Books On Writing

I am ridiculously picky about books on writing. Maybe because my family thought for years that all books on writing were equally useful. I still remember the feeling of reading Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and for the first time connected with a book on writing. It was incredible.

Bad writing advice abounds, some of which have even made it to publication. Then there are the books that are so basic they seem as though they’re talking down to you. Or at least that’s how they make me feel.

Confession: I’ve never made it through Stephen King’s On Writing, though that book is the most common recommendation I get.

In college, a writer-friend recommended Writing Down the Bones by Natalie

Goldberg and The Right to Write by Julia Cameron – both excellent. A few years later, I discovered Ray Bradbury’s Zen and the Art of Writing.

A good book on writing, to me, articulates truths I haven’t yet found the right words for or opens my mind to other possibilities and makes me question my assumptions. Preferably, it does both.

I just finished Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook, which is a masterclass in its own right. Or several masterclasses rolled into one book. It fulfills my criteria and then some.

What are your favorite writing reference books? Or are you still searching for one that speaks to you? If you give any of these a try, let me know what you think!

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