Our Summary Despite being written 45 years ago, it feels like a modern work. It’s at once Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Speculative, and even Literary. Everything a writer needs to know about sparse and impactful prose can be found in these pages. What I Learned From It Pithy writing has power. Take a look at the first…

Our Summary Presents in a highly readable, organized way all of the elements of a novel, from the significance of genre and common to lesser-known structures to all the aspects of a writers’ craft. Briefly and with amazing clarity, describes potential problems which might arise from each, then follows with suggestions for how to “fix”…

Our Summary This is a coming-of-age fiction book about a 24-year-old boy who feels stuck in his small town taking care of his overweight mother and special needs brother, while it feels like his other siblings and friends have moved on outside. What I learned From It I really learned alot about voice and character…

Our Summary Down to earth advice, not so much about the craft per se as the practice (and pitfalls) of “being a writer”. What I learned From It I’m actually still reading it, but so far I’ve got lots of encouragement from it. Her style is super informal and she has a wonderful dry wit,…

Our Summary a series of essays and short stories on the nature of story What I learned From It It does a great job of explaining the nature of truth in story. there’s a great section which notes that the factually correct war story is not the really true one, MattScho

Our Summary A beginners’ guide to writing historical fiction which draws on the material in her coaching sessions and lectures: characters, plot structure, research, using your senses to recreate the past and psychic distance. There are plenty of examples and exercises. What I learned From It I still dip into this book if I’m stuck…

Our Summary A collection of essays by a renowned writer on aspects of writing theory and how she became a writer. Entertaining and informative especially if you are already an Atwood fan. What I learned From It This isn’t a ‘how to write’ book – it is about ‘writing’ in a far more general sense.…

Our Summary This is Hollywood story consultant Vogler’s distillation of Campbell’s The Hero With A Thousand Faces. That is, it’s a book on comparative mythology turned into a writing manual about the “Hero’s Journey”. What I learned From It See description in previous post of Campbell’s The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Rich.

Our Summary First published in 1949, this dense, sometimes impenetrable, and somewhat controversial book on comparative mythology takes a tour through world folklore to tease out common themes and archetypes. What I learned From It What George Lucas was thinking when he wrote Star Wars. If you want to understand Hollywood’s obsession with this mode…

Our Summary Lists character traits to help you generate different types of characters and how these traits might manifest. Useful in conjunction with The Positive Trait Thesaurus. What I learned From It Helped me to write characters with more depth and think of a wider range of character types for my books. Claire G