What books on creative writing have you found useful?
Below are my top 10.
1. Aspects of the Novel - E M Forster. (Passage to India, Howards Way, Room With a View).
2. The Elements of Style (Fourth Edition) by William Strunk jr. and E. B. White (Charlotte's Web).
3. The Art and Craft of Novel Writing – Oakley Hall
4. How Fiction Works - Oakley Hall.
5. Learning to Write Fiction from the Masters by Barnaby Conrad. (Each year, Barnaby runs a weekly creative writing course in Santa Barbara).
6. The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction - Barnaby Conrad.
7. Sol Stein on Writing - Sol Stein. (Sol and his friends set up the actors studio in New York. Sol was a publisher, editor, best selling author and award winning lecturer on creative writing at American Universities. Famous authors attend his lectures. Sol was also a friend of Barnaby Conrad).
8. Solutions for Novelists - The Secrets of a Master Editor by Sol Stein.
9. Characters Make Your Story - Maren Elwood. (Creative writing teacher).
10. Write the Short Short - Maren Elwood. (For writers of the Short Story).
I promise you all 10 would be a welcome addition to a would-be author's library.
Check the reviews on Amazon. You can get cheap second hand copies.
Hi Barbara,
That's true, but we the issue was - books on creative writing/how fiction works. How can you be interested in writing and not be interested in the process involved? Maybe you're not interested in writing fiction. But if you are, try the James Wood book.
Robin
Hi Robin,
We get enjoyment and knowledge from different books and by different ways.
Sorry Adrian - haven't read anything else by Frank Kermode. Nor anything by Walter Allen. Thanks for this. I'll look your recommendations up.
Robin