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For if
writing builds the house, nothing but revision will
complete it. One writer needs to be two carpenters:
a builder with mettle, and a finisher with slow
hands.
—Susan Bell, The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing
Yourself
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Recommended
Books on Writing and Editing
There are thousands
of books out there for writers in all genres and fields. Here is
my short list (a work in progress) of the more inspirational,
informative, and useful that I have found so far. If you have
read a good book on writing or editing lately,
email me
and I may
recommend it.
Inspiration
Getting started, keeping going
Self-editing
Style, punctuation, and usage
Getting Published
Online
For your enjoyment
Inspiration
Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend From Far Away: The Practice of
Writing Memoir, New York: Free Press, 2007.
Natalie Goldberg,
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer
Within. Boston: Shambhala, 1986.
Francine Prose,
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People
Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. New
York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Getting started, keeping going
Jack
Hodgins, A Passion for Narrative: A Guide to Writing
Fiction. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1993.
Anne
Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and
Life. New York: Anchor Books, 1995.
Elizabeth Lyon, A Writer’s Guide to Fiction. New York:
Penguin, 2004.
Elizabeth Lyon, A Writer’s Guide to Nonfiction. New York:
Penguin, 2003.
Donald
Maass, Writing the Breakout Novel. Cincinnati:
Writer’s Digest Books, 2001.
Brenda Miller
and Suzanne Paola, Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping
Creative Nonfiction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Lois J. Peterson, 101 and More Writing Exercises to Get You
Started and Keep You Going. Surrey: Metta Publications,
2006.
http://www3.telus.net/345/solutions.html
Christoper Vogler, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for
Writers,
3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions,
2007.
Self-editing
Susan Bell, The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing
Yourself. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007.
Renni Browne and Dave King, Self-Editing for Fiction
Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print, 2nd ed.
New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
Constance Hale, Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly
Effective Prose. New York: Broadway Books, 2001.
Elizabeth Lyon, Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No
Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore. New York: Penguin, 2008.
William Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to
Writing Nonfiction, 30th Anniversary Edition. New
York: HarperCollins, 2006.
Style, punctuation, and usage
Chicago Manual of Style,
15th ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press, 2003.
Martin Cutts, Oxford Guide to
Plain English. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Bryan A. Garner, Garner’s Modern American Usage. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
William
Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style,
4th ed. New York: Allyn & Bacon, 2000.
Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance
Approach to Punctuation. London: Profile Books, 2003.
Joseph M. Williams, Style: Toward Clarity and Grace.
With two chapters coauthored by Gregory G. Colomb. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990.
Getting Published
Julie Ferguson, Book Magic: Turning Writers into Published
Authors. Port Moody: Beacon Publishing, 2008.
http://www.beaconlit.com/
Elizabeth Lyon, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write:
How to Get a Contract and Advance Before Writing Your Book.
New York: Penguin, 2000.
Elizabeth Lyon, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit: Everything You
Need to Know About Queries, Synopses, Marketing, and Breaking In.
New York: Penguin, 1997.
Essential reference
Canadian Oxford
Dictionary,
2nd ed. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed.
Springfield: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2008.
Online
Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
The Chicago Manual of
Style Online
Chicago Style Q&A
Guide to Grammar & Writing
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
For your enjoyment
Bill Bryson, Mother Tongue: The English Language. New
York: HarperCollins, 2001.
Don Watson, Death Sentences: How Clichés, Weasel Words, and
Management-Speak Are Strangling Public Language. Toronto:
Penguin, 2003.
Simon Winchester, The Meaning of Everything: The Story of
the Oxford English Dictionary. HarperCollins, 2003. |
