What’s in it
Tap a tag: ❤ = this matters to me · tap again ✕ = don’t care · again to reset. The list below updates each time.
24 books with the same feel
Include books by the same authorThe Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers
Ayn Rand, Robert Mayhew · 200 pages
A remarkable series of lectures on the art of creating effective nonfiction by one of the 20th century's most profound writers and thinkers--now available for the first time in print.Culled from sixteen informal lectures Ayn Rand delivered to a select audience in the late 1960s, this remarkable work offers indispensable guidance to the aspiring writer of nonfiction while providing readers with a f
Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go
Les Edgerton · 256 pages
Agents and editors agree: improper story beginnings are the single biggest barrier to publication. Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It's just that simple. "Hooked" provides readers with a detailed understanding of what a beginning must include, (setup, backstory, the inciting incident, etc.); instruction on how to successfully develop the story pro
Bullies, Bastards And Bitches: How To Write The Bad Guys Of Fiction
Jessica Page Morrell
The Intellectual Devotional Modern Culture: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Converse Confidently with the Culturati
David S. Kidder, Noah D. Oppenheim · 378 pages
On Becoming a Novelist
John Gardner · 150 pages
Contains advice to young writers organized around three main questions: Am I talented enough? How should I educate myself? Can I make a living from writing fiction?
Stein on Writing
Sol Stein · 308 pages
Whether you are a newcomer or an accomplished professional, a novelist, story writer, or a writer of nonfiction, you will find this book a wealth of immediately useful guidance not available anywhere else. As Sol Stein, renowned editor, author, and instructor, explains, "This is not a book of theory. It is a book of useable solutions--how to fix writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling
James N. Frey · 174 pages
Written in a clear, crisp, accessible style, this book is perfect for beginners as well as professional writers who need a crash course in the down-to-earth basics of storytelling. Talent and inspiration can't be taught, but Frey does provide scores of helpful suggestions and sensible rules and principles.
The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives
Lajos Egri · 310 pages
Among the many "how-to" playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction. Lajos Egri's classic does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay. Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic wri
The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose, and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great
Donald Maass
How do widely published authors keep their stories burning hot? Learn how to supercharge every story with deep conviction and, conversely, turn fiery passion into effective story. The Fire in the Fiction shows you not only how to write compelling stories filled with interesting settings and vivid characters, but how to do it over and over again. With examples drawn from current novels, this inspir
Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction
Tracy Kidder, Richard Todd · 209 pages
From the inside flap: ...*Good Prose* explores three major nonfiction forms: narratives, essays, and memoirs. Kidder and Todd draw candidly, sometimes comically, on their own experience--their mistakes as well as accomplishments--to demonstrate the pragmatic ways in which creative problems get solved. They also turn to the works of a wide range of writers, novelists as well as nonfiction authors,
GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction
Debra Dixon · 164 pages
Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew
Ursula K. Le Guin · 173 pages
Presents advice on the basic elements of narrative prose, covering point of view, sentence length and complex syntax, indirect narration, grammar, punctuation, and the sound of writing.
The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know
Shawn Coyne · 344 pages
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Scott McCloud · 215 pages
Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. Explore the secret world between the panels, through the lines, and within the hidden symbols of a powerful but misunderstood art
The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
John Truby · 445 pages
"John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood's most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and in it he shares all his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his class, Great Screenwr
Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction
Patricia Highsmith · 147 pages
How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One
Stanley Fish · 165 pages
Some appreciate fine art; others appreciate fine wines. Stanley Fish appreciates fine sentences. The New York Times columnist and world-class professor has long been an aficionado of language: "I am always on the lookout for sentences that take your breath away, for sentences that make you say, 'Isn't that something?' or 'What a sentence!'" Like a seasoned sportscaster, Fish marvels at the adeptne
Comics and Sequential Art
Will Eisner · 158 pages
From the Publisher: A classic drawing textbook from an American comics pioneer, revised and enhanced for a new generation. Based on Will Eisner's legendary course at New York's School of Visual Arts, this guide has inspired generations of artists, students, teachers, and fans. In Comics and Sequential Art, Eisner reveals the basic building blocks and principles of comics, including imagery, the fr
The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes
Jack M. Bickham · 128 pages
Writing Irresistible KidLit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers
Mary Kole · 288 pages
Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard
Laura Bates · 306 pages
20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them
Ronald B. Tobias · 238 pages
Identifies and analyzes twenty common plots, including revenge, rivalry, adventure, maturation, and love, discusses physical and character plots, and offers advice for developing a story