Hello there, Sorry I don't have time to search for this, I have to place an order for books with someone in a short amount of time and also I have to leave for class. Can anyone recommend some good books on creative writing? Something that would be used in a course but for personal use? Greatly appreciated, Foxe
It really depends what you mean by 'creative writing' - do you mean the nuts and bolts of stringing a good sentence together, or how to create different types of writing, i.e. short stories, novels, poetry etc. For novels, there is one book I have read again and again, and never does the advice get old. It's called 'How Not to Write a Novel: 200 mistakes to avoid at all costs if you ever want to get published', by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark. Not only is it funny, you will find yourself nodding the whole way through as you recognise every single one of the mistakes you've probably made already, and some you never knew you were committing.
That sounds like a great book, Nakhti -- I just requested it from the library. My favorite is The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante. Each chapter contains wise words plus samples from novels or short stories to illustrate points. Informative and entertaining.
Thanks guys, I've made note of these and will check them out. What I'm looking for is a book that underlines important elements of writing fiction, namely novels. Something that teaches how to create a good story, how to structure it, classic formulas, etc. I just need to know the foundations, outside of reading stories for myself, so that I can use and expand on them in my own way.
I would also like to recommend an unusual book: Journal of a Novel, by John Steinbeck. It's really work diary, written in the form of letters to his editor, during the writing of one of his best novels, East of Eden. It's a great look at the process one of America's greatest writers used to write a real novel, a candid and honest look at the daily work of a novelist. It's very inspiring. I recently bought my second copy (lost my first one) and I'm reading it for the umpteenth time.
Books that helped me enormously - "Writer's Journey" by Vogler, "Scene and Structure" by Bickham, "Characters and Viewpoint" by Card.
Those are really good books! One more in the series is "Description" by Wood. This book looks into things like PoV and showing versus telling detail (very useful!).
