5 Craft Books for Writers

An A-to-Z guide for how to structure your novel and plot for success. A great place for writers to start and return to frequently. Whether a plotter or a pantser, this can help you think about when to introduce characters, what kind of book you’re writing, and how to write a logline. Essential!

Whether you’ve already written a first draft, or are just starting, this is a great book to help guide you through your novel. It offers a blueprint for outlining, but also the “why” of your book - your purpose for writing. Easy to follow and critical to implement. Give your book forward momentum.

This book is a how-to guide for how to write a successful novel. Does it guarantee success? of course not, but it’s full of useful information and ways to jumpstart your story if you’re stuck. It has examples and bullet points at the end of each chapter. A great resource for all novelists, not just those who want to breakout.

The Emotional Craft of Writing Fiction by Donald Maass is another good one to hone emotions in your book, but is quite different from Breakout which is focused on the elements of story that sell.

This can be a great place to start when you only have an idea since it has concrete exercises for how to take that idea and turn it into a marketable book. It can also be a good place to turn to after a first draft or if you’re stuck. I also recommend finding interviews with Lisa Cron - she’s a concise speaker and provides excellent overviews of this book in podcasts.

I return to this book often. It’s so helpful with revision…as the title indicates. It’ll walk you through a first, second, and third draft as promised, and gives concrete advice for how to structure revisions and see them through. Highly recommend!