentions of:

On Writing By Stephen King
Writing the Breaout Novel and Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass
The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeamn
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
Characters and Viewpoint and Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

and raise you:

The Plot Thickens and A Dash of Style by Noah Lukeman. Both of these books are amazing. A Dash of Style talks about how to use punctution, but aimed at creative writing.
Bullies, Bitches, and Bastards by Jessica Morrell. A great book on villains and anti-heros

Awesome thread!
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matildamcc
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Re: Recommendations: How to Books on Fiction Writing

Post by matildamcc » February 12th, 2010, 1:00 pm

I agree with many of the titles already mentioned--esp SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS and THE FIRST FIVE PAGES.

Here are some others I've found helpful:

THANKS BUT THIS ISN'T FOR US: A (SORT OF) COMPASSIONATE GUIDE TO WHY YOUR MANUSCRIPT WAS REJECTED by Jessica Paige Morrell

MANUSCRIPT MAKEOVER by Elizabeth Lyon

MAKE A SCENE by Jordan Rosenfeld

THE RIGHT TO WRITE by Julia Cameron

BIRD BY BIRD Anne LaMott

WRITING DOWN THE BONES by Natalie Goldberg

A NOVEL IN A YEAR by Louise Doughty

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