The number one tip to growing as a writer is reading and reading, reading reading. If you don’t know where to start here are 5 books recommended for writers to learn more about their craft….
- Bird By Bird – Anne Lamott — “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird”‘
2. The Forest For The Trees – Betsy Lerner — “Quickly established as an essential and enduring companion for aspiring writers when it was first published, Betsy Lerner’s sharp, funny, and insightful guide has been meticulously updated and revised to address the dramatic changes that have reshaped the publishing industry in the decade since. From blank page to first glowing (or gutting) review, Betsy Lerner is a knowing and sympathetic coach who helps writers discover how they can be more productive in the creative process and how they can better their odds of not only getting published, but getting published well. This is an essential trove of advice for writers and an indispensable user’s manual to both the inner life of the writer and the increasingly anxious place where art and commerce meet: the boardrooms and cubicles of the publishing house”
3. How to Write like Tolstoy – Richard Cohen — “A thought-provoking journey inside the minds of the world’s most accomplished storytellers, from Shakespeare to Stephen King.”
4. A Writer’s Notebook – W. Somerset — “Filled with keen observations, autobiographical notes, and the seeds of many of Maugham’s greatest works, A Writer’s Notebook is a unique and exhilarating look into a great writer’s mind at work. From nearly five decades, Somerset Maugham recorded an intimate journal. In it we see the budding of his incomparable vision and his remarkable career as a writer. Covering the years from his time as a youthful medical student in London to a seasoned world traveler around the world, it is playful, sharp-witted, and always revealing. Undoubtedly one of his most significant works, A Writer’s Notebook is a must for Maugham fans and anyone interested in the creative process.”
5. Mouth Full of Blood – Toni Morrison — “Mouth Full of Blood is a powerful, erudite and essential gathering of ideas that speaks to us all. It celebrates Morrison’s extraordinary contribution to the literary world.”