Books About Writing (Books)

I've been working and rewriting on a book series since....around 6th grade. I'm still not even close to finished, but if there are two bits of advice I'd give any writer they would be:

1. Just write. Write every day. Write about everything, no matter how mundane or trivial. It doesn't have to be a lot. Just get some practice in writing about things and conveying thoughts, feelings, and scenes. Keep the gears turning and eventually the inspiration will come, usually from the strangest of places.

2. Hunt new experiences in your life. Go to a new restaurant, talk to strangers, try to pick up a musical instrument. Often times these challenges will get your brain in gear and moving in different ways than you normally do. A rut is the enemy of inspiration, if you ask me. Challenge yourself.

Pick it back up, bud! I always enjoy how it puts my mind in a different gear after a long day of work.

Awesome advice and much appreciated!

Books:
James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure. It is absolute gold.

Chris Fox's 5,000 Words Per Hour. It will help you set out good writing habits and provide some motivation.

Other James Scott Bell books are good too. How to Make a Living as a Writer has good tips. But the first two were the most helpful books I've ever read. And Chris Fox's is really about practicalities. Not how to be a good writer.

Advice:
Write daily at the same time each day for an hour or so at least. It is like working out. If you have a routine, you're more likely to stick to it. If you like writing at Starbucks or the library, go there. If you like writing in your study, go there. Eliminate distractions by getting them out of the way. Spend 5 to 10 minutes checking shite on here or email or whatever other nonsense you know distracts you, then turn off the WiFi, set up the scene or scenes you plan to write on a scratch piece of paper, and get to work.

Do not micro manage your work. Know it will suck. You are not Hemingway. You are not Faulkner. And even they had shitty first drafts.

As Neil Gaiman said at his talk last weekend, whatever you're writing, finish it. It could be complete garbage. Just finish it. Ignore the voice in your head telling you it sucks.

For me, I need an outline. Even when I wrote daily, the shite was hard to keep straight. The more detailed for me the better. Think of outlining as writing. It basically is. Allow yourself to explore different paths at the outlining stage. Then cut the shite that sucks. Only after editing your outline should you start writing your story.

If you're writing as a journalist, I don't really know where to point you. I'm sure there are books on how to make it as a freelance journalist. There are websites dedicated to that. Can't recall their names offhand, but Google and "freelance writing website" and I'm sure it will come up.

Realize that writing is rewriting. Get the whole thing written before you start editing.

"The first draft of anything is shite." - Hemingway

"Write drunk, edit sober." - Hemingway

Writing is essentially storytelling and storytelling is about engaging the audience, keeping them interested, and hopefully giving then something of significance to take away from the experience.

No one wants to listen to a boring story and that's why a lot of advice on writing focuses on trimming the unnecessary from your writing. Learn from other storytelling mediums like graphic novels and movies.

You can't just read, you have to study and analyze the masters to learn the craft. The first time you read something you are only focusing on plot. You want to find out what happens next. Read something great 2-3 times because after you know the plot you can focus on the writing mechanics. Dissect the writing, learn how it works.

Don't worry about rules. In the arts there is but one rule: "Entertain your audience." You might not need books on how to write if you enjoy analyzing writing.

"I didn't go to film school, I went to films." - Tarantino

I'm not an English major, but I found On Writing by Stephen King to be very interesting. Even though I have no desire to write, having him explain things helped me read better.

On Writing by King is a good one. Fun read.

How Not To Write by William Saffire

The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman

And it's always nice to have a copy of White and Strunk's "The Elements of Style" handy.

If you get serious about trying to get published, get a copy of The Novel abd Short Story writer's market.

I've written some short stuff and a novel and found all the above helpful.

Like Sean Connery says in Finding Forrester:

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Do you know what the absolute best moment is? When you've finished your first draft ... and you read it by yourself. Before these assholes take something they couldn't do in a lifetime and tear it down in a single day.

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Just keep writing. And when you finish that first draft, take some time off (couple weeks at least--can't stress this enough) and enjoy what you've done, then get back to work. Editing and rewriting is tough, but you'll know what to do.

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ind a group of like minded people and put your work out there for criticism

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This is one of the harder things to do. You can find groups online that meet in person, but they can be incredibly frustrating. People are inherently lazy and do shite jobs reading and critiquing your work. May have better luck at your local college or simply through email correspondence with a group you connect with through an online forum of dedicated writers. I've found that many people are either total shite writers with no idea what they're doing or don't care about getting published or don't want to do anything beyond tinkering with their little musings.

For what it's worth, I'm happy to read whatever you'd like me to. I will say that I am busy and I don't wear kid gloves. I am not rude, or try not to be, but I am bluntly honest. Which I think is a good thing.

Stephen King wrote a great one On Writing

Picked up On Writing. Thanks to all, will be a great start in the right direction. Hope this thread continues for all those that want to read AND write.