At Seton Hill, students must read a book on the craft or business of writing each semester. They decide upon the book in consultation with their mentor, and over the years I’ve gathered a long list of titles on various topics that have been helpful to my students. I’ve read most of them–the others are ones that multiple students have read and found instructive.
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Story Structure, Plotting, & Synopsis
The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know by Shawn Coyne
Extremely valuable look at the elements of successful stories. Maybe not the most well-edited book on writing–and the images in the electronic version are small enough to be barely worthwhile–but it’s still an excellent resource. There is a bit of a focus on thrillers, as well.
The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master by Martha Alderson
This one is slightly touchy feely and a little mystical, and that grates on my nerves a bit . . . but it has a lot of good stuff.
There are also two companion titles.
Story Engineering by Larry Brooks
Writing the Fiction Synopsis: A Step by Step Approach by Nicola Morgan
Write a Great Synopsis – An Expert Guide by Pam McCutcheon
Revision
Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness by Kirt Hickman
I often suggest that my students who are about to wrap up their first drafts read this title. It can be useful even if you are still working on your first draft as it’s good to be thinking about the issues, and the book does deal with first-draft concerns to help you create less of a mess to clean up.
Dialogue
Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella
Dialogue: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue by Gloria Kempton
Point of View
Characters & Viewpoint (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Orson Scott Card
Characters & Characterization
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Emotion Amplifiers by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon
Editing
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King
Writer’s Digest Grammar Desk Reference: The Definitive Source for Clear and Concise Writing by Gary Lutz and Stevenson Diane
Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies by Sol Stein
Ground Rules for Writers: A Quick and Easy Reference Guide for all the Painful Punctuation, Ghastly Grammar, and Pesky Sound Alike Words, Fracking Up Your Work by Susan Ball & Sheryl Wright
Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing by Claire Kehrwald Cook
Theory of Fiction Writing
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
A classic on writing fiction in general. It’s maybe a little literary and philosophical, but it’s a good book.
Writing Fantasy
Wonderbook (Revised and Expanded): The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer
How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller! by Philip Athans
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland: The Essential Guide to Fantasy Travel by Dianna Wynne Jones
It’s actually a pretty incisive look at the fantasy genre. It might be a low-key, but it’s still useful.
World Building
World-Building by Stephen L. Gillett
Especially useful for SF authors.
Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding edited by Janna Silverstein
While this book is geared to game designers and people creating campaign worlds for role playing games, it’s still incredibly useful for fiction writers.
Storyworld First: Creating a Unique Fantasy World for Your Novel by Jill Williamson
This isn’t one that I’ve read, but students of mine have read it and enjoyed it.
