Writing Practice Books

Inspiration and Self-Education

Bird by Bird consists mainly of advice for aspiring writers, but its humorous and folksy approach may attract the more experienced. If you're looking for a step-by-step guide on how to write, this isn't the book for you. If you think you already know, but feel a little lost or discouraged, this book will be your best friend. In particular, it gives great encouragement to those struggling with starting to write - or restarting after a bout with writer's block.

Wild Mind, Thunder and Lightning, and Writing Down the Bones are all books by Natalie Goldberg, who has been called the "den mother" of writing. Her books present writing as a means rather than an end - as a spiritual journey and way of life. As a result, she can emphasize quantity of writing over quality of writing. This may cause some writers to dismiss her books as useful only to dilettantes, but it will make the books a godsend to anyone desperate to overcome writer's block, or anyone searching for spirituality.

The Artist's Way is a book whose central assertion is that creativity is good and everyone should do more of it. To this end, it includes daily creative exercises and journal writing. This simplistic (some would say hand-holding) approach may make it frustrating - or even enraging - to someone who already works in a creative field. But it has changed a lot of people's lives for the better - especially people who felt stuck in a cycle of self-destruction. This is really more of a self-help book than a book on writing, but writers need help too.

On Writing, by Steven King, is part memoir and part nuts-and-bolts guide to writing. Be warned: this is tough love. It talks about substance abuse and the struggles that are part of a professional writer's life. Unlike many of the other books in this list, which insist that everyone can be a writer, King admits that not everyone can hack it - and shows us why. At the same time, he offers advice to those of us who are still willing to try, a "tool kit" of writing exercises, suggested reading, and discussions of plot and character development.

If You Want to Write was first published in 1938, but it still sounds surprisingly modern and is perhaps the most beloved inspirational book on writing - ever. It's author's two main rules: tell the truth, and don't do anything you don't want to do. This book may be just the excuse you need to leave some dirty dishes in the sink and attend to your writing.

Silences is an incredible work of scholarship. First published in 1978 - and out of print until recently - Silences explores the reasons why so many more men are published than women and the barriers that exist for writers not born into a privileged class. Upon its publication, Silences permanently changed the way we view literature - and will be particularly illuminating for any woman who worries her femininity alone will keep her from getting published.

The Midnight Disease is a book about the neurology of writing - from writer's block to hypergraphia (the compulsion to write constantly). Far from a dry scholarly essay, the book is a remarkably personal offering which explores the author's own struggles with writing and depression, along with case studies of Coleridge, Dostoyevsky, and Plath, among others.

Outwitting Writers' Block supplies the contention that writer's block is not always a terrible thing - it may be a "kick in the pants" to make you look at an area of your life that's not working. To this end, the book explores and dissects the possible causes of writers block - all with a sense of humor and a decided lack of moralizing. Includes writing exercises.

Living the Writer's Life was written by a psychologist who specializes in working with creative writers. It addresses the common problems writers face - the stresses they put on themselves, the discomfort sometimes caused by lack of structure, loneliness, depression, addictions, poverty. . . This book acts as a warning to potential writers, but offers advice on how to avoid or escape common psychological pitfalls. Remember: creative writing is the profession with the highest rate of mental illness.

The Writer's Survival Guide is almost more like a mentor than a book. It is not about the process of writing - or publishing - but about the life of a writer. How do you convince your family to give you the space you need to write? How will your friends react to your first published book? The Writer's Survival Guide offers both suggestions and reassurance.

Unstuck divides blocked writers into two categories: those for whom every word is torturous to write and those who procrastinate. Unstuck's focus is primarily the former, but it provides exercises suitable for either. The writing is largely anecdotal, and its target audience is not restricted to creative writers - it targets students, lawyers, businessmen, and anyone who ever has to set pen to paper to communicate. The book's most useful contention is that anything that makes you less likely to write is a block - not just the things that stop you altogether.

On Writer's Block is ostensibly a book about how to get over writer's block, but it may offer a better glimpse at how to avoid writer's block altogether. As creative writers, we produce work which comes entirely from ourselves, on a schedule decided entirely by ourselves. As a result, we are our only taskmasters - and we're often incredibly harsh. This is a book about being nice to your inner writer self - which coincidentally encourages you to write more easily and more happily.

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