'On Writing' by Stephen King - I like his book about writing more than any of the other books he's written. XD It is a good look into the life of a career writer and the struggles he's faced, he has very good advice on what NOT to do with your writing and as he's sold a bajillion books I'm inclined to believe him, and he explains what happened with his accident and how writing helped him through. So it's an instructional book as well as a feel good book.
'The ABCs of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction' - Written by one of the editors at On Spec magazine this book really helped me define what makes a story speculative and what makes it genre. The book is jam-packed with advice from an editor's perspective and it is almost written in point-form for quick reference.
'The First Five Pages' - A very good book for how to write the beginning of your story so you hook readers.
Conceiving the Heavens: Creating the Science Fiction Novel by Melissa Scott
She suggests how you should approach world and society building in science fiction, like, Can the notion of privacy co-exist with psi abilities? How would societies with radically different notions of wealth conduct commerce? Would they conduct commerce? She also goes into the subsets of science fiction, since many neophytes don't know there are any. It was an interesting and thought provoking read.
Prose's, er, prose is so clean and vivid and she tell wonderful anecdotes about her life and the books she's read, but more importantly, she feels that it is necessary to pay attention to what we read in order to learn how to write. I'm so for any writer that thinks people need to read good books to write well.
'Making a Literary Life', by Carolyn See, which is more about the business of being a writer than the writing and is good for inspiring me not just to scribble away for myself.
My other favourite is Ben Bova's 'World-building', where by worlds it means actual planets and solar systems. Which I find fascinating - but then, I'm a geology nut.
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'The ABCs of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction' - Written by one of the editors at On Spec magazine this book really helped me define what makes a story speculative and what makes it genre. The book is jam-packed with advice from an editor's perspective and it is almost written in point-form for quick reference.
'The First Five Pages' - A very good book for how to write the beginning of your story so you hook readers.
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She suggests how you should approach world and society building in science fiction, like, Can the notion of privacy co-exist with psi abilities? How would societies with radically different notions of wealth conduct commerce? Would they conduct commerce? She also goes into the subsets of science fiction, since many neophytes don't know there are any. It was an interesting and thought provoking read.
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I think Writing the Breakout Novel has its uses, but it needs to be read with the knowledge that Maass gets a little too wrapped up in his own theory.
I remember Writing Down the Bones being helpful when I was just starting to write, but now it seems self-indulgent and really woo-woo.
I'm reading Story now. I think I'm going to need a machete to cut through McKee's ego.
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Prose's, er, prose is so clean and vivid and she tell wonderful anecdotes about her life and the books she's read, but more importantly, she feels that it is necessary to pay attention to what we read in order to learn how to write. I'm so for any writer that thinks people need to read good books to write well.
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My other favourite is Ben Bova's 'World-building', where by worlds it means actual planets and solar systems. Which I find fascinating - but then, I'm a geology nut.