During my childhood and teenage years, I scribbled down as many short stories and novellas as I could, until one day, my senior year of high school, I decided it was time to tackle writing a novel. My first novel. What a daunting challenge. Before I did so, I checked out as many books as I could about how to write a novel, how to be a good writer, and anything related to the two topics.
I read some books with great advice, some books with okay advice, and some books with bad advice.
Today, I’m sharing the ones that have stuck with me all these years, but I encourage anyone who wants to deepen their writing skills to check out any of the following titles.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing by Jessica Brody
Refuse to be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
Write, Edit, Publish: What Every Writer Needs to Know but Only an Editor Will Tell You by Michael J. Totten
Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes