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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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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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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