The Best Books on the Craft and Beauty of Writing
Face it. The best books on writing are the books that inspire you and get you writing. Books sitting on your shelves don't help anyone. Read these books with a highlighter and a pen in your hand. Mark them up. Write in them. Argue with them. Then get busy.
The Barbara Ueland classic.
Get to your authentic self. Influenced by William Blake. Carl Sandburg called this the best book ever on writing.
Learn the basics so you can break the rules. Every published writer has read this book.
Reflections on work ethic, creating a disciplined routine, and the beauty and craftsmanship of writing.
This is like an instruction booklet for writing. Includes writing exercises. Do them. You'll get better.
The follow up to the excellent Wired for Story. Take the journey from an acorn of a book idea to full fledged novel. It's all here.
Honed at her workshops and writing classes. She's a writer first but also a natural teacher. Plus it's funny.
Punctuation made fun. Play with it. At the heart of it, punctuation, is stage direction for the reader.
Writing should be an intellectual activity. Style matters. Concise thought matters. This book will help you write better and thus think better.
Might be the best thing Chuck has ever written. It's honest, insightful, and practical. My copy looks like a box of crayons exploded inside. Lots of highlights and notes. Plus great exercises.
Simple and effective. Like a bullet to the brain pan. Spoiler Alert: Don't write the words readers skip.
My favorite book on doing the work. And why procrastination is such a tough bitch/bastard/demon.
Write anywhere. Find your voice, your passion, and the value and uniqueness of your life.
Creativity has exploded all over the inside of this book. It's inspiring and helpful. Exercises abound.
Despite a self-explanatory title that seems a little click-baitey to me, this book is filled with gold. Cole has the chops to back it up the title. It combines two of my favorite things; writing and business.