Reads for Writers: Gift Book Suggestions for Writers

From Kate's Writing Crates...

          If you are buying a book for another writer or using a gift certificate to buy one for yourself, here are 15 books I found helpful at different stages in my writing career:

At any level:

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. If I could only own one writing book, this is it. You are not a writer unless you are writing on a regular basis. If I am having a tough time getting started one day (or every day), I randomly open this book and read until I cannot wait to pick up my pen or go to my computer and write. It has never failed to get me going. Pressfield recently published Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work.

Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. This funny, irreverent author shares how and why she became a writer as well as what it really means to be a writer. She offers both specific advice and broad overviews. A great book to reread for motivation and perspective.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. This bestselling author shares his life story and writing advice. It's moving and inspiring. While I am not a fan of the horror genre, I truly enjoyed Mr. King's personal tale.

A grammar guide that works for you. Cheryl just wrote about Grammar Girl who has written several excellent books. I also use Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English and Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing both by Patricia T. O'Conner.

The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale is my preference when I am searching for just the right word.

ADDITIONAL BOOK

I started following The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt on January 1, 2013. I highly recommend it for all writers. See my posts on the book and my progress.


At the Beginning:

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. This is the first book that got me writing on a regular basis which is the only way to become a better writer. Her suggestions and advice are easy and fun to follow.

For Writer's Only: Inspiring thoughts on the exquisite pain and heady joy of the writing life from its great practitioners by Sophy Burnham. The title says it all.

Zen and the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury. The author shares his life story, the fight to be true to himself and his muse as well as amazing writing advice. In the back of the book, his poem, "What I Do Is Me--For That I Came, for Gerald Manley Hopkins", should be framed or painted on the wall of every nursery and Writing Crate, in my opinion, so children and writers and artists and everybody would know the importance and happiness of using their unique gifts while living their lives! (Please note: God is mentioned in the poem so do not read it if you will be offended by that.)

The Writer's Life: Insights from The Right to Write by Julia Cameron. This pocket-sized book is perfect to carry with you so whenever you have some time you can be inspired to write. For even more insights and writing exercises, buy The Right to Write.

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers by Lawrence Block. With the 48 titles of his books listed in the front of the 1994 edition of this book, the author is more than qualified to tell writers how to make a living--and he does so in a funny and approachable style.


At a More Experienced Level:

The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons About Writing and Publishing by David Morrell. The author offers lessons to writers starting with beginners and working up to those completing novels. It follows the life he has led having written a couple of dozen books, novelizations, short fiction, as well as writing in Hollywood on the Rambo series, a character he created and wrote about in his debut novel, First Blood, when he was 25.

Architecture of the Novel: A Writer's Handbook--Plot Story, and the Mechanics of Narrative Time by Jane Vandenburgh. Plot and characters are front and center, but they are not enough alone to support a novel. A structure holding everything together is also necessary. This beautifully written book shows how to do this while also improving your ideas and writing

Championship Writing: 50 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Paula LaRocque. According to the introduction, "This work is based on one chief assumption: That good writing is clear, precise, graceful, brief, and warm, and that bad writing is not." It is written for journalists and professional writers.

Is Life Like This? A Guide to Writing Your First Novel in Six Months by John Dufresne. This book is not a step-by-step guide, but rather a guide to all the facets you need in a successful novel. Each facet is discussed by Dufresne with other writers quoted or used as examples so you can use the information and insights with your own characters, settings, dialogue, and plots to improve and complete your novels.

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee. Whether you want to write a screenplay or a book, the author's advice about stories applies. The list of his students' movie and TV show credits on the back cover is impressive enough to make you buy the book.

What books do you give as gifts?

Top Five Grammar Myths

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

Last year I was honored to be chosen as MacMillan Publishing’s Mighty Mommy podcast host. Each week I write a parenting column and also record it as a podcast.  In the 7 months that I have had this amazing writing job, I have had the privilege of reaching many thousands of readers and listeners. 

In addition to interacting with my reader base, I am also fortunate to be working alongside some extremely talented writers who share their expertise on everything from training dogs to figuring out the latest technical gadgets. One of our most popular hosts is my colleague, Mignon Fogarty, also known as Grammar Girl. Mignon Fogarty is the creator of Grammar Girl and the founder and managing director of Quick and Dirty Tips. A magazine writer, technical writer, and entrepreneur, she has served as a senior editor and producer at a number of health and science web sites. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. I read her columns often.

Today I am going to share one of my favorite lessons from Grammar Girl’s plethora of great writing tips—The Top Five Grammar Myths. For more information, you can check her out at grammar.quickanddirtytips.com

Grammar Girl is a wonderful reference for writers regardless of their experience. 

1. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means "Where are you at?" is wrong because "Where are you?" means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: “I'm going to throw up,” “Let's kiss and make up,” and “What are you waiting for” are just a few examples.

2. You shouldn't split infinitives. Wrong! Nearly all grammarians want to boldly tell you it's OK to split infinitives. An infinitive is a two-word form of a verb. An example is "to tell." In a split infinitive, another word separates the two parts of the verb. "To boldly tell" is a split infinitive because “boldly” separates “to” from “tell.” 

3. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good." Wrong! “Am” is a linking verb and linking verbs should be modified by adjectives such as “good.” Because “well” can also act as an adjective, it's also fine to answer "I'm well," but some grammarians believe "I'm well" should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition. 

4. You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use “a” before words that start with consonant sounds and “an” before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you'd write that someone has an MBA instead of a MBA, because even though “MBA” starts with “m,” which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel “e”--MBA. 

5. “I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing. Wrong! “E.g.” means "for example," and “i.e.” means roughly "in other words." You use “e.g.” to provide a list of incomplete examples, and you use “i.e.” to provide a complete clarifying list or statement.
 

Have you ever read any of Grammar Girl’s articles or books?  Let me know in the comment section.

TV Shows Highlighting Writers 2

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          Writers should spend as much time as possible reading and writing to improve their skills. However, sometimes we need a break--a little time in front of the TV.

          Here are a few more inspirational programs that often showcase writers, authors, and books.


VH1 Storytellers various days and times.

Singer/songwriters play their music and discuss their songwriting in front of live audiences. They share deeply personal as well as humorous stories that inspired both familiar hits and new songs. The lyrics have to be strong, succinct, and memorable as there are as few as 170 words and not many more than 1,000 in most songs. These writers make every word tell--good examples for all writers.


Tavis Smiley, PBS evenings.

A wide range of authors and writers are interviewed by Tavis Smiley along with many other types of performers and people of interest. He spends 30-minutes one-on-one with his guest during each show--although occasionally he has two guests if people work together. He asks in-depth questions about the guests' lives; how they were inspired; how they work; and the responses they receive from their work. I always enjoy learning more about authors I love as well as discovering ones new to me. I find the songwriters interviewed here inspiring as well.


Castle, ABC Mondays at 10pm and in syndication.

A wisecracking crime show where the lead characters Rick Castle, a bestselling mystery writer, and Kate Beckett, a Homicide Detective for the NYPD, met during a case where the murders in some of Castle's books were recreated. After solving the mystery together in the first show, Castle calls his friend, the mayor of New York City, for permission to shadow Beckett at work. Unwillingly, Beckett becomes Castle's muse for his new murder mystery series.

          Now in its fifth season, Castle is seen occasionally writing, but more often plotting as he tries to help the police solve crimes. Real life writers like James Patterson and the late Stephen J. Cannell have made cameo appearances and cutting remarks at the writers' regular poker games.

          Castle is leading the writing life many of us dream of--bestselling author with millions from book sales and movie rights. While he has a wild side, his delightful teenage daughter and his working actress mother, who live with him in his multi-level high rise apartment, keep him grounded. The police officers who work with Beckett have become his friends, mostly, while Beckett has become more than his muse.


Murder By the Book, weekends on Headline News Channel.

Crime and mystery writers discuss the real life murders that inspired them to write their books. Re-enactments as well as clues and interviews with the police officers who investigated the crimes are also included.


The Real Story, Smithsonian Channel on various days and times.

Authors and their famous characters are profiled in this hour-long show. You learn secrets and behind-the-scenes facts about them as well as behind popular movies.


What TV shows inspire you?

Finding Time to Write During the Holidays

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

My two most challenging times of year to stay on task with my writing goals are during the summer when the kids are out of school and the holiday season. It seems as though once Thanksgiving dinner is cleared from the table, my life as I knew it comes to a standstill until mid January.

This year, I’m going to try my best not to let that happen. Now that I have my Writer’s Crate set up just the way I want it, and have a schedule in place to write every day, I am determined not to fall off the wagon with my writing goals.

I am so pleased to share some wonderful information I gleaned from a recent article I read on the internet written by Marilyn Horowitz, the president of ArtMar Productions and creator of The Horowitz System®, a revolutionary visual writing system. She is an award-winning New York University professor, a producer, a screenwriter, and a New York-based writing coach who works with bestselling novelists, produced screenwriters, and award-winning filmmakers. She is also the author of five books. 

Here is the advice she shares with her writing students during the busy holiday season.

She said it’s a common thread for writers to feel crazed and overwhelmed with family obligations, work commitments, and all the extras that come with the holidays such as entertaining, shopping, cooking, and everything else in between. Writers tend to feel that something must give, so it should temporarily be their writing.  Sigh!

