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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War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Translated by Anthony Briggs)

Our Summary

Napoleon has a bad idea and the lives of three young people in St Petersburg are changed forever.

What I learned From It

What it means to be human.

Rich.

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Truth by Susan Batson

Our Summary

Public personas, needs, and tragic flaws - A step-by-step guide for creating truth in a character from an acting perspective.

What I learned From It

This one's a little off the beaten path... I was fascinated with method acting, and wanted to bring that to my writing. How to embody and write the truth of a character. This is one of the books I learned a lot from in that regard.

LJ Beck

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Techniques Of The Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain

Our Summary

First published in 1965, Swain's book is a no-nonsense, broad-brush instruction manual for beginners that shows you how to construct a commercial story.

What I learned From It

The basic shape of commercial fiction (and how unchanging that shape has been for more than half a century). Every other writing manual I've ever read has felt like a retelling or offshoot of this book.

Rich.

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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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On Writing by Stephen King

Our Summary

Leave it to the literary rock star to compose a craft book that’s as entertaining as a good novel. “This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit,” King writes. What follows is a witty, practical, and sometimes poignant guide that is refreshingly devoid of the aforementioned BS. King relates his personal story of becoming a writer, then offers a “toolkit” of clear advice about everything from dialogue and descriptive passages to revisions and the head game. And there’s more: tips for beginning writers on submitting work for publication, a mark-up of one of King’s own manuscripts, and a reading list. You might not be awake at 3 a.m. turning these pages, but we promise On Writing will open your eyes to essential tricks of the trade.

What I learned From It

Just write a story readers will read.

James Charles

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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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Point Of View by Sandra Gerth

Our Summary

A clear, informative guide to the different types of POV with tips on choosing the best POV for your own manuscript. Offers exercises focused either on your work in progress or on a published book.

What I learned From It

I saw how to mix some POV, how and why to avoid head-hopping and picked up tips on internal monologue.

Jeanette

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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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What’s Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges

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 from reading this book. Gilbert Grape is an incredibly flawed character and can be pretty cruel at times, but I loved him. He emotes in ways that feel unconventional to a reader/are far from cliche. Rather than crying when he's sad, he takes it out through acting out at work or little internal jabs at other people. His relationship with his mother and siblings is fascinating to read, because he never says exactly how he feels about them, but his attitude changes throughout the book. Its just a really subtle way to draw a reader in and attach them to a character, even if he can be a jerk.

tmartini

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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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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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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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Kindred by Octavia Butler

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 paragraph…

“I lost an arm on my last trip home. My left arm.”

We don’t know why Dana lost her left arm - or where she was when it happened. However, most of us would keep on reading to find out.

The minimalist approach doesn’t end with the hook. Throughout the novel, the writing is direct and matter-of-fact. There’s no purple prose to distract the reader.

Butler's worldbuilding is likewise utilitarian. She sets the stage with everything we need to know, and little else. If something more is needed to move a scene forward, she’ll drop it in later so readers aren't overwhelmed.

There is brutality in this world, and Kindred doesn’t shy away from it. Slavery in the US was a cruel business. Still, she conveys the humiliation and suffering of human bondage with an economy of words. There’s no need for intricate detail.

There’s also no need to explain why slavery is wrong. Butler trusts her readers enough not to lecture them.

The author falls into a common conceit of the era - chapter titles. However, she doesn’t abuse that conceit. Each title is short and to the point with neither wit nor irony. There are no spoilers, either. The meanings are clear upon finishing a respective chapter.

Kindred has both a prologue and an epilogue. Few books need one, and even fewer need both. However, this story demands both. There is nothing extraneous about their inclusion here. Unlike many novels, neither feels bolted on to the main narrative. The prologue hooks the reader while the epilogue provides the necessary denouement.

Not everyone agrees Kindred is Science Fiction. If it’s not, there's a lot here for Sci-Fi readers (including myself) to like. If it is Science Fiction, the characters and dialogue are much more realistic than most contemporary works.

Most importantly - this book remains relevant to readers and authors alike.

Bloo✒️

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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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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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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 Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman And Becca Puglisi

Our Summary

A great one to dip in and out of if you find yourself repeating yourself in terms of showing-not-telling emotions. Gives lots of examples.

What I learned From It

Ideas to avoid repetition and alternative ways to say the same things if emotional reactions are repeated through the story.

Claire G

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Story Genius by Lisa Cron

Our Summary

It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite.

What I learned From It

The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think).

AnnieSummerlee

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Blurb Your Enthusiasm: An A To Z Of Literary Persuasion by Louise Willder

Our Summary

How different blurbs work in different genres from an insider in the business (Willder is a Penguin books blurb writer). Lots of great examples in each genre in terms of what does and doesn't work and why. Willder argues every word matters in a blurb, and so each has to count. Thus, she offers ways to do this.

What I learned From It

How to write a successful blurb from an experienced blurb writer. That is, what will appeal to readers in different genres and why. Use of specific words and phrases that attract readers. The multitude of different examples proved helpful as comparisons to craft your own blurb. As the book is written with humour, it's easy to read. You can also flick to different sections as per the genre you're working in, but I'd recommend you read the whole books to get the full picture.

Rachael Burnett

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Into The Woods: How Stories Work And Why We Tell Them by John Yorke

Our Summary

A structural guide to storytelling, plotting, punch, flow step by step

What I learned From It

Although such a step by step guide seems a bit prescriptive and in theory has the potential to limit the creative flow, I found that following the principles helped prevent a story from being a shapeless mass and made it take shape and form. A bit like a block of marble being turned into Michelangelo's David (although perhaps my results have been less classically terrific). Or a diving board: a structure from which to soar.

AliG

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