My Favorite Books On Writing 📖✨
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- Опубликовано: 9 июл 2024
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Thanks so much for coming back for another Preptober video as we discuss all of my favorite books on writing! Leave yours in the comments!!
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Chapters
0:00 Importance of Craft
7:08 Writing Addictive Stories
11:48 Screenwriting Books
16:40 Structure
25:59 Characters
33:03 Editing
35:54 Top 5 Recommendations
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About Me: My name is Sarra Cannon, and I've been indie publishing since 2010. In that time, I have published 27 books and sold over one million copies.
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Thanks so much for watching! Leave your must-read books on craft and writing in the comments!! 👇🏻
Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins.
My favorite writer toolbox book is Mastering Suspense Structure and Plot by Jane K Cleland.
Jane K. Cleland’s book Mastering Suspense Structure, and Plot has a wonderful explanation of building tension with what she calls TRDs. Twists, Reversals, and Danger. She explains how to integrate plot twists, plot reversals, or moments of heightened danger. Great for anyone who feels like their story doesn’t have enough tension to keep the reader interested, and it’s not just for thrillers/mystery!
I actually have this one in Kindle and haven't read it 🤣 putting it on my tbr!!
My TBR list just doubled - thanks Sarra! I would recommend for Mystery Writers 'The Perfect Crime'' by Jane Kalmes (through her newsletters, work in progress). She makes complicated elements like motivation, clues and alibis seem so simple to write.
Oh awesome, thank you for the recommendation!
My first one "On Writing Romance" by Leigh Michaels, by one of the romance writers! It is like a writing map on how to write a romance !
I actually really love Becca Syme's books particularly Dear Writer, Are You Intuitive? Its really helped me start to learn to accept my process as an intuitive writer and not feel embarrassed or like I'm doing it "wrong" for not writing by the 3 act structure or beats and other popular methods. Thanks for your list! I actually have Scene & Structure and the Emotional Thesaurus and both are pretty good.
Yes! I decided not to go too much into mindset here since I was mostly focused on craft but her books are great!
My favorite writing books : The Artist Way by Julia Cameron, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, and On Writing by Stephen King. Anything by Natalie Goldberg.
I remember attending a YA book festival years ago and Jonathan Maberry suggested Donald Maas.
I loved that Write Great Fiction series. It is the only series on structure that my little library had when I was growing up, and I still find them really helpful more than a decade later.
I totally agree! So many good books in the series
I am rewatching this video and thank you, Sarra, for introducing me to K.M. Weiland. I had a question regarding teaching creative writers and which book of hers was appropriate for middle schoolers and she wrote me back right away!!! I was not expecting that. You, Sarra, are such an inspiration day after day. Keep filling your well and giving us your excess:)
I love K.M. Weiland's new book "Writing Archetypal Character Arcs: The Hero's Journey and Beyond" - it made me realize that the story I was writing wasn't a hero's journey but a crone's journey! Fascinating stuff on archetypal character journeys beyond just the hero's journey.
And in terms of screenwriting books that are helpful to authors, my favourite was "My Story Can Beat Up Your Story" by Jeffrey Alan Schechter. The whole thing is great, but I especially loved the section on theme - possibly one of the best discussions of how to actually apply theme to your story structure, simply and directly.
Oh awesome!! I picked up her archetype book but haven't gotten to it yet. I'm adding that other one to my list!
Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer is a great one for jumpstarting creative thinking.
I have a few of these either on my list or on my shelf. One book I love that rocked my editing world is Intuitive Editing by Tiffany Yates Martin. She goes step by step, from large to little. It's a lot, but also really good.
It's in my TBR shelf right now so I'm excited to read it!
As I was watching, I remembered I have some of these either in audio or ebook format, but there are several I want to get physical copies, too. I need to pick up the James Frey book!
I loved On Writing by Stephen King, though more for what it’s like to be a writer as opposed to how-to instruction.
There’s one book I read at least once a year - “I Give You My Body”... How I Write Sex Scenes, by Diana Gabaldon. I wish it was available in print, but it’s only in ebook or audio formats (and I have both.) She doesn’t just talk about the naughty bits, though she does talk about them. She focuses more on the emotions behind them and why people do what they do in love scenes. The examples she uses are from her Outlander books, so that’s an added bonus for fans like me. I’ve recommended it often to steamy romance authors, but I think almost any author would benefit from her insight into relationships.
Plus, it’s short… around 100 pages.
