Young Writers Society

I'm not really sure if this isn't supposed to be in research, but it does link with fiction, doesn't it?

Lol, I suppose I should ask my question first: Can anyone recommend any good books on/about writing?

-elein

viewtopic.php?t=10750&highlight=writing+books

*sigh* it took me like 15 minutes to find that stupid link!!! Anyway, there is a list of a lot of good books in that thread, about the same topic, that should help you out.

Also, I haven't had much of a chance to roam this site but they may have some good books here:

Writer's Store.

Good luck finding what you need And congrats on winning this week!

Thanks and thanks, lol

-elein

Whoever suggested How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card in the other thread - that book is fantastic. And so is his sense of humor. I checked it out at the library, but I'm considering buying it - it's fantastic.

Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella is great too. I read that when I was about thirteen and it really helped me back then - I should re-read it now. (My dialogue is getting sloppier.) The short story that he includes in the appendix is one of the most influential pieces I've ever read. Katherine Mansfield is an absolute master at that kind of thing and it's tough to find her stuff anywhere these days.

Also check out Arthur Plotnik's stuff, esp. Honk If You're a Writer (which I think has been republished as The Elements of Authorship... I don't know why, liked the old title better) which is pretty funny. Not totally laugh out loud funny, but at least "o haha" in places, you know.

The Writer's Way by Sara Maitland isn't bad either, but I didn't find that much in it that was applicable to my current state as a writer, if that makes sense. I would suggest checking it out from a library if at all possible. I got this one in the UK, so it might be a little tougher to find depending on where you are.

I'm not sure if this was mentioned, but The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is amazing, amazing, amazing-- especially for writers.

My favorite book, so far, is Spunk & Bite by Arthur Plotnik. Amazing? Forsooth.

Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb...It is simply the best! It's got really positive advice and really good inspiration and prompts.

its not really writing books but just books in general maybe you can find a book by a young author that you can relate to and pick things from their stories

What's that one called? "Eats Shoots and Leaves," I think. I'm sorry I can't tell you more than that offhand, but a quick Google search should provide any other information you might want. It's a book about punctuation.

Professor Rabit, I'm familiar with that book. There also are smaller books that just have funny sentences where the words remain the same, but the sentences change entirely. Each one focuses on a certain mark. For example, "The Girl's Like Spaghetti" focuses on apostrophes, while "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" focuses on commas.

Here are some sample sentences from them:

Slow, children crossing.
Slow children crossing.

Look at that huge hot dog!
Look at that huge, hot dog!

What is this thing called, honey?
What is this thing called honey?

The apostrophe's like a flying comma.
The apostrophes like a flying comma.

Bird By Bird: Ann Lamott

and

Stephen King's On Writing. Both are equally hilarious.

Both Bird by bird by Anne Lamont and Writing down the bones by Natalie inspire me.
"Character profile" is great if you want to profile your character.
How about a traumatic child become a insane ? possible a criminal or rapist? Just explore and create the traits of their personality.

Check out Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain. It's really an amazing how-to book on writing, in my opinion the best there is. It goes in-depth on such topics as planning, characterization, plot, conflict, and even goes as far as to show you how to structure your story down to the very sentence so you never lose momentum with your story. I'm on my second reading of it already, and this time I'm making sure to take notes.

There is so much to absorb that's it's crazy. But if you're really serious about writing, this book has the potential to seriously upgrade your knowlege of how to craft a good story, whether it be short or a novel. I'm still learning from it, and I've had it for many months. It has my highest recommendation. ^_^

[s]BlackGhost[/s]

Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. I swear, I love that book to death. It has everything you'd ever need. <3

STORY: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting. It's by Robert McKee and it's not just for screenwriting. I mean, it's supposed to be, but it discusses character development and dialogue and tons of other stuff.