Pile of BooksWhat do you view as the most important element of your writing, or your writing life?

Passion? Yes, we all need that, especially when faced with rejection or obstacles in our quest for publication. But if passion were the most critical element in the making of a successful author, the bookstores would be overflowing with our works.

Persistence is certainly another closely related trait shared by successful authors. Again, though, while essential to success, it’s only part of the story.

Time (and balance) questions are often posed to well-known authors in Q & A sessions. It’s a challenge for everyone: how to juggle family/work/writing. That one has no pat answer. Each person has to find what works, and once a routine is established, be flexible enough to accommodate changing circumstances.

How about subject matter and finding a matching audience? Yep. Crucial. Have you written something that someone wants to read? How are they going to discover it? If you have a good handle on these basics, you’re a step ahead of many writers.

Let’s say you have all these ingredients. You’ve got a story (or a topic, for nonfiction writers), a passion for telling it, you are persistent, and you have a good sense of your target audience. You’ve created a workable plan that supports your creativity.

Anything missing?

I would humbly propose that commitment to development of one’s craft might actually top the list. If the final product is full of misspellings, inappropriate word choices, poor pacing, clichés, etc., no one is going to want to read it, no matter how awesome the premise.

Your goal is for readers to snap up your amazing work! And then clamor for more!

Development of craft can come through formal schooling (college coursework, or in-residence classes), informal schooling (online classes or workshops at conferences), or books. I’d like to share my favorite books on the craft of writing. Some of these have garnered mention in my contributions to the CWG blog over the past year or so, but I thought it would be helpful to list them together. I’d also love for you to jump in with your favorites.

  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Browne & King. The first craft book I ever bought, its precepts remain timeless and valuable.
  • Plot & Structure, Bell. Great for learning, well, how to structure fiction.
  • Conflict & Suspense, Bell. How to keep your reader turning the pages. The ideas pertain to all fiction, not just suspense, and can be applied to nonfiction, as well.
  • Revision & Self-Editing, Bell. Just what it says. (*Note: The last three books are by James Scott Bell, and are published by Writers Digest, which offers an extensive list of books on the different aspects of craft. There are other books on these subjects by other authors and other publishers.)
  • Save the Cat!, Snyder. Intended for screenwriting, it is a great resource for learning story structure and for increasing the level of dialogue (a trend in modern fiction).
  • Writing the Breakout Novel, Maas. Everything about novels and how to balance the elements, written by a high-powered literary agent.
  • Break into Fiction, Buckham and Love. Perhaps more geared to the genre of romance, but more broadly applicable.
  • Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies, Wainger. A top editor with many years of experience, this peek at our work through her lens is invaluable. Again, the content can be more broadly applied.
  • Believable Characters, Creating with Enneagrams, Schnebly. A method for creating rich characters based on personality types.
  • Punctuation, Plain and Simple, Edgar C. Alward and Jean A. Alward.
  • Roget’s Thesaurus.
  • Any good dictionary.
  • Words That Make a Difference, Greenman.
  • The Elements of Style, Strunk and White.

Books by successful authors about writing on my shelves:

  • On Writing, Stephen King
  • How I Write, Janet Evanovich
  • Escaping into the Open, the Art of Writing True, Berg.

Believe it or not, this is not a complete list of my reference books. Some of the rest duplicate the content of the ones listed, or stray from a strictly-writing focus. Have I read all of these? You bet. In some cases, several times over. Have they helped me? Absolutely. Would they help writers of the submissions of a recent contest I judged? Yes, yes, and yes again.

What references do you keep at hand as you write? What books do you consider so essential that you’d buy a copy for your favorite protégé? Let’s see how many different books show up in this list! Thanks for contributing to a reference gem for our fellow authors!

