What books on creative writing have you found useful?
Below are my top 10.
1. Aspects of the Novel - E M Forster. (Passage to India, Howards Way, Room With a View).
2. The Elements of Style (Fourth Edition) by William Strunk jr. and E. B. White (Charlotte's Web).
3. The Art and Craft of Novel Writing – Oakley Hall
4. How Fiction Works - Oakley Hall.
5. Learning to Write Fiction from the Masters by Barnaby Conrad. (Each year, Barnaby runs a weekly creative writing course in Santa Barbara).
6. The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction - Barnaby Conrad.
7. Sol Stein on Writing - Sol Stein. (Sol and his friends set up the actors studio in New York. Sol was a publisher, editor, best selling author and award winning lecturer on creative writing at American Universities. Famous authors attend his lectures. Sol was also a friend of Barnaby Conrad).
8. Solutions for Novelists - The Secrets of a Master Editor by Sol Stein.
9. Characters Make Your Story - Maren Elwood. (Creative writing teacher).
10. Write the Short Short - Maren Elwood. (For writers of the Short Story).
I promise you all 10 would be a welcome addition to a would-be author's library.
Check the reviews on Amazon. You can get cheap second hand copies.
I've found David Lodge's 'The Art of Fiction'; James Wood's 'How Fiction Works' and Reading Like a Writer' by Francine Prose both facinating and very useful in my own writing. All books about how fiction works - rather than creative writing as such.
I studied 'Aspects of the Novel' for 'A' level Engl. Lit. over forty years ago and found it very enlightening then. I read it again more recently in combination with Frank Kermode's 'Concerning E.M. Forster', which puts 'Aspects' in its place.
Anthony, Aspects of the Novel is for complete novices. I put it in my list because it gives the novice a good place to start.
Elements of Style is not lengthy. The beauty of it is that it teaches writers to write in the active voice. It helps writers to write with a strong voice.You don't unecessary passive prose. Weak prose will get you rejected.
The last book on the list is for short story writers. All the others books are for would-be authors of novels.
Hi Adrian
Thank you for the list. I've read Forster but, despite his genius as a writer, I didn't love Aspects of the Novel.Some of the others I'll study, once I finish Elwood's one on character. I've copied one of your lists before and I'll copy this one, too.
kind regards, Tony