Keeping a written schedule can help keep you on task during the busy holiday season.

Horowitz found a trick that keeps writers on task. In fact, many are even more productive during the holidays when they try this method: Instead of focusing on what you can’t control, focus on what you do have control over. For example, look for one piece of your schedule that is a daily non-writing activity, such as a yoga class or walking the dog every morning.

The success key is that if you can prove to yourself every day that you can be disciplined in one area of your life that is not as rigid as your writing schedule, it will give you the confidence to find a way to write, a much higher stress activity.

Here’s the exact exercise Horowitz practices with her students:

Step 1: Create a written schedule for the appropriate holiday period.

Step 2: Assess the degree of disturbance you will experience.

Step 3: Identify a daily activity such as walking a dog or yoga, and actually write the activity in your schedule as a daily appointment at a certain time. (If you see possible times to steal a few minutes to write, note those on your calendar – but don’t hold yourself to keeping them.)


Step 4: Keep the appointment you have made.

Performing the activity you have selected is a powerful process. Remember that your ultimate goal should be to make writing an enticing proposition no matter what the surrounding circumstances are. 

 
If you decide to give this exercise a try, please let us know how it worked for you!

Reads for Writers: The Writer's Home Companion edited by Joan Bolker, Ed. D.

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          There are authors we recognize as kindred spirits. We have all their books on our shelves, piled on tables, chairs, even the floor, or on our E-readers. We buy their latest books sight unseen, reviews unread. They just belong to us.

          On Charlie Rose, author Nicole Krauss described other authors as either "of, or not of, her tribe." In The Writer's Home Companion, Ruth Whitman describes kindred authors as "the company she wants to keep".
 
          As a writer, there are many writing books I consider the company I want to keep including The Writer's Home Companion edited by Joan Bolker, Ed. D. This book is a gem, a compilation of almost thirty writers sharing their thoughts and experiences about their profession which will appeal to many other writers.

          The book has two parts:

                     Part I: The Writing Process

                                        Preparation
                                        Beginning
                                        Revision
                                        Poetry

                    Part II: Becoming a Writer

                                        Voice
                                        Audience
                                        Practice

          Three to eight writers address each topic. While I found each writer had something of interest to say, several essays seemed to be written just for me. I'm sure others will find some are written just for them.

           In the Preparation section, Donald M. Murray shares, "Write what you need to write, feed the hunger for meaning in your life. Play at the serious questions of life and death. Cultivate the silence when writing speaks...If you let the writing---or the line or tune or dance---flow, you will be carried where you never expected to go..."

          In the Beginning section, Patricia Cumming, a published poet, lists over 200 writing prompts and creative activities she invented to get any writer started. Also, B. F. Skinner shares that Stendhal once remarked, "If when I was young I had been willing to talk about wanting to be a writer, some sensible person might have said to me: 'Write for two hours every day, genius or not.' That would have saved ten years of my life, stupidly wasted in waiting to become a genius."

          In the Poetry section, which I almost skipped as I am not a poet, Rita Dove writes: "How restless and curious the human mind is, how quick the imagination latches onto a picture, scene, something volatile and querulous and filled with living, mutable tissue!...Every discipline craves imagination, and you owe it to yourself to keep yours alive."

          A reprint of Helen Benedict's essay "A Writer's First Readers" in the Audience section quotes other authors. Cynthia Ozick states, "There's nobody, really, to trust outside the critic within you."...Yet making the choice to rely only on an inner critic takes tremendous faith. John Irving believes that having it is the mark of a mature writer.

          In the Practice section, Joan Bolker writes: "But I began to see that if I was going to be a real writer then writing had to become, with very few exceptions, the most important thing in my life."

          Writers of every genre have knowledge to share. Don't limit your horizons. Read. Learn from as many authors as possible--and keep writing!

Becoming an Organized Writer

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

One of the biggest joys in my writer’s life is contributing to this blog each week.  When Kate and I first launched The Writer’s Crate in September, I truly had no idea how much I would look forward to writing my posts and reading hers every Monday and Thursday.  Not only do I learn something new about a writer’s life from Kate’s perspective, I continually learn something new about my own life as a writer because of the time I spend in my Writer’s Crate every day working on my various projects such as this blog, my novel, my weekly and monthly columns, and my freelance work in addition to my personal journals.

 

As I described in my very first post, my Writer’s Crate is self-contained in a soft turquoise washed computer armoire.  It contains my laptop, favorite writing resources, pens and pencils, journals, inspiring quotes, a copy of my first published book, and family photos that make me smile.  It wasn’t long ago, however, that I had a small work space dedicated to my writing in my bedroom.  Though it was a cozy nook with all the essentials I needed, I must admit that I didn’t always keep it very neat and organized.