Leslie Lynch writes women's fiction, giving voice to characters who struggle to find healing for their brokenness – and discover unconventional solutions to life’s unexpected twists. She is an occasional contributor to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’s weekly paper, The Criterion. She can be found at www.leslielynch.com and is on facebook and Twitter@Leslie_Lynch_

AlwardBlake Snydercatholic fictioncatholic writingDianna LoveDonald MaasEleanor BergfictionGreenmanJames Scott BellJanet EvanovichLaurie SchneblyLeslie LynchLeslie WaingerLinks and ResourcesMary BuckhamresourcesStephen KingStrunk and Whitewriterswritingwriting advicewriting tips
By Catholic Writing and Publishing, Editing, Encouragement for Writers, Fiction, Marketing Your Work, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tricks12 Comments on On writing…better!

12 Replies to “On writing…better!”

  1. Ditto Save the Cat! I found it helpful for writing non-fiction, too.

    Warning to all, though: The more you read about what makes good writing, the more you’ll cringe every time you dash off a blog post or e-mail with doubtful writing in it. (Joking! Not kidding though.)

    1. Hi, Jennifer! Hopefully we all cringe just a little bit less with practice! I find it quite interesting that I’m not the only person who has applied concepts from fiction writing to the writing of nonfiction. (Don’t know why I thought I was the only brilliant person out there. Now that IS kidding!!!)

      Really, good writing is good writing, no matter the audience, so it follows that judicious use of adverbs, or varying the lengths of sentences, etc., would add life to a piece.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      1. Yep. But also, the suspense thing. Putting at least some sense of a narrative into the outline of the book, so there’s a personal story to follow in addition to the facts. I’m pretty sure _Save That Cat!_ taught me how to set up villains (make even the bad guy human and likeable) and momentum and poignancy, which good non-fiction needs.

        1. Remember, suspense isn’t always about a villain. It is, however, always a sense that something extremely valuable is at stake and might be lost. James Scott Bell refers to this as impending threat of physical, personal, or professional death. That’s a pretty strong term, but when you view your writing in that light, you can identify what matters most to the character – no matter the genre – and place obstacles to its attainment.

          Thanks for adding to the conversation, Jenn!

    1. You’re welcome, Laura! I find that a large portion of writing advice online is geared towards fiction writers. Non-fiction writers need tips on honing their craft as well.

  3. Hi Leslie. I just finished reading ‘The Art Of Fiction’ by John Gardner and it certainly helped me understand some things I was doing wrong.

    Thank you for the list!

    1. Hi, Don! Thank you for your kind words. Have you read any craft books not on this list that you can recommend? There have been times that I have gone to the bookstore (or online) and been overwhelmed with the choices available. What was helpful to me might not be as helpful to someone else; conversely, I am always open to new ways of looking at techniques to improve my writing.

      Blessings,
      Leslie

  5. I have been reading two really helpful books for creative non-fiction writers. You Can’t Make This Stuff Up by Lee Gutkind tells how to draw your reader in to non-fiction by using some fiction writing techniques. Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir by Sue William Silverman gives very specific pointers on how to write about emotions without being sappy, and how to make every word count. Readers should be aware that both books are written from non-Christian perspectives and contain some objectionable language or references to gravely immoral situations. If you can overlook these, you will learn a lot from these books.

    1. Thanks for sharing, Connie! I haven’t read these books, although I’ve seen them. Gutkind’s book really strikes home for me; I may have to pick it up or see if it’s available in a nearby library. I am not a journalist, but contribute to our archdiocesan newspaper on occasion, and find myself using fiction techniques as I construct the articles. So far, my editor has accepted most of my efforts without changing my ‘voice’, and people seem to like the writing. It’s fun to find a book that validates my approach! Hopefully by reading it, I can improve on what I stumbled upon by accident.

      I think it’s crucial to glean what one can from the craft books out there, even though they may use examples that can be offensive. I keep coming back to Barbara Nicolosi’s comment from the 2012 Catholic Writers Conference Online: “My theory is that the secular world is not anti-Catholic as much as it is anti-bad art.”

      There may be examples to skip over or avoid as we read craft books, but let’s find a way to make our work good art.

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