Book Recommendations

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• Recommended books for novelists
• References
• Favorite SF books
• Favorite Fantasy books

Recommended books for novelists

• Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain -- a must-read book on the mechanics of writing scenes and structuring your book to hook the reader
• Writing for Emotional Impact, by Karl Iglesias. -- Great book! Tells you how to manipulate the emotions of your reader to great effect.
• Plot & Structure: Techniques and exercises for crafting a plot that grips readers from start to finish, by James Scott Bell
• Book In A Month, by Victoria Lynn Schmidt
• Story Genius - Lisa Cron
• Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, by Lawrence Block
• Stein On Writing
• Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver
• No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty
• Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton
• The Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda Edelstein
• Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D
• Page by Page by Heather Sellers
• The Shortest Distance between You and a Published Book: 20 steps to success by Susan Page
• Formatting and Submitting your Manuscript by NEFF, et al.
• Writer's Market
• If You Want To Write : A Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit - Brenda Ueland
• The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Storytellers and
• Screenwriters - Christopher Vogler
• How to write tales of fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
• Writers on Writing
• The Writer's Digest Handbook of Novel Writing edited by Tom Clark et al
• Telling lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block
• You Can Write a Novel by James V. Smith
• The Fiction Writers Brainstormer by James V. Smith
• The Writer's Partner by Martin Roth
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published
• The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature published by Writer's Digest
• How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N Frey (books I and II)
• Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing by Margaret Atwood
• What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
• The Writer's Idea Book by Jack Heffron
• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King
• Your Novel Proposal: From Creation to Contract (The Complete Guide to Writing Query Letters, Synopses, and Proposals for Agents and Editors) by Blythe Camenson and Marshall J. Cook
• Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
• Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew by Ursula Le Guin
• If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland
• Living the Writer's Life by Eric Maisel
• The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction by Michael Seidman
• How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling (How to Write a Damn Good Novel) by James N. Frey
• Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing) by Nancy Kress
• Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within by Dennis Palumbo
• The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers (14th Edition) by Chicago Editorial Staff
• Word Work: Surviving and Thriving As a Writer by Bruce Holland Rogers
• So You Want To Write by Marge Piercy
• Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing: A Novelist Looks at His Craft by David Morrell

Books on World Building

TrudyG wrote: So, does anyone have any good book recommendations for worldbuilding, in any categories of world creation, maps, culture, creatures, beings, political units, etc? I have the start of a collection of them, and I’m always interested in new ones. Note that all the ones I list have at least some things in them I’ve found useful, even if it’s basics.

Available at Amazon:

• Creating Life: The Art of Worldbuilding Book 1 by Randy Ellefson: Looks at creating creatures, beings, and some elements of culture.
• Creating Places: The Art of Worldbuilding Book 2 by Randy Ellefson: Looks at creating worlds, continents, countries, etc. including basics of mapping.

(Note that both the above do have a potentially irritating amount of references to the author’s website, but they can be useful.)

• Way With Worlds Book 1: Crafting Great Fictional Settings by Steven Savage: Looks at basic philosophies, essentials, magic & tech, religion, sex, species, and characters.
• Way With Worlds Book 2: Details and Discussions by Steven Savage: Looks at heroes, villains, & author’s pets, utopias & dystopias, conflicts, communication, tools & techniques, skills, and originality.

Available on Smashwords

• Pantheon Building by Julie Ann Dawson: Looks at creating gods and religions, for both stories and RPGs
• Worldbuilding 101 by Julie Ann Dawson: Looks at the basics of worldbuilding for both stories and RPGs; based on a workshop that she holds.

Both the above are short and were created more for RPGs, but can be useful for fiction worldbuilding as well.

WriterofNumenor wrote:

Storyworld First by Jill Williamson is the best!

Links with Book Recommendation Lists

• Illinois::Naperville 2005 NaNoWriMo forum thread about recommended books
• Recommendations from Simon Haynes
• Amazon NaNoWriMo tools list
• Amazon Writing Books Genre Novelists Should Read

Favorite SF books for reading/inspiration (feel free to add yours)

• The Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson (also known as the Dorsai books. Tactics of Mistake and Soldier, Ask Not are very good)
• Cities in Flight, by James Blish (imagine New York city in flight through space...)
• The Riverworld series, by Philip Jose Farmer (imagine everyone who ever lived on Earth suddenly all being resurrected on the banks of a million-mile long river...)
• Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
• Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card
• Ender's Shadow, by Orson Scott Card
• Pastwatch, Orson Scott Card
• Startide Rising, by David Brin
• Eon and Eternity, two excellent, thought-provoking novels by Greg Bear
• Last Legends of Earth, an epic SF adventure by A. A. Attanasio
• Replay, by Ken Gibson

Favorite Fantasy books for reading/inspiration (feel free to add yours)

• Black Easter and the Day After Judgement, by James Blish (what if the forces of heaven lost?)
• Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson (fantasy about Ogier du Danske)
• The Compleat Enchanter, Le Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt
• The Gift, by Patrick O'Leary (wonderful adventure tale with magic)
• Seventh Son, by Orson Scott Card
• Lyonesse, by Jack Vance
• The Green Pearl, by Jack Vance
• Madouc, by Jack Vance
• The Black Company, by Glen Cook (great fantasy series with terrific, memorable characters and neat concepts)
• Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman
• Stardust, Neil Gaiman
• The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
• 9 Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny
• The Hollowing, Mythago Wood and Lavondyss, by Robert Holdstock