Books on Writing I Couldn’t Live Without
Well, maybe not exactly…but close
Like most writers, I have a collection of books on writing. Here are five of my favorites that I return to again and again for inspiration.
The Artist’s Way
The fear of not finding anything worth saying when I sit down at a computer or pick up a notebook and pen sometimes keeps me from taking step one of this crazy job: put butt in chair.
Perhaps that’s why the first book on my list of favorites is Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, followed closely by her latest book, The Listening Path.
The reason I put these at the top of the list is that I’ve done morning pages off and on for years. I’ve found the exercise a useful way to jumpstart my writing, especially when I’ve been away from it for a while to attend to other obligations. The gremlins in my head that shout at me that I have nothing to write about go away when I settle into a regular morning pages routine. I actually get excited when I’m doing the pages, to see the ideas that come — I think of them as dancing onto the page!
If you haven’t heard of Julia Cameron or of morning pages, here’s a brief introduction by the author herself:
Put simply, the morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness: “Oh, god, another morning. I have NOTHING to say. I need to wash the curtains. Did I get my laundry yesterday? Blah, blah, blah …” They might also, more ingloriously, be called brain drain, since that is one of their main functions.
There is no wrong way to do morning pages. These daily morning meanderings are not meant to be art. Or even writing. I stress that point to reassure the nonwriters working with this book. Writing is simply one of the tools. Pages are meant to be, simply, the act of moving the hand across the page and writing down whatever comes to mind. Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included. (Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way)
My pages usually start out like this: “It’s quiet this morning and I’m sipping my first cup of coffee. Nothing to say this morning but I’ll keep moving the pen across the page. The dog is snoring. I can hear my birdies singing outside my window and feel the faint brush of the breeze from the ceiling fan on my arms. Keep writing…nothing to say…”
About a half page in, I’m suddenly writing fast to keep up with my brain.
Wild Mind
If you’ve read any books on writing, you probably have heard of Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. But it is Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life that I turn to again and again. In this book, the writer doesn’t teach craft so much as tell stories about people who are writers. The stories she tells validate my own experiences of the writing process, and it’s inspiring to know I’m not totally weird and alone in the way I look at the world. But what I find most valuable are the “Try This” exercises sprinkled throughout the book to get your creative juices flowing.
That’s what keeping the hand moving is all about in writing practice. It is a structure, a form. I want to write! I want to write! What do I do? Sit down and keep the hand moving. (Goldberg, Wild Mind, p. 14)
The Soul Tells a Story
This is another gem in my writer’s library. Written by Vinita Hampton Wright, The Soul Tells a Story is a blueprint for how to integrate my faith values with my writing talent. The book’s subtitle sums it up: “Engaging Creativity with Spirituality in the Writing Life.” The book encourages its readers to see writing as a calling, and to say yes to the call.
From my Christian worldview, God is the ultimate creator, and my talent for writing is a gift from Him. God invites me to co-create in the world I occupy and so my work matters — whether I’m writing a personal essay or a press release for a client. The author of The Soul Tells a Story tells it better than I can:
“I dream that when people read my stories they will walk through the world with more hope and tenderness. I pray that my words help them ask important questions and speak what they know to be true.”
And so I read and reread this book, for its honest description of how to take everyday experiences and transform them into stories that move readers to take a fresh look at life.
On Writing
Finally, no review of books on being a writer would be complete without Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Part memoir, part book on writing, this was a fascinating read for me because it appealed to both my desire to write memoir and my curiosity about what such a successful writer would have to say about the craft of writing. (Full disclosure, I’m not a fan of horror stories, and have read only one or two of his books that I can recall. Going to see the movie The Shining left me unable to go to the bathroom at night unaccompanied by my husband for weeks!) But that doesn’t stop me from thinking he ought to know a thing or two about writing.
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” (Stephen King, On Writing)
Here’s some good advice from King: “Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex, and work.” Although his focus is on fiction, I think this is good advice for nonfiction writers as well. In addition, in his own don’t-take-this-too-seriously style, King takes readers on a tour of a writer’s toolkit, offering pithy advice on the nuts and bolts of character development, description, pacing, research, and finally, revision.
So there you have it. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, so don’t be offended if I’ve omitted your favorite book on writing. In fact, I’d love you to tell me about it! Drop me a comment if you have a recommendation.
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