Writing about Writing
They say a picture paints a thousand words, but some strive to paint a picture with a thousand words...or more, of course. While the art of writing can only be gained through practice, it is still helpful to hear what established writers have to say about it. After all, they have been around the block a few times, and they know not to use cliches like the ones above. See below for various books from authors like Stephen King, Anne Lamott and more.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table, close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's "On Writing." Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every write must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999--and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, "On Writing" will empower and entertain everyone who reads it--fans, writers and anyone who loves a great story well told.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves: the Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
In "Eats, Shoots and Leaves," former editor Lynne Truss, gravely concerned about our current grammatical state, boldly defends proper punctuation. She proclaims, in her delightfully urbane, witty and very English way, that it is time to look at our commas and semicolons and see them as the wonderful and necessary things they are. Using examples from literature, history, neighborhood signage and her own imagination, Truss shows how meaning is shaped by commas and apostrophes, and the hilarious consequences of punctuation gone awry.
Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You by Ray Bradbury
"Zen in the Art of Writing" is more than just a how-to manual for the would-be writer: it is a celebration of the act of writing itself that will delight, impassion and inspire the writer in you. In it, Bradbury encourages us to follow the unique path of our insticts and enthusiasms to the place where our inner genius dwells, and he shows that success as a writer depends on how well you know one subject: your own life.
The Lie That Tells a Truth: a Guide to Writing Fiction by John Dufresne
Finally, a truly creative--and hilarious--guide to creative writing, full of encouragement and sound advice. Provacative and reassuring, nurturing and wise, "The Lie That Tells a Truth" is essential to writers in general, fiction writers in particular, beginning writers, serious writers and anyone facing a blank page.
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
"On Writing Well" has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writnig to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and in the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, "On Writing Well" offers you fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher.
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