The IWSG question of the month: What is your favorite writing craft book? And why?
I imagine a large percentage of people will say Stephen King's On Writing is their favourite writing craft book. While I did enjoy it and it's chock full of quotable quotes of goodness, I feel it sits more solidly in the memoir category. For me anyway.
I have a few favourites I go back to over and over again. On Writing is one of them, but also The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell just works for me. It's described as Sun Tzu's The Art of War for novelists. It's easy to read. Super helpful. So many gems in its pages.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott is another brilliant one. This one has a whole lot of anecdotal stories that bring the challenge of writing alive. It's wonderful to read someone else's succinct understanding of what it's like to be a writer. Again, this one has lots of golden nuggets to take away and apply to my own writing.
Save the Cat is another wonderful one if you're looking to understand story beats. While it's more focused on screenwriting, it's helpful tips can be applied to novel writing too.
There are a whole bunch of others. Each has had it's impact on me in some form or another. How about you? Which writing craft books have you loved?
This post was written for the IWSG. Every first Wednesday of the month, members post on their blogs about their writing insecurities or offer some encouragement to others. If you are new to the IWSG or want to learn more, then please go HERE.