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Books on Writing

These are books on the writing craft that I (and/or writers I know) have found helpful. I find myself recommending these a lot, so here they are in one place! If you purchase a book from one of the links to Bookshop.org on this page, I will receive a tiny commission AND you will be supporting an indie book store. Double win!

Cover for Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel: The Ultimate Guide to Writing a YA Bestseller by Jessica Brody. An orange cat hangs off a dangling rope. The background is lined notebook paper with doodles.
Cover for Conflict & Suspense by James Scott Bell. Two men wielding fencing swords duel against a brown background.
Cover for On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. A corner of a room with a book sitting open on a chair, the title of the novel written in red on the wall siding.
Cover for The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglist. Red title text against a black background with words on slips of paper in the background.

General Writing Advice Books

  • Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
    This is less about craft and more a self-deprecating memoir about encouragement and how to keep writing even when life is shitty. 

  • Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Weiland
    This book expands on the differences between growth, fall, and flat characters arcs, as well as the lie your character believes and the truth they need to discover. 

  • Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell
    Understanding how to insert tension into your story can elevate your writing, and Bell's advice is practical and easy to follow.

  • The Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman
    Several of my editing and writing buddies love this database of traumatic situations, as it can give helpful ideas for your characters' backstories. Ackerman also has a ton of other books in this series, including thesauruses for negative traits, positive traits, settings, and character flaws.

  • ​How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell
    This might be the resource I recommend the most to new writers. Dialogue writing takes practice, and Bell gives tips on how to do it, explaining what makes readers interested in dialogue.

  • On Writing by Stephen King
    Similar to Lamott's Bird by Bird    , this book is part memoir. Read it if you're looking for encouragement and stories about King's own writing life interspersed with some practical tips.

  • Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
    If novel structure tickles your fancy, check out this book that helpfully explains plot beats with examples. There is also a     companion book specifically for writing YA novels.

  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Rennie Browne and Dave King
    Though the writing samples are outdated, there's good advice here, particularly on showing vs. telling and editing at a sentence level.

  • Steering the Craft: A 21st Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. Le Guin
    A short handbook that includes Le Guin's witty commentary and writing exercises.

  • Story Genius: How to Outline Your Novel Using the Secrets of Brain Science by Lisa Cron
    Full disclosure: I, personally, did not find this book helpful. But I know several writers and editors who adore it, so I figured it was worth including! It tackles structure via character development instead of plot points.

  • Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story by K.M. Weiland
    If you're fascinated by story structure and methods like Save the Cat, you might also appreciate this guide and how Weiland explains story beats in an easy-to-understand manner with plenty of examples.

Genre-Specific Books

Cover for Making Myths and Magic: A Field Guide to Writing Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novels by Shelly Campbell and Allison Alexander. A pencil draws a starry sky, which makes the silhouette of a dragon, on a lined piece of paper.
Cover for Putting the Science in Fiction: Expert Advice for Writing with Authenticity in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Other Genres, Edited by Dan Koboldt. A silhouetted figure faces away against a blue and black background.
Cover for Writing & Selling Your Mystery Novel: The Complete Guide to Mystery, Suspense, & Crime by Hallie Ephron. The shilhouette of a writer at her desk on one side and a man falling on the other. Title text is red and the background colors are black and tan.
writing in the dark.jpg
Cover for The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction by Amy J. Schneider. Title is yellow on a taped post-it note against a darker yellow background with random symbols (a pitcher of water, a hat, a pencil, a sandwitch) drawn across it.
Cover for Dryer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer. Red and off-white text against a black background.
Cover for Editing Fiction at a Sentence Level by Louise Harnby. Black text in a white square against a pick background.
Cover for Grammatically Correct: The Essential Guide to Spelling, Style, Usage, Grammar, and Punctuation by Anne Stilman. White text against a giant red apostrophe and black background.

Line-Level Writing and Grammar Books

  • The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction by Amy J. Schneider
    While you don't need to go knee-deep into copyediting books if you're a writer and not an editor, this one has helpful tips on dialogue, voice, grammar, conscious language, and other fiction issues.

  • Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer
    Many writers recommend Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, but I like Dreyer's style advice better. For one thing, Elements was published in 1918, and Dreyer's English in 2019, so it has updated information and isn't so prescriptive. Dreyer's dry wit makes this an amusing read, and he gives helpful advice from his experience as Random House's copy chief.

  • Editing Fiction at a Sentence Level by Louise Harnby
    Louise Harnby, one of the hosts of The Editing Podcast, dives into many helpful topics in this resource, including character descriptions, narrative viewpoint, purposeful repetition, showing vs. telling, dialogue writing, punctuation, and more.

  • Grammatically Correct: The Essential Guide to Spelling, Style, Usage, Grammar, and Punctuation by Anne Stilman
    If you want to get into the nitty-gritty of grammar, this book is the one for you. It goes into spelling variations, hyphenation, irregular plurals, capitalization, punctuation, syntax and sentence structure, and style.

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