I like some and dislike others, as happens with any teacher. Like most other things, I gravitate toward teaching that make sense to me. Right now I am reading John Truby's The Anatomy of a Story: 22 Steps to Becomming a Master Storyteller. I agree with his attitude about most stories. The proccess that he teaches makes sense to me. I think, most importantly, is his style of teaching; he explains why he does something so you get an encompassing feel for it and aren't left wondering 'when will this pop up again?', you know when because he tells you. In fact a lot of writing books seem to be parts of what this is, and badly written ones at that. Is it for everyone? No. Having said that, I would encourage those that consider themselves 'pantsers', or those that often find themselves stuck somewhere in writing stories to take a look at the first 30 or so pages. Let's face it- prep work is not for everyone. One of the things I really like about this book is it encourages you to fully flesh out ideas & solve the problems before ever starting the story.
I bought Lisa Cron's Story Genius a couple months bag. I'm only about a third or so through the book but the method of planning a story that she suggests makes a lot of sense to me. Lisa's basic point is that a story is about how the external events (the plot) affect the protagonist internally (how the plot affects the protagonist by the end). The method she instructs in the book boils down to knowing who your character is at the beginning of the story, how they became that person, and how they will change by the end before you actually start writing the story itself. I think it makes sense, but has anyone else read anything by her?
Thanks for the heads-up, Nick. My library has a copy and I've put in a request for it. (There are four "holds' in front of me, so there must be several aspiring novelists here in Sacramento!)
I'm a big fan of Lisa Cron. Currently, I'm reading her first book, Wired for Story. This makes Story Genius a lot easier to understand. There is a Wired for Story YouTube two-hour video in which she explains her book. She's an entertaining speaker.
I probably have 150 books or more. I've read everything at my city library (I often have their books on my shelf before they do) and can't even guess how many titles went on and off my Kindle. Maybe I've read 300 or so? I don't read the 90-day-novel books (well, maybe a couple a long time ago) because at this point they're too basic to be of any use. Mostly, I look for books on specific writing subjects. I can't name them all . . . grammar, plotting, styling, dialog, scene crafting, setting, sentence structure, figurative language and rhetoric, literary theory, linguistic nonsense, etc. It goes on and on. I recognize my own failings and really just want to hear from someone with an informed opinion. Even if it's an author I disagree with, at least I get to hear what works for one person, and there's something to take away from that. I think that writing is an art and a craft, and to really do it well you absolutely have to hear expert opinions. I can't think of any other art/craft where this isn't done, and to assume that writing is the only exception is very strange to me. So I'm almost compelled to read these kinds of books. Someone's going to say to just read books in your genre or works by the masters, and I agree that that's hugely important because it shows possibilities, but it's kind of like trying to be a musician by listening to the radio. The most important thing you can do to learn an art is to practice the art directly. You can try to emulate what you've seen, but you really need someone to guide your aim, someone who can speak to what's under the surface. If I could physically sit down with a master author and just focus on what I'm writing, it would be so valuable (and embarrassing), but it's not going to happen. Forums and books are all I have. So I use the forums for the opinions of my peers and the books for the opinions of the pros.
I'd recommend Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte and read some Cormac McCarthy as an example of some pretty good sentences at work.
Virginia Tufte is very good. I'd also recommend Brooks Landon's Building Great Sentences. I haven't read the book version of that, but I have the Great Courses version on video and it's excellent.
This is the newest one I have. It's pretty good: Building Great Sentences Edit: Just saw this was recommended above . . .
Here are some others! The Art of Styling Sentences. This spends a lot of time on colons and semicolons. It gives you 20 sentence patterns, but so many rely on punctuation tricks. Realistically, you're not going to scatter ; and : throughout every paragraph. Still, it's very useful to see basic layouts. It's set up like a workbook and you do exercises at the end of each chapter. Style: the Basics of Clarity and Grace. I know it sounds more like writing style (Hemingway vs. Faulkner) but these are sentence-level edits. I suppose you see the clash of sentences at the paragraph level, so you're thinking to the paragraph, but whatever. Let me give you an example of what's in here. There's a section on sentence cohesion (paragraph-level issue, obviously). The authors discuss using passives (gasp!) to end a sentence with a relative subject so that it can link closer to the the subject of the following sentence. It's obvious when you see it. My favorite section discusses sentence shape and sprawl. Basically, why do certain long sentences work? (the next book goes into this too) The Sense of Style. A lot of the book is conceptual. You're listening to a linguist casually hop through issues of the language. Chapter 4, which is on sentence syntax, is something else though. Perhaps it's a little spooky if you're not ready to see sentences dissected like a lab experiment. Incredibly useful though. Really, it's the kind of book you should read, set aside, and then a year later, read again. You probably don't want to start with this one if just want direct examples though. It was the Best of Sentences, it was the Worst of Sentences. This is a fantastic book. Similar to Pinker's book (Sense of Style) and just as broad in scope, but a lot more concise. Sometimes that's what you need. It shows you what does and doesn't work in sentences. There's some real eye-openers in here. Take "unclear antecedents," as an example. Here's a line from the book: "Jenna knows math. It is why she landed the job." "It" is not referring to anything in the previous sentence's text. "Math" isn't why she landed the job; it was her knowledge. But in the sentence all you have is the verb "know." That's why it's an unclear antecedent. Sometimes that's a mistake, but not always. "Jenna knows math. Her knowledge of math is why she landed the job." So which one's better? The first one. The point is, it's not a mistake to craft a sentence with a pronoun that doesn't claim a home (well, not always). The second example would be a clumsy hyper-correction. It shows you what doors are open. It's not a grammar mistake, because everything was grammatically fine. I think on writing forums it would be labeled SPaG, but that's not right at all. It's an issue of styling the sentence. Ninety-nine percent of what's called SPaG here has nothing to do with spelling or grammar. I typed too much again, sorry. Anyway, here's the next book I'm getting. I just wish it had Amazon's 'Look Inside' feature: Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style
I ordered Artful Sentences and I've spent some time reading 'Look Inside' The Road by Cormac McCarthy.. @Seven Crowns, your Jenna knows math example is the kind of problem I'm having--knowing when to leave good enough alone. Thanks for your detailed answer. I'll check out all of those books, dapper and minstrel.
Yes, there are very good books on writing. And, unfortunately, there are some not so good books out there. Sifting through can be costly. Getting a recommendation from a trusted associate is key.
They're worth the money if you learn something. The eureka moments are few are far between, but every little bit helps.
