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.
Robin, I remember Kermode. A Cambridge man. An authority on Shakespeare. Have you read, Sense of an Ending?
Frank Kermode was a comtemporay of another famous literary critic, Professor Walter Allen - The English Novel.
Walter Allen did a critique on the works of Jane Austen.
I love his quote on Austen - 'You don't accidently stumble onto perfection six times'.
Hi Barbara,
What's comatose about renowned literary critics giving their insights into how fiction works?
Robin
I'm afraid I can't get to grips with any books like this. Two pages in and I will drift off into a coma. Am I alone?