Episode 79: Let's talk about craft books
Today, Fable and The Verbivore discuss a variety of books that we’ve read on the writing craft.
In this episode, Fable notes that many craft books tend to cover either the author’s personal writing experience or lay out a method for how best (at least in the mind of the author) to approach the act of writing – and some books that we discuss are a little bit of both. Both these types have something to teach, but we feel it’s also important to remember there is not one right way of approaching the writing craft and not everything will be for you and fit with your personal writing process.
We also unpack how reading broadly and widely on this topic has been helpful to us in our own writing journeys, as well as how being open to trying new things can help in finding useful tools and methods that may surprise you.
The list of craft book titles that we share is long, some of them were helpful at different stages in our writing or helped us focus on learning specific things, some we connected with closely and others we didn’t. We also allow ourselves the freedom to put down a book that we’re not ready for or that we’re not connecting with. But for the most part, each book we’ve read has taught us something we needed to hear about this thing called writing.
We hope you enjoy listening this episode and that you find it encouraging wherever you are at on your writing journey!
Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!
Into the woods,
Fable & The Verbivore
Notes:
The Verbivore references author Mur Lafferty’s podcast I Should Be Writing. That podcast is hosted at https://murverse.com/subscribe-to-podcasts/isbw/.
Fable questions how Le Guin is pronounced. Here is a link to the correct pronunciation: https://forvo.com/word/ursula_k._le_guin/
Books Mentioned:
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You'll Ever Need by Jessica Brody
Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby
How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling by James N. Frey
How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II: Advanced Techniques For Dramatic Storytelling by James N. Frey
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
I Should Be Writing: A Writer's Workshop by Mur Lafferty
Do the Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way by Steven Pressfield
The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great by Donald Maass
Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work by Steven Pressfield
The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World by Lewis Hyde
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle
Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven by by Ursula K. Le Guin
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)