These are great - I've added several to my list! Another great one is "Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story" by Ursula K. Le Guin. Also, John Truby's newer book, "The Anatomy of Genres: How Story Forms Explain the Way the World Works."
Thank you!!
Love this so much, Sarra! Thank you for sharing your favorite list! I just added to list from this!
Amazing timing! I've just finished KM Weiland's books and was scrolling the Kindle store for the next craft book to read. Thanks so much!
I would say to add "The Artful Edit" to your list of editing books. I love the examples in it, even though I am not a fan of The Great Gatsby itself. The look at the relationship between Fitzgerald and his editor really gives insight on how powerful editing can be, especially even for "great" authors.
And also, heck yes Mint Mobile. I made the switch about a year ago and have saved hundreds of dollars with no difference in service. What a great sponsor!
I will definitely add to my list!! And totally agree on Mint Mobile. I was so happy to find that the service is so good at this price, and it felt totally aligned to say yes to partnering with them!
I’ve been using John Truby’s book and it’s amazing. I’ve used it to write my 4 mystery novels and now short stories. 🇺🇸🇬🇧
Omgosh I have been waiting for this video. I learnt so much from this and have more books to add to my wishlist. Thank you so much for this video. I appreciate all you do ❤
Thank you for sharing your recommendations, Sarra! I’ve been looking forward to this video. 😊
Currently working my way through Story Genius and it is admittedly making my brain hurt. But in that good "feel the burn" kinda way.
I just updated my Christmas list! ❤. Thank you Sarra! I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these! I do have Romancing the Beat and Save the Cat Writes a Novel! My absolute favorites!
Thank you so much for this video!!
*starts new spreadsheet of books* Thanks, Sarra!
Thank you for this video! I did purchase "Romancing the Beat." My NaNoWriMo novel is a romance so I'm very excited to read this book.
This was so helpful, thank you! I knew quite a few already but also a lot of inspiration.
Awesome Suggestions Sarra!
This is fabulous! thank you so much! i just finished a few other books from your list and loved them so much!
That was so helpful! I'm going to watch it again and take tons of notes. Thank you!
Another helpful video and thanks for sharing your favorites! :)
Thank you so much for your book recommendations.
I love editing books. I like the book on editing.
Brilliant advice
I love these! Thank you.
I’m finding it difficult to know what to focus on for my first draft (#1 Intellection in the house!).
I write romantic suspense/mystery/paranormal and trying to fuse the beats works. I just feel so I confident about it.
Sarra you are so dope this is a refresh to me I have half the books you’ve mentioned I feel like I’m on the right path. And that’s a great feeling. Keep the dope videos coming your leading the Pack. I’m slow moving but I’m right behind you friend. 🙏🥰
{Ennea}
Ive used Mint mobile for like 3 yrs now and love it. ❤️ congrats on the sponsorship!
Loved this video. I’ve always wanted to know what writing books you’d recommend
Great list! Jessica Brody released a version of Save The Cat focused on YA books a couple of months ago, I really enjoyed it.
Oh wow. Thank you, Sarra! Pleased to say I have a lot of these, but will be adding more.
Thank you so much for this video! I have a hard time navigating all of the writing advice that's available these days (it's awesome there are so many resources now), but knowing your recommendations helps narrow it down. I've also loved and followed KM Weiland's writing advice for years now and totally agree with you - the way she explained story structure AND character arcs was completely game-changing for me as a new writer!
Recently I read "20 Master Plots and How to Build Them" and am working my way through "Theme & Strategy", both written by Ronald B. Tobias. I appreciated the way he discussed the history of storytelling and his explanations on the types of stories still in circulation today, and how most stories boil down to physical or mental plots. In Theme & Strategy, he writes about the patterns that exist in storytelling (patterns in plot, character, etc.), and it's been really interesting!
I have four of J. S. Bell's books plus his Great Courses class on How to Write Best-Selling Fiction. So yes, also a fan. I also just purchased and started reading John Truby's "The Anatomy of Genres." Just a few pages in and I love it. Heard Donald Maas speak at a conference years ago and loved it. Have two of his books but not the one you mention. Great choices. And don't you wish you could just press them to your forehead and have all the knowledge immediately transfer?!😜
Oh my gosh, YES! I don't have nearly enough time to read and really integrate all of this knowledge but how I wish Id id!
Thanks for this list. I'm excited to pick up some of these titles and learn more. I'm currently reading the Heroines Journey, by Gail Carriger
My top five Strengths are Futurist, Achiever, Learner, Focus, and Input. I have a feeling we have VERY similar top 5 / top 10. LOL! Thanks so much for this list. This is amazing and can't wait to start adding to my library.
