Helpful Favorites

By Nichole Giles

Somewhere in the vague recesses of my mind lay fragments of several different conversations about writing books. I am not talking about the writing of books, by us, the authors, but instead the reading of books about writing by other people…also authors.

Everyone has a favorite—one certain book—containing pertinent information that we believe is going to help us write the next bestseller. Or, failing that, this book will at least give us pointers, tips, and secrets that will surely send us straight to publication.

The truth is, even if our favorite writing book cannot catapult us into fame and fortune, or even publication, it can steer us in the right direction. One thing all of these books have in common is that they are all written by published authors, editors, or agents—lets face it, if we are buying it, they are published—so whatever they have to tell, whatever information they may impart, will be useful to us…as readers and as writers. After reading several writing books, I asked other people about their favorites. The following is a list of favorite writing books, and the people who recommend them.

Recommended by myself, Nichole Giles:
Word Magic for Writers by Cindy Rogers
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers by Betsy Lerner

Recommended by Connie Hall:
Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood
American Dialects by Herman and Herman
You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts

Recommended by Keith Fisher:
Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
Publishing Secrets by the LDS Storymakers

Recommended by author BJ Rowley:
Self Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print
by Renni Browne and Dave King

Recommended by author Martine Leavitt:
Story by Robert McKee

Recommended by Darvell Hunt:
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Recommended by C.L. Beck (and nearly everyone else on this list, including myself):
Writing Secrets: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing Fiction & Nonfiction in the LDS Market by LDS Storymakers

If just one person learns just one something great from only one of these books, then my work for today is done.

Happy Reading!