The Definitive

Litopia Writers’ Reading List 2024

Peter Cox, founder of Litopia

I asked our members a simple question.

Which books have had the most profound impact on your development as a writer?

Here’s what they told me. A glorious cornucopia of more than forty definitive titles that ought to be on your reading list.

And note: if you buy them all (why not?) it will still be cheaper than taking one average-priced commercial writing course.

We’ve all enjoyed putting this list together, and we hope you get as much out of it as we have.

Peter Cox

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Wonderbook (The Illistrated Guide To Creating Imaginative Fiction) by Jeff Vandermeer

Our Summary

For genre lovers. Practical information on plotting, structure, characterization, dialogue, exposition, worldbuilding, and POV while packed with exquisite and imaginative visuals. This is a beautiful, wild, and crazy book with contributions from various well loved authors like Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin and others. Dense and rich and wonderful.

What I learned From It

It encouraged me to not just embrace my imagination, but to push it as far as it will possibly go.

LJ Beck

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Developing A Written Voice by Dona J Hickey

Our Summary

This dense work focuses on a directed attitude towards developing Voice. From conversational to formal, snarky to respectful, it's all about word choice and the way that language will both sound and convey meaning. The same words with the same meaning can nevertheless be ordered in different ways with a difference in the way they are perceived, the it is this that comprises 'voice'. Replete with concrete examples and pertinent exercises, this book is hard to find but well worth the search.

What I learned From It

All writers have a voice, but not all work at developing it - or even possess a framework for it. This book provides a framework and it's a book I will continue working through for years to come.

Dan Payne

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The Memoir Project – A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text For Writing & Life by Marion Roach-Smith

Our Summary

Rational and literary at the same time, this slim tome is an extremely helpful exploration of how to turn life into memoir -- without boring the pants off the reader.

What I learned From It

A memoir is an illustration of a truth, a single facet of a life rather than a life story. Just because something happened doesn't make it interesting. Narrow the focus, find your voice and write in scenes until you have a vomit draft. Then the real work begins.

Mel L

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The Situation And The Story – The Art Of Personal Narrative by Vivian Gornick

Our Summary

Every work of literature has both a situation and a story, and modern memoir is all about the self that we become through life experience. She deftly illustrates this rather lofty theory with specific examples of how personal narrative is memorably crafted by different writers.

What I learned From It

Memoir is not about you or your life. It is about finding the truth and making sense of life experience to deliver a story that will resonate with readers. A hugely helpful read for anyone planning a memoir.

Mel L

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The Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman And Becca Puglisi

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

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Intuitive Editing by Tiffany Yates Martin

Our Summary

Everything you could possibly need to know to get your manuscript to submission or self-publishing standards.

What I Learned From It

This book is gold dust. Made me think objectively about everything I've been doing or hope to do.

Vagabond Heart

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Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias

Our Summary

It delves into the psychology of the reader and techniques to create emotional scenes within your storytelling, including in dialogue.

What I Learned From It

This author's way of teaching the craft really chimes with me. It's quite an expensive book but worth it in my opinion. For me, this book takes me into a layer above plot and structure.

Hannah F

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The Elements Of Eloquence: Secrets Of The Perfect Turn Of Phrase by Mark Forsyth

Our Summary

This is a book with a clear message (from the blurb): In an age unhealthily obsessed with the power of substance, this is a book that highlights the importance of style.

What I learned From It

About thirty chapters each dedicated to a rhetorical figure. The book is a fun read and has plenty of examples from The Bible, Shakespeare and Tupac ( "Money don't make the man, but man I'm making money")

JohnBertel

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The Dictionary Of Body Language by Joe Navarro

Our Summary

Not a writing book per say, but an invaluable text for writers. That is, it's dictionary structure means you can flick to a section and read about a specific body part you want to write about and read authentic body language positions/movements, etc. for each character. For example, you might might want to write about a character's eye, head, hand, etc. movement, the text allows you to learn authentic, non-cliched body language. Written by a ex-FBI agent, it is easy to read and invaluable for adding layers of authentic 'show' to characters. Works well with Navarro's first book What Every Body is Saying (a more detailed account of body language with illustrations).

What I learned From It

Genuine body language that can be adapted to different characters for accurate emotion and thus characterisation. Rather than relying on the usual cliches in body language for characters, this book elevates and authenticates body language, movement, and thus emotion that 'shows' rather than 'tells' the reader in a believable manner. Easy to use both via the chapter headings and the detailed index to research each different part of the body. This is one book I would not be without as a writer.

