Books on Writing

While this feels some what ironic, there are a fair number of books available on writing. They range in topics from general to genre specific to focusing on one element of writing. Each has it's useful side and a negative one.

Why buy books on writing? While, writing books will never replace the actual act of writing when it comes to a writer's improvement and style, there is a use for the books. The books that focus on one single element of writing are ones that can be useful. There are areas where a writer has strength and an area where they have a weakness. The books can help the areas of weakness and give some items to consider while attempting the techniques. Genre books are useful for getting to know the set factors that are expected in that genre. Most of the genres have some similarities but they also have differences to consider.

Here are a few books on writing to consider.

General fiction writing: Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb

This book is divided into two sections, Writing Your Novel and Publishing Your Novel. Both focus on the general aspects of first getting a novel written and then published. While it is a useful book for general information, there aren't enough pages to go into details on the different aspects of writing, along with genres, etc. There is still a ton of information distilled into one book.


Plots: 20 Master Plots and how to build them by Ronald B. Tobias

This book is about exactly what the title says. There are 20 plots presented in the book and it discusses how those plots are built to create different stories. What I like is that the book provides 20 instead of the 6 or so that most claim exist. It does go into enough detail on each plot. However, for those of us that get plenty of book ideas there isn't as much of a need to read on what counts as a plot.


Characters and Viewpoint: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress

As the title suggests, this book focuses on the characters of the novel, how to develop the right main character, what viewpoint to use and how to invoke emotion for said characters. One thing this book does, like many writing books, is that it provides exercises for the writer to attempt. The exercises are nice because it gives the writer a way to develop the skill beyond reading the words on the pages.


Children's Books: The Everything Guide To Writing Children's Books by Lesley Bolton

This is a general books version of a genre topic as the book covers everything from picture books to early readers and beyond. Part of the book is on the writing of the books but the other part is for the publishing/business side. It focuses on making the writing into a career but while it's a big book it has the same problems the generalized fiction writing books have.


Romance: On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels

I got this book for Christmas. It's interesting but has its flaws. The first section talks about the overall genre and how different publishers have come to be big names like that of Harlequin. Then it goes on to talk about the different elements expected from those writing in the genre. The information works for general romance but it has limited information for those who write on the outskirts of the genre.



Problem of books on writing is that they can get repetitive. You don't want to buy too many because many of them will say the same thing, just in a different way. This is the same for all writing books, however. At some point there isn't anything new to learn on the particular topic.

The tone of the book is important and some will reach to you more than others. Also, the examples presented are based upon what the writer of the book knows, and may often be books you've never read or even heard of. That can be okay but doesn't make the understanding of the topic any easier.

Remember to take what is said in all writing books with a grain of salt. You don't have to do everything the books say to do because there aren't many hard rules in writing. If you find the book says something you don't agree with, that's okay. It's just one book. And you can always break the rules. That is part of the fun in writing.

Writing Podcasts

There are many podcasts available online that deal with writing topics. I have listened to several and have a few to recommend. All can be found on Itunes. All are free.

One of the best podcasts on writing has to be I Should Be Writing.

http://isbw.murlafferty.com/

Mur Lafferty has been doing this podcast for a number of years now. She started as a non-published (novel wise) author but not too long ago she had one of her books published. Mur also has podcasted a few novels as well. The podcast includes lots of writing advice and interviews with other authors. She is also coming out with a pdf version of the podcast.

Everyone I've talked to about the podcast has enjoyed it. Mur is fun, and great to listen to. I look forward to every time I see she has posted another podcast.

Adventures in SciFi Publishing.

http://www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com/

This is for those interested in reading and/or writing scifi. The two hosts are very lively, and interesting to listen to. Also, this one has several interviews with authors and a few other people in the industry. Entertaining and informative.

Writing Excuses

Has a number of authors but three or four of them are the main ones that host the podcast. All of them are interesting and have good tips on writing. A few of them studied at BYU, which I find interesting since I live in Utah. But don't worry, the writing is all open to many topics, including violence. Plus, this is a very short podcast, so it won't take long to listen to each one.

For erotica writer's there is a podcast called "Packing Heat".

http://www.packingheat.net/

The creator is not quite as outgoing or crazy as some of the other ones I've mentioned but she has some good advice sometimes. I like to listen to her because she also writes gay male stories, though her focus is on the straight female audience. Aside from talking about erotica, there are topics of computer tools and writing advice.

There are many other writing podcasts, some of which are by writers and others are interviews with writers. Check them out if you get the chance.

Writing Know-It-Alls

In thinking of a topic for this post. There are many things I could write about but considering a few people that I've dealt with online I decided to post on people who give advice. This might seem a little weird since this blog could be seen as writing advice but what I am talking about is the people who have a bad attitude when giving advice.

Example: The topic was publishing word counts. Someone was talking about how many words they had so far and the amount they wanted to add. Another person chimed in with how they wanted 50,000 words as their novel. I added the information I'd heard from "I Should Be Writing" on the desired word count range for first time authors. Someone else came in and started spouting off what they called advice. That would have been fine if they hadn't acted like their word was the only right one and refused to listen to the conversation of anyone else.

That really got me thinking. I like getting writing advice and if someone asks a question that I've come upon in my research then I help them out if I can. I'm not published and don't claim to be an expert but I do have years of research behind me. I don't appreciate people who act like they know it all. The truth is, they are not always right. What they need to consider is their tone of delivery. Even though this is all done over the internet there is a big difference between being helpful and being snobby.

I hope I am helpful and will do my best to remain that way.