8 Books on Writing I Recommend

What book on the craft of writing has been the most helpful to you?

I recently asked that question on my Facebook author page, but no one left an answer.

So I have to wonder if I’m wasting my time with today’s post.

But maybe it was a question that required too much thought.

Or they weren’t trolling Facebook that day (after all I posted that on a Monday).

Or maybe they didn’t find any book particularly helpful. And if that’s the case, I find that sad because there are so many great books out there on the craft of writing.

While I am all for a college education, I don’t believe that’s the only way we can learn. You see, my degree is in another field and the majority of what I’ve learned about writing, I’ve taught myself.

I regularly read and study books about writing nonfiction and fiction. I also study the books I read for enjoyment. I figure out what it is I like about those books, and then apply that to my own writing.

(P.S. I had no idea until today after I posted my blog that Jerry Jenkins posted a similar blog yesterday. I’m not surprised to find some of the same books on his list as are on mine.)

Books I Recommend and Why (in no particular order)

If I was to answer the question above, undoubtedly I would say

Scene & Structure by Jack M. Bickham
Elements I had noticed about the books I studied, Jack Bickham gave them names. So much fell into place and made sense. I learned the structure of a scene and I learned about what Bickham calls sequel. If you write fiction, read this book! I believe it serves as the foundation of writing great fiction.

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
I promote this book in a lot of my blog posts. As much as Scene & Structure is the foundation, Plot & Structure is the framework: the 2 x 4’s, the plumbing, the wiring, the dry wall. This book will help you build the house that is your fiction book.

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
I’m still reading this book, and mining nugget after nugget. See my earlier post about clean writing.

An Introduction to Christian Writing by Ethel Herr
I learned about this book when I enrolled in the Apprenticeship Program of what was then Jerry Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild some 7 or 8 years ago. The book taught me about writing magazine articles, and I referred to it almost weekly when I was writing for magazines.

Selling & Writing Your Memoir by Paula Balzer
When I was first hired by Dr. Joe Friedman to help him write his autobiography, I bought this book. It helped me then and it helped me when I wrote my story in Carried by Grace. Now I’m rereading it as I begin a ghostwriting memoir project. Most people have a story to tell. This book can help you find it and refine it.

Unleash the Writer Within by Cecil Murphey
Okay, I admit it, every book by Cec Murphey that I’ve ever read I’ve liked. This book isn’t so much about the craft of writing, as it is about being you and being true to who you are as a writer.

Find Your Voice: How to Put Personality in Your Writing by Les Edgerton
This was one of my first purchases when I decided to pursue freelance writing. I worked through most of the exercises at the end of the chapters and learned a lot about myself and my voice. I need to pull this off the shelf and read it again.

The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith
Here’s another book you’ll see me mention a lot on my blog. I love the tools he provides for constructing your draft and then for analyzing your work as you revise.

I love learning, and I hope I never stop learning whether it’s related to writing or anything else in life that interests me.

What book (or other resource) have you found helpful to you as a writer and why? Please share with us in the comments below.