Rachael Burnett

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Secrets Of Story by Matt Bird

Our Summary

An award-winning screenwriter’s view of journeyman writing. How to hone in on and hone your story.

What I learned From It

Imagine your reader being on a long plane ride. Then imagine you are their seat mate. Are you the engaging stranger who entertains them with your sparkling wit and fascinating adventures? Do they want to take your name and keep in touch thereafter? Or are you the boring Uncle from Derry Girls that makes them consider opening the plane door and shoving you out?

Pamela Jo

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The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler

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.

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Show Don’T Tell by Sandra Gerth

Our Summary

Defines and illustrates the strategy. Explains the importance, art and limit of showing; also lists the uses of telling. Offers exercises and proposes solutions for some of them.

What I learned From It

I learned that 'telling' comes naturally to me but 'showing' much less so. This book is one I return to time and time again while I'm revising what I've written.

Jeanette

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The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

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

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The Art Of Fiction by John Gardner

Our Summary

This is a self-proclaimed book of basics, but Gardner is clearly elitist; this work is aimed at writers aspiring to create art. It covers plot, character, sentence structure, poetic rhythm - all the mechanics of writing fiction - but he's less interested in dictating laws of good writing. "Every true work of art," Gardner claims, "must be judged primarily by its own laws." His primary interest is about how to create a vivid dream to absorb the reader to the end of the story.

What I learned From It

This book is disorganised, but full of important lessons. There is no story until there is a plot capable of expressing it. The primary requirement of a piece of fiction is verisimilitude - that the reader can believe these events happened, or could have happened, or might happen in a slightly different world. And verisimilitude requires vivid detail. Most importantly it taught me to focus less on the technical details of correct writing and more on making the writing vivid and absorbing.

Dan Payne

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Writing Historical Fiction by Emma Darwin

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 in my writing or need some inspiration. It's practical rather than theoretical which works for me.

Liz Brown

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Write The Fight Right by Alan Baxter

Our Summary

Alan Baxter, a martial arts instructor and author, talks about what makes a good fight scene, and how to write rich scenes that are realistic and engaging for the reader. He discusses hand fighting in depth--techniques used, guarding and blocking, common injuries sustained in fighting, the consequences of a knockout. He explains how a smaller opponent must fight differently than a larger opponent. He discusses the sounds, smells, and yes, tastes of a fight. He discusses how the use of weapons affects the pace and outcome of a fight. Most importantly, he dives into the psychology of a fight--the effects of adrenaline, training, and experience on how people fight and how they react to a fight. All these details are explained in the context of how to convey the chaos and emotion of a fight on the page.

What I learned From It

I learned how to realistically give my characters challenging odds in fights. I also learned how to make a fight scene rich in detail without focusing on the blow-by-blow of a fight. Most importantly, I learned that the key to a fight is the emotional reactions of the characters--how the characters experience and emotionally process the fight is more important than the mechanics of the conflict itself. I also learned how to realistically address the aftermath of a fight--the broken hands, concussions, emotional turmoil--rather than have my characters bounce right back as though nothing happened.

Robinne Weiss

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Stein On Writing by Sol Stein

Our Summary

With examples from bestsellers as well as from students' drafts, Stein offers detailed sections on characterization, dialogue, pacing, flashbacks, trimming away flabby wording, the so-called "triage" method of revision, using the techniques of fiction to enliven nonfiction, and more.

What I learned From It

I got this in audio and it is like being called into the editors office and being told what goes, what stays. He talks about good writing, higher writing, yes. But always making it clear that you gotta get bums on seats,

Pamela Jo

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It Was The Best Of Sentences, It Was The Worst Of Sentences by June Casagrande

Our Summary

Gets into the line level of sentences and what order you need to put words so you can help a reader follow what you put down on paper (or computer). From phrases, clauses, subordination, long v short sentences tense, tense, prepositional phrases, danglers and much more. Perfect for reacquainting yourself with the nuts and bolts of grammar.

What I learned From It

I learnt how to consider what order words need to be in, and how writing them out of order confuses the reader. Now every sentence I construct considers the reader first.

RK Wallis

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The Positive Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman And Becca Puglisi

Our Summary

Lists character traits to help you generate different types of characters and how these traits might manifest. Useful in conjunction with The Negative Trait Thesaurus by the same authors.

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

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Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Our Summary

Great for understanding genre, theme, 3 act structure. Very well explained. Lots of examples of story beats from popular books. Even looks at pitches and loglines.

What I Learned From It

I found the famous beat sheet really helpful in deciding when to do what in my novel. The biggest thing for me was understanding structure enough to keep those pages turning

Hannah F

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