Suggested Reading - STORY STRUCTURE

The Writer's Journey Mythic Structure for Writers
by Christopher Vogler
Chris Vogler has taken Joseph Campbell's work (books, influences) and simplified it for popular fiction and movies. (Okay, he's a studio executive so his experience is film, but this book is still helpful to novelists.)










The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth
by James N. Frey is another approach to Joseph Campbell's work. If you read the comments/reviews on Amazon, you'll find those who prefer Frey, those who prefer Vogler, and those who prefer Campbell -- yet more proof that we all respond to different presentations of information. This one is more geared to novelists, if that makes a difference.






Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
by Blake Snyder. There are many different processes for outlining and developing a story, whether it's a novel or screenplay. I have been using this one on my most recent project and have discussed it in my blog at length. So far, so good. If you want an easily understood and logical process, you might want to give this one a try, too.







Making a Good Script Great

by Linda Seger
A book on rewriting, this has some clear and solid info and examples of story structure using some fun 80s movies (Back to the Future, Romancing the Stone, for example) to illustrate.





Screenplay

by Syd Field

The Grandaddy of them all, the book that first broke contemporary story/film structure into three acts.

Recommended Reading-MISCELLANEOUS

On Writing
by Stephen King
A terrific book by a terrific writer, even though I'm not a fan of horror and haven't read that many of his books. (I don't like to be scared. His books scare me. It's that simple.) But I recommend this book highly.








What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
by Anne Bernays & Pamela Painter
Put this one on your bookshelf and any time you're stumped and unsure what to write, pull it out and do an exercise. Or skim through the table of contents and choose a topic or technique that you have problems with. It's a really nice book of writing exercises with strong examples and samples.







Writing & Selling Your Mystery Novel: How To Knock 'Em Dead With Style
by Hallie Ephron

Want to write a mystery? This is a good place to start. Check it out.






Dare to Be a Great Writer: 329 Keys to Powerful Fiction
by Leonard Bishop
Okay, this is kind of an odd book in that those 329 Keys to Powerful Fiction? Are strewn all willy-nilly throughout the book, with absolutely NO organization. But the index in the back will take you to anything you want to know. So it's not a book that you sit down and read front to back; on the other hand it is a really terrific index and it's easy to find info on anything you need to know about writing style and technique. A really good book available from libraries or through the Interlibrary Loan. It's also available secondhand at a reasonable price if you follow that link.

Recommended Reading-REFERENCE

Getting the Words Right
by Theodore A. Rees Cheney








The Elements of Style
by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White










Make Your Words Work: Proven Techniques for Effective Writing, for Fiction and Nonfictio
by Gary Provost











Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (or other American dictionary--must be American spelling and usage if you are selling to American markets)







AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law













Chicago Manual of Style
(expensive, probably overkill for most writers)

Recommended Reading -WRITING THE NOVEL

Telling Lies for Fun & Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers
by Lawrence Block
This was the most fun I ever had reading a writing book. Well, that's how I felt when I read it as a new writer. I learned a lot and enjoyed doing it. How can you argue with that?










How to Write Fiction Like a Pro: A Simple-To-Savvy Toolkit for Aspiring Authors
by Robert Newton Peck
Confession time. I haven't actually read this book yet. But Robert Newton Peck wrote one of the best writing books I've read, recommended elsewhere (Fiction is Folks) and this one has such great reviews on Amazon, I'm sticking my neck out and recommending it. When I have time to come back to it, I will be reading it myself. In the meantime let me know what you think, okay?





How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling
by James N. Frey







How to Write Best Selling Fiction *How to Write Best Selling Fiction,
by Dean Koontz

Another OUT OF PRINT book. But if you follow that link, you'll find out that it's in great demand. I do NOT recommend that you spend big bucks to buy it sight unseen. I do recommend that you get it from the library or Interlibrary Loan and read it, and see if it's helpful to you. I have had students pay the big bucks for it after reading it, though. I also know people who didn't think it was all that great. So, again, don't buy sight unseen, but if you can get your hands on it, it's worth checking out.

Recommended Reading-CREATIVITY

CREATIVITY

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity,
by Julia Cameron





Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
by Natalie Goldberg




Walking on Alligators: A Book of Meditations for Writers,
by Susan Shaughnessy






Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life,
by Anne Lamott






Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distractions and other Dilemmas in the Writer's Life,
by Bonnie Friedman

Recommended Reading-CHARACTERIZATION

Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints
by Nancy Kress

There is some really good info and material in this book, but she really misses the mark on third person point of view. For the record? It is NOT good to put "authorial exposition" in, not even if you (heaven help us) put it in a paragraph of its own. Sigh.

"Author intrusion" is never good in third person, and it's lazy writing. Don't do it. Find a better way to give us that exposition -- like, as part of the story? Okay? (shaking head in dismay) (See page 188.)

And while I'm on the subject, on page 189? the only thing that isn't (or couldn't be) in Hartmann's point of view is the label, "a voluptuary," which is totally unnecessary when followed by a lovely passage that clearly IS (or COULD be) in his point of view, because it is his voluptuous view of what he is experiencing at that moment.

Gads.



Fiction is Folks: How to Create Unforgettable Characters
by Robert Newton Peck

OUT OF PRINT -- But this is a terrific book. Written with a fun, vibrant tone, easy to read, strong material. Get it from the library, through the Interlibrary Loan, if necessary. It's also available secondhand at a reasonable price if you follow that link.