This is an article I wrote for the GSHW newsletter awhile back. I'm going to make this an on-going feature, and I'll do short reviews of all the writing books I have. Look for them under the "Confessions" category on the side bar.
Confessions of a "How-To Book" Junkie
Creating Short Fiction by Damon Knight? Got it.
On Writing by Stephen King? Got it.
Telling Lies For Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block? My copy is dog-eared. It's on the shelf right next to the long out of print books by William Atheling (James Blish as he's known when not writing criticism). Steering the Craft, Writing down the Bones, Zen in the Art of Writing, The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells, Science Fiction 101, Characters and Viewpoint, Beginnings, Middles and Ends, Handbook of Short Story Writing are all on that shelf too.
What have I learned from all these books? First of all, I'm going to need a few more bookcases if I want to collect every writing book ever written. Second, Rudyard Kipling was spot on when he said "There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays / And every single one of them is right!"
If you read these books looking for one way to write or the "secret" of successful writers, you'll be disappointed. Just as every writer has his or her own style, each How To book is more a reflection on the writer than a universal guide to greatness.
Knight has some great insights on speculative fiction short stories but if you are less interested in structure, the literary insights of Le Guin's Steering the Craft might be more helpful. Lawrence Block is a funny and creative writer of mysteries but if you treat your study of writing seriously, his flippant attitude may be off-putting.
What's the aspiring writer to do? First of all, start each How To book with the idea that each piece of advice may not work for you or your style of writing. I read all of Characters and Viewpoint, but found the final chapter the one that answered all my questions about viewpoint.
Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress is a wonderful book, with many checklists which summarize the ideas covered. With all How To books, your learning experience will be improved if in addition to carefully reading each one you take notes and highlight as you read. Kress has given you a head start by doing the summarization for you.
When I finish a book, I write out the main ideas that I want to apply to my writing. Some of these ideas are written out on the inside cover of the notebook I use for story ideas. For example, one nugget of indispensable writing advice from On Writing is "Second draft = First draft -10%." What are the others? I won't bother to tell you, since they're the pieces of advice that I need -- what you need will be different.
Where do you go once your bookcase (if not your house) is filled with every How To book ever written? Go to the ultimate How To book -- the actual novels and stories that appeal to you. Did your favorite author die without writing a book for the Writers Digest Book Club? No matter. Dig deep and look critically and what they wrote. It's all there on the page.
For example, if you want to learn about characterization, take the story or novel with the character you find most interesting. How did the author introduce this character? How did we learn about them? What are they doing and saying that make them so memorable? Get out your highlighter and paper and pen. Do the research. The best How To book will be the one you write yourself.
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