The Best Books on Writing I’ve Read This Year
Photo by Johnny McClung on Unsplash
The Storytelling Animal - Jonathan Gottschall. I’ve read a lot of books on the neuroscience of writing and reading, and this book gives a terrific overview without going into the science weeds. He keeps it lively with entertaining anecdotes that illustrate just how addicted we humans are to story. We’re wired that way, in fact, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest it’s more than a fondness for entertainment. He goes into children’s play, dreaming, and even the evolution of story through video games to explain how stories shape us and help us understand the world around us.
The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults – Cheryl B. Klein. I love, love, love this book. It’s not just good for writers of MG and YA, but any writer that wants to understand how to put together a novel. It’s especially good in terms of giving you a blueprint for revision. There are specific chapters to help you tighten your story concept, identify the emotional and experiential points of the novel, deepen character, enhance voice, and create a solid plot structure, as well as deal with the “little” things that make a novel readable, like prosody, pace, and rhythm. Worth reading before you start a novel for things to keep in mind and once you’ve finished a draft so you can go back and revise with intention and actually get to work on the things that need to be done instead of just moving words around. Filled with examples and practical exercises, this is a great book for any fiction writer’s shelf.
The Heroine’s Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture – Gail Carriger. Fascinating counterpoint to the standard Hero’s Journey narrative design. She makes a compelling case for the popularity of a different kind of story, also based on myths like Demeter/Persephone, Isis, and Inanna, where instead of going bravely alone to conquer, the heroine faces the underworld with her community, and the keys to her success are her friend network, and ability to lead and inspire others. The “heroine” is not always female – Harry Potter, for example, follows a Heroine’s Journey.
Sadly, the kinds of books that follow this framework are as denigrated as anything “feminine” often is (romance, cozy mystery, YA literature) but they are incredibly popular for a reason. They are stories of love, community, friendship, and struggling together to attain a goal. The difference between the two journeys is mainly in their definition of strength – the indomitable lone hero, focused on revenge and conquest; or the heroine who finds strength in her connection to others and seeks not for personal glory but for community. Once you see this narrative chassis, it’s fun to look at books, tv, and movies with new eyes for the possibilities. It will also make you think of your own stories in new ways, and give you a wider range of possibilities as a writer.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel – Jessica Brody. Based on Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! structure for screenwriters, this book translates the 15 beats specifically for novelists. For those who aren’t familiar, the STC structure consists of 15 beats – Opening Image, Theme Stated, Setup, Catalyst, Debate, Break into Two, B Story, Fun & Games, Midpoint, Bad Guys Close In, All Is Lost, Dark Night of the Soul, Break into Three, Finale, Final Image. These are explained in the book, along with examples, which are in turn based on the ten “genres” or general blueprints for stories: Monster in the House, Golden Fleece, Out of the Bottle, Rites of Passage, Dude with a Problem, Buddy Love, Fool Triumphant, Whydunit, Institutionalized, Superhero.
Brody walks through a full example of each genre, using the beats, so you can see how they play out in a particular story. She also emphasizes this is not just about structure, or plot (what happens) but why, and how it helps the protagonist transform through dealing with the story problem. I had heard of this structure before, but hadn’t paid much attention since it felt too cookie-cutter for me. Finally digging into it has helped me understand it’s not a paint-by-numbers approach, but one that can help a writer come to grips with some of the universal aspects of storytelling. Understanding what genre, or type of story you’re writing can help you figure out many other elements of the story as well, from character to plot points, and using the 15 beats gives you a road map to follow while still allowing for plenty of creative expression to tell your story.
Have you read any of these? Have others to share? Please let us know in the comments!
