Hey everyone. First of all, apology in advance if a thread like this already exists. I'm new so I can't really get my around what thread is where. I'm looking at trying to get some of my ideas down on paper, but I am struggling a little with structure and expanding my ideas into a proper story. So I am looking for the names of a few books that you found helpful, preferable some that incorporate activities that help with the writing process. These books would need to be popular enough to be found in my local library. Thanks for so much for any help you can give.
Have you tried going to the library and seeing what's there? I don't wish to sound flippant, but I think that will be more straightforward than asking everyone to list books which may or may not be in your local library!
Thought that being said, I think there is better information available online. I've scanned a few 'how to write a novel' type books and they all contain the same information that I knew anyway. Best advice is just to get writing - it's actually a fairly standard exercise just to set the clock for a few minutes and see what comes out!
The best books to learn writing are by example, not by explicit instruction. In other words, study well-written books and discover why they are well-written. The instructional books are invariably loaded with steaming piles of questionable opinion. And even if you can identity the advice that is good, you won't fully know it without seeing it in action. I will qualify that, however. You should have at least one good writer's handbook to refer to about fine points of grammar, especially if you already know your grasp of grammar or punctuation is week. Don't rely on software to correct spelling, punctuation and grammar! No matter how dumb you may feel about these essentials of writing, the software is even dumber.