K.M. Weilland is great! I also really enjoy her blog/podcast. Because it helps me, I read the blog while I am playing the same podcast episode. That would probably be overkill for some, but it works for me. :) I have also recently found HR D'Costa and her 3 book series on iterative outlining. I mostly rely on the third book for really improving my story before I ever even write a scene. Thanks for all you do for this community!
KM Weiland recently did a podcast on Writing Archetypal Character Arcs over a series that might be of use (episode 643). T Taylor recently published a list with UF's for Romance, with another one due for SF & Fiction in November.
Save the Cat writes a YA Novel is a useful addition to the STC franchise, and not just if you write YA. It includes a series beatsheet of a trilogy Jessica Brody wrote with Joanne Rendell. Highly recommend.
A craft book on writing romance that hardly ever gets mentioned but that I thought is really good, is Writing Category Romance by Amy Lane.
Last but not least, The Virgin's Promise by Kim Hudson (the paperback version) and the Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger.
Great selection of writing books. I also have “Self-Editing for Fiction Writers” too. Really good editing resource. I also have a book on copy editing too, though I haven’t read in it too much. I’m somewhat an intuitive writer, so my plotting method is pretty simple, but Nigel Watts “Write a Novel and Get It Published” was really helpful with forming my plot points for my story outlines. Bryn Donovan’s “Master Lists for Writers” is another thesaurus-like book that I found extremely helpful.
I also enjoyed Jordan Rosenfeld’s books “Writing the Intimate Character,” which deep-dived in POV and I found really eye-opening, as it’s a subject not discussed too much, but there’s so many creative things writers can do with it and I loved her examples of how writers can get readers engaged with their characters. She also has another book “Make a Scene,” which is helpful for how to make scenes realistic and captivating to keep readers invested in your novels.
With me returning back to working on my series books soon, I came across some other books by authors Eileen Cook and Crystal Hunt about being a strategic series author, building better characters, and creating story conflict that interested me that I’m intending to get for my series book projects. After reading them, I’ll probably review how helpful they were to me.
I have most of the books mentioned, many I had before I discovered your channel, and then I acquired the ones you've recommended in the past. I'm definitely going to get the punctuation one you mentioned. Currently, I'm working my way through Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt and it seems pretty amazing so far.
These are some of my favorite videos since I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE craft books.
My suggestion for a great editing book: Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing by Tiffany Yates Martin.
One of my oldies for writing in general is Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver
I have intuitive editing on my shelf to read soon but I'm adding those other two to my list thank you
Love this video. The Writer's Journey by Vogler is an amazing book. It is well worth a book study. :)
two days ago i was scouring your channel for this video!! thank you so much for uploading this, you’re the only person i trust to give good writing-craft book recommendations. also, once you read the writers journey, your life is going to be changed!!
Seeing a lot of comments about that book so I'm putting it at the top of the TBR;
I'd love to share some recs! Lydia Michaels has a great book out called Write 10k in a Day: Avoid Burnout. And T. Taylor just released The Universal Fantasy List for Romance. It's been a game changer! I love it!
thanks for this video Sarra. I'm just getting back into my writing after a bit of a break, and it's great to have these kinds of books. I agree with KM Weiland, I got her books after you recommended them before, and they've been so great for helping me learn. For a new writer, they are so incredibly important. i'm really looking forward to jumping back into my series in nano, and super excited to getting things going again. Xx
I will always recommend her books forever! So happy you picked them up and have found them just as useful!
Thank you so much Sarra! Recommendations like this are so helpful because there are hundreds of writing books out there and it's easy to spend money on books that don't offer much or repeat what you've already seen before. I like all your recommendations - still need to check out KM Weiland's work! My additional recs are The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass, which goes into how to really engage the emotions of the reader, and The First 5 Pages by Noah Lukeman, which is a good condensed guide to improving the quality of prose in general.
Thank you for the suggestions!
I recommend “Shut Up and Write the Book” by Jenna Moreci, who also has a RUclips filled with great information about writing.
I read so many writing books- Syd Field's "Selling a Screenplay", Robert McKee's "Story" ,some books help me improve my writing
Between this and Erin Condren, my bank account is giving me serious side eye every time I click play on one of your videos! 🤣Oh yeah, and I bought Bunny too because it's been on my list for ages. My favorite books on writing - so far - are anything by KM Weiland, The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger. Now if only one of my favorite authors would write a book on writing series... (pssst - that's you).🖤💜
The first "structure" book I read was Save the Cat and though I've also read Structuring Your Novel, I have trouble connecting K.M. Weiland's points in my brain. I guess Blake Snyder's system just clicks better for me.
