Some Books You Might Find Useful (and the odd link)

There are many how-to-write books out there, and almost certainly loads that I've never seen. However, I can attest that the following are all good. Your results may vary, but each one is worth a look.


On Writing by Stephen King

This is pretty much an essential read. I think King is better at writing non-fiction than fiction, and here he looks at the art of writing (actually, and more accurately, he calls it a craft) in clear and entertaining prose. King de-mystifies the process of writing without making it sound easy or routine, and gives some very good advice about editing and the creative process itself. Highly recommended.

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

Nobody is going to mistake this for a fun read, and I think you'd go a bit weird if you read it from cover to cover in one go, but it is a very useful guide to writing good English. A very handy reference book.

How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction edited by J.N. Williamson

I'm recommending this collection of essays somewhat warily. First up, it may well be out of print. Secondly, if it isn't, the last quarter or so, which deals with getting published circa 1990, is completly out of date. However, it contains about 20 essays by expert genre writers (Ray Bradbury, Dean Kootz, Colin Wilson and others), all of which are very interesting. There's a strong focus on Horror, which was a much bigger genre when it was published, but the techniques described are applicable to all forms of fiction.

Dance Macabre by Stephen King

I learned a lot about plotting and the mechanics of storytelling from this book, which ostensibly focusses on horror films. Towards the back of the book, King discusses a range of novels, including Dracula, The Haunting of Hill House and The Body Snatchers, and provides very useful insights into the way that they engage (and frighten) the reader. It's sometimes irrelevant, often digressive, but a very interesting read from a writer's point of view.

Wonderbook, by Jeff Vandermeer

I'm in two minds about this one. I've got it, and read it, and enjoyed it, but it is a very visual book, and I tend to learn better from walls of plain text than from illustrations, unusual fonts and similar frivolity, which make me tut and wave my walking stick. However, a lot of people I know swear by it. Definitely worth a look.

And here's a link to a large number of short articles about writing: mainly about fantasy, but largely applicable to anything else. The author seems to have been a schoolteacher and writer of fan fiction, but the articles are generally recommended to anyone trying to write fantasy that makes sense and goes beyond the usual stereotypes. Some of the articles may seem rather basic, and a few are a bit internet-focused and sweary, but many are well worth a look.


Limyaael's "Rants"

And if that isn't enough...

How about a few essays? I would recommend:

"Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell (pretty much obligatory)

"On Thud and Blunder" by Poul Anderson (especially for historical and fantasy writers)

and

"The Simple Art of Murder" by Raymond Chandler (especially for stories with a crime element)


Of course, you don't need to read all of these, or indeed any of them, to succeed. But it's never really a matter of doing something that will guarantee success in writing. What you're seeking to do is to raise your chances of writing a good, publishable novel, to put the odds in your favour as much as you possibly can. And reading some of these won't hurt.