Favorite Writing Books?

I’m going through my semi-annual hankering for more writing books,  hoping one will spur me to solve all my (writing) problems as if by magic. Of course that’s a ridiculous expectation and I wonder if there is a book out there that’s really indispensible.

My own favorites are Self-editing for Fiction Writers and Orson Scott Card’s book about characterization (which I bought used since I won’t put money in the man’s pocket).

Among the ones I’m considering: Showing and Telling by Laurie Alberts which sounds pretty good, and possibly Plot vs Character by Jeff Gerke (though I will ignore any of his Christian-writing tips). Those cover two areas where I could use improvement. Both have good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

2 Responses to “Favorite Writing Books?”

1. Shanna Germain says:

   March 16, 2011 at 11:10 AM

   Stephen King’s “On Writing.” That’s one of my all-time favorites.

   Also, the original “Weekend Novelist” (not the newer, revised one).

   Reply
   • EM Lynley says:

     March 17, 2011 at 12:23 PM

     Shanna, I’ve got both of those…. a lot of people mentioned King’s book so I’m rereading it now. And I do agree that the original WN is better. There is a follow-on called “Weekend Novelist Revises the Novel” which has some good tips but the organization is atrocious. I did find some useful information in there for plotting, but it takes digging to get the gems out of the crap surrounding it.

     Thanks for adding your favorites!

     Reply