Great Books on the craft of writing

One thing that really annoys me is the number of people trying to make money writing books about writing – it seems that anyone who completes the first draft of a book considers themselves an expert, then writes an ebook to sell to other would be writers.

In my humble opinion, most of these books are not worth the money you pay for them.  There are a few brilliant exceptions that I have come across and these are featured below.  If you purchase them through this page, I will make a modest commission – Hey, I have to eat too!

 

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Great Books on the craft of writing

 

John Truby is the master of story construction. A bit expensive, but worth every cent.

 

 

 

 

The ‘gold standard’ when it comes to grammar.  You will find this little gem on every writer’s bookshelf. Learn how to use grammar correctly before you break the rules.

 

 

 

Now you know the rules, learn how to use grammar creatively, like a conductor balancing an orchestra. This book opened my eyes to the creative use of grammar – essential for developing your own author voice. 

 

 

A master novelist gives a practical master class in writing – so many gems in so little space.

 

 

 

 

Another book on story construction by a master. Not as detailed or academic as ‘The Anatomy of Story’, and personally I would always go for John Truby, but an easier and more entertaining read. Choose one or the other, you won’t need both.

 

 

 

The hard-graft reality of self-publishing. This is what it takes to earn a living as a novelist. Inspirational. A bit wordy, but worth its weight in gold. Don’t attempt to self-publish without having read this book.

 

 

Not a book but an essential word processing program for the serious novelist. Helps to bring order out of chaos and organise everything. Don’t go spending hundreds on fancy software, this is more than up to the job.

And that is it. No, really. There are many interesting and entertaining books on writing as well as a huge amount of trash. The books above are all you need to learn the craft of writing-the rest is a matter of practice, practice, practice. All the best with your writing.

 

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