Looking for a good book about the craft of writing? You’ll probably find one on my book shelves. Geez, I’ve collected quite a library of how-to books.
You’ll note that some of these titles aim to improve writing conventions; some are geared to the researcher; some are geared to fiction; others are geared to the newspaper article. I do indeed return to them as mini refresher courses and doses of inspiration.
Maybe you’ll find a few of interest to you.
Listed in no particular order:
Essentials of English: a practical handbook covering all the rules of English grammar and writing style
The Elements of Style (Strunk and White, 2000)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books (Harold D. Underdown, 2004)
Bird by Bird (Ann Lamott, 1994)
The Giblin Guide to Writing Children’s Books (James Cross Giblin, 2005)
Children’s Writer’s Word Book (Alijandra Mogilner & Tayopa Mogilner- Writer’s Digest Books)
Take Joy: A Writers Guide to Loving the Craft (Jane Yolen, 2006)
Write the Perfect Book Proposal (Jeff Herman and Deborah Herman, 2001)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves (Lynne Truss, 2003)
On Writing Well (William Zinsser, 2006)
Cite Right (Charles Lipson, 2006)
Writer’s First Aid (Kristi Holl, 2003)
Picture Writing (Anastasia Suen, 2003)
How to Write a Children’s Picture Book-three volumes (Eve Heidi Bine-Stock, 2006)
The Writer’s Journey (Christopher Vogler, 1998)
From Pen to Print: The Secrets of Getting Published Successfully (Ellen Kozak, 1990)
Searching: A Research Guide for Writers (The Institute, Inc. 2000)
Children’s Writer Guide to 2009 (new addition annually) (Writer’s Institute Publications)
The Magazine Article: How to Think it, Plan it, Write it (Peter Jacobi, 1991)
Writing Down the Bones (Natalie Goldberg, 2005)
From Inspiration to Publication (Institute of Children’s Literature)
Writing for Children and Getting Published (Allan Frewin Jones & Lesley Pollinger, 1996)
Word Magic: Your Source for Language that Enchants, Empowers, Confinces, and Wins Readers (Cindy Rogers, 2004)
You Can Write Children’s Books (Tracey E. Dils, 1998)
The Anatomy of Story (John Truby, 2007)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books (Harold Underdown, 2004)
James A. Michener’s Writer’s Handbook (James Michener, 1992)
Writing Picture Books (Ann Whitford Paul, 2009)
The Weekend Novelist (Robert J. Ray, 2005)
From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction (Robert Olen Butler and Janet Burroway, 2006) ***I haven’t read this one yet. Highly recommended by a friend.
On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir on the craft (Stephen King, 2010)
*** Another one I haven’t read. Yet!