Hi, Sarra! I have many of the same books as you apart from James Scott Bell. The few I would add to your list that have helped me out are : Writing deep scenes, Martha Alderson, Getting into Character, Brandilyn Collins, and the newest book is, The Anatomy of Genres, John Truby.
Great list! Adding to my wishlist!!
This was been great. I already had some of these but I still came away with a long wish list! I'm still to new to have any recommendations, and the books I've been buying have been related to romance writing. I've just received Romance character tropes, which on first flick through, seems to break down each character trope into what it's about, what readers expect and positive and negative traits of the trope. By Jessica Barber and Tara G Erickson. It's the first in a 4 book series..
The Writers Journey is my absolute favorite book on writing! Put it at the top of you TBR list.
Awesome thank you!
Amazing and helpful ✍️
I remember seeing the paperback for Structuring your novel paperback from last years Preptober video. I hope you find it! I have all the Thesaurus books either on kindle or paperback!
I was pretty sure I owned it in paperback so thank you for remembering that! I need to go on a search
@@HeartBreathings No problem, but now that I think about it, it wasn't last years preptober video. It had to have been 2020 or 2021 because you filmed it in home in Charleston where you did most of your live readings for The Shadow Demon Saga. I'll cross my fingers that you are able to find it!
I love creative writing
Congrats on the sponsorship!
Sadly, the book Second Sight is hard to get hold of. You can only get them used or from resellers.
I didn't realize that when I recommended it, but when I went looking for it, found that to be true. So sad, because it's such a great book.
I used “Self-editing Fiction that sells,” by Lorena Goldsmith.
Oh cool I'm adding to my list!
Thank you for this Sarra…I pretty much have most of the books you recommended. Others I would recommend
Writing Active Setting by Mary Buckham quite useful to show through the POV character
Dynamic Story Creation by Maxwell Alexander
Story Stakes by H R D’Costa
Million Dollar Outlines David Farlane
Point of View by Maxwell Alexander
Writing Compelling Fiction by Shirley Jump
Word Painting by Rebecca Mcclanahan
Writing your story’s theme by K M Weiland
Thinking theme by William Bernhardt
I haven’t read it yet but I have bought The Heroines Journey by Gail Carriger, which I have seen some recommendations for
It's an amazing book for sure! I haven't quite finished it so I didn't put it on my list
Great list. I recommend The Craft if Scene Writing by Jim Mercurio , The Secrets of Story by Matt Byrd, and 27 Essential Principles of Story by Daniel Joshua Rubin.
Thank you for the list!!
I tried finding the book by Cherl Klein but it is not available on Amazon.
I wish KM Weiland would write a book on romance!
You have a lot of craft books!
James Scott bell is my faaave craft writer
He's amazing!
k.m. weiland is fantastic
Me: "Oh, Sarra just did a video about her favourite writing books."
My husband: *credit card quakes in fear*
Thanks for the recs.
😅
"The Aanatomy of Story" I read this year! Better examples of stories!
Don't give me an Amazon link to a list of great books--so dangerous! (But also thanks! I loved this video!)
💜💜
Sarra: I have more books for you but my comment, which had them was removed by RUclips and they say it violated rules.....😢
I feel you. RUclips did the same thing to me 😢
Oh no! How does that violate rules?? Ugh. I'm sorry! Can you send them to me in email and I'll find a way to share more recs from the community.
Boo I'm so sorry!
I've found that RUclips can be really finicky with comments that contain links. Don't know if the comment you posted had a link, but if it did, that might have been the reason.
@@HeartBreathingsYay they apparently took the ban away. Thank you for your help Sarra.
Book list:
The Scene and Structure book by Jack B. Is part of a series.
The Heroes book has a companion that covers villains.
Also Story Physics!
45 Master Archetypes uses Greek mythology to make Archetypes.
20 Master Plots is a good one as is the book written by the gal that wrote Master Archetypes.
Another is the little sister to Save the Cat Writes a Novel called Save the Cat Writes YA.
Romancing The Beats if you write romance.
A few Tarot and Writing books would be Kenner's Tarot for Writers
And Mapping the Hero's Journey.
Teaches writers how to write a male hero and heroine ,what romance readers are looking for!
First!🎉
Yay! ❤❤❤