Luckily, I was usually able to locate whatever item I needed without too much disruption to my schedule, but when I took a closer look at how much time I was wasting by not being organized, I realized I was only hurting myself and my valuable time.

Here are some tips that I find very helpful in keeping my Writer’s Crate fresh and orderly:

Keep Your Desk Clean    Besides your computer, you should have only the key materials you need for your current writing project and just a few items you use multiple times throughout the day, such as pens, pencils, and reference books.

When I finish a piece I’m working on and switch to a new project, I always take the unnecessary items off my desk and store them in their proper places.  This helps keep me focused and on task.

Take the time to keep your writing desk neat and organized.  This step will help you to increase your creativity and production!

Keep Your Writing Supplies Stocked   Keep all things you need on a regular basis close at hand on shelves and tables. This includes paper, paper clips, favorite writing tools, contact information, scissors, envelopes, telephone, books, and even healthy snacks.  This way you don’t end up wandering to find things and losing your concentration.

I also have a timer on my desk so that I can measure my productivity, stay on task, and take breaks when needed.  Having a well-stocked writing area really does help to keep your writer’s momentum flowing nicely.

Keep a Travel Bag Supplied with Items You’ll Need on the go   When I’m not writing in my home, I love to take my laptop to the library, a beautiful park, or sometimes to a coffee shop.  I have a travel bag that I keep in my car with all of the items I keep at my desk so that I am always prepared.

Post a “Do Not Disturb” Sign Near Your Writing Space     I always post a reminder sign near my Writer’s Crate that says “Please respect my Writing Time—Thank You!”   Not only does it signal my family not to interrupt me unless the house is on fire, it’s a reminder to myself to respect the time I set aside for writing.

What are the things you rely on to stay organized with your writing life?

Reads for Writers: Anne Fadiman Provides a Masterclass

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          As a reader, I always love finding books that appeal to me. As a writer, I am twice as pleased when the authors also provide Masterclasses for me within their books.
          Masterclasses take place when performance artists and musicians work one-on-one with students. Writers don't generally have this option, but I have found some books to be Masterclasses for characters, dialogue, backstories, plots, settings, and/or voice.


          As an avid reader, I never liked to consider what ten books I would want with me on a deserted island. Only ten books just wouldn't do! It's doubtful I would survive with the complete works of ten authors. I need a supply of new books to be happy, even while rereading favorites, which is why I haven't been caught on a boat in years.

          However, there is one book that would make any reading list of mine--Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman.

          I envy you if you have not read this fabulous collection of essays on books, reading, and writing yet. It is the perfect combination of topics, knowledge, vocabulary, passion, insights, appreciation, humor, and life lessons written by a fellow bibliophile.

          Fadiman's life has been intertwined with books from the day she was born to Clifton Fadiman, author, editor, and TV personality, and Annalee Whitmore Jacoby Fadiman, an author, screenwriter, and magazine correspondent. Anne's first building blocks were her father's twenty-two volume set of Trollope. (Her son, Henry, was a bit more destructive; he liked to chew and devour books when he was only eight months old.)

           Books are present in every important phase of her life. She shares the details and the titles with her readers including her introductions to sonnets, sex, and sesquipedalians. After marriage, anyone with an extensive personal library and a spouse with one, too, will relate to her painfully true tale of commingling her books with her husband's.

          But what I appreciated most about her essays is the genuine joy she shares about everything to do with books--shopping for secondhand ones, ways to shelve them, and discovering words new to her in them.

          I, too, enjoy reading books with some unfamiliar words. As a writer, expanding my vocabulary is one of my favorite hobbies. I always have a dictionary close by in the hopes that I will have to look a word up. I had to look up more than usual while reading this book, but, thoughtfully, Fadiman listed the definitions of the new-to-her words at the end of "The Joy of Sesquipedalians" chapter.

          As an editor, I appreciated the "Inset a Carrot / Insert a Caret" chapter. Proofreading is a good, if time consuming, habit. It's also a fun family affair for the Fadimans, including her brother Kim, when they are looking at menus, newspapers, books, and even birthday cakes.

          There are eighteen essays in this book--and I love them all. Her chapter "Never Do That to a Book" will make you both laugh and cringe at the ways people treat their books. A favorite pen is immortalized in "Eternal Ink". And any writer who can also make the receiving of incorrectly addressed catalogs a delightful diversion is a treasure.

          While we have never met, and probably never will, Anne Fadiman's book is next to my Books by Friends and Relatives Shelf (mentioned on page 7) as I consider kindred spirits to be good friends.