There are so many ways to tell a story and even more ways to craft one. Below is my attempt to catalog and index all of the writing craft books I’ve read so far… I hope you find this list useful. This is a work-in-progress and annotations are coming along slowly. (Thank you to Amazon for blurbs, links, and descriptions. All the editorial notes are my own)
Writing Craft Annotated Bibliography
GENERAL WRITING ADVICE:
- Cron, Lisa, Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere), Ten Speed Press, 2016.
- Cron, Lisa, Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence, Ten Speed Press, 2012.
- Egri, Lajos, The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives, Touchstone, 1972 revised.
- King, Stephen, On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft, Scribner, 2000
- Suede, Damon, Verbalize: Bring Stories to Life & Life to Stories, Evil Mastermind, LLC, 2018
- Truby, John, The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008.
- Ueland, Barbara, If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit, Reissue by General Press, 2019.
CHARACTERS
- Bell, James Scott, Writing Unforgettable Characters: How to Create Story People Who Jump Off the Page, Compendium Press, 2020
- Card, Orson Scott, Elements of Fiction Writing – Characters & Viewpoint: Proven Advice and Timeless Techniques for Creating Compelling Characters, Writer’s Digest Books, 2010.
- Kress, Nancy, Write Great Fiction – Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting Dynamic Characters and Effective Viewpoints, Writer’s Digest Books, 2005
DIALOG
- Bell, James Scott, How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript, Compendium Press, 2014
- Hough, John, The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Dialogue: A Fresh Look at an Essential Ingredient of the Craft, Allworth, 2015.
- Kempton, Gloria, Write Great Fiction – Dialogue, Writer’s Digest Books, 2004.
DRAFTING & OUTLINING
- D’Costa, H.R., Sparkling Story Drafts: How to Outline Your Way Toward Cleaner Rough Drafts, Reduce Your Revision Time, and Get a First-Rate Screenplay or Novel onto the Marketplace, 2018.
- Weiland, K.M., Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success, PenForASword Publishing, 2013.
GRAMMAR (incl. Dictionaries, Thesauri, & Style Guides)
- Strunk Jr., William, & McGill, James, The Elements of Style: Annotated Edition, Auroch Press, 2020 (New Edition)
- Suede, Damon, Activate: A Thesaurus of Actions & Tactics for Dynamic Genre Fiction, Evil Mastermind, LLC, 2019.
INCITING INCIDENTS
REVISING
- Bell, James Scott, Write Great Fiction – Revision And Self-Editing, Writer’s Digest Books, 2008.
SETTING
- Rozelle, Ron, Write Great Fiction – Description & Setting, Writer’s Digest Books, 2005.
- Buckham, Mary & Love, Dianna, A Writer’s Guide to Active Setting: How to Enhance Your Fiction with More Descriptive, Dynamic Settings, Writer’s Digest Books, 2015.
STORY STRUCTURE
- Bell, James Scott, Write Your Novel from the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between, Compendium Press, 2014.
- Bell, James Scott, Write Great Fiction – Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting and Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish, Writer’s Digest Books, 2004.
- Bernhardt, William, Story Structure: The Key to Successful Fiction, Red Sneaker Press, 2014.
- Bork, Erik, The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage, or Fiction, 2018.
- Buckham, Mary & Love, Dianna, Break Into Fiction®: 11 Steps To Building A Powerful Story, Silver Hawk Press, LLC, 2015.
- D’Costa, H.R., Story Structure for the Win: How to Write Faster, How to Write Better—Whether You’re a Plotter or a Pantser, 2020.
- Hauge, Michael, Selling Your Story in Sixty Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Story Read, Michael Wiese Productions, 2006.
- Grant, Vanessa, Writing Romance in the 21st Century: Plotting and Planning, Muse Creations Inc., 2019.
- Hauge, Michael, Storytelling Made Easy: Persuade and Transform Your Audiences, Buyers, and Clients — Simply, Quickly, and Profitably, Indie Books International, 2017
- Hayes, Gwen, Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels, Gwen Hayes, 2016
- Snyder, Blake, Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, Michael Wiese Productions, 2005
- Weiland, K.M., Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story, PenForASword Publishing, 2013.
SYNOPSES
TRANSFORMATIONAL ARCS
- Henley, Jodi, Practical Emotional Structure: An Easy to Understand Plain-English Guide to Emotional Theory and the Transformational Character Arc, 2013.
- Henley, Jodi, Backstory, Motivation and Conflict: An Easy to Understand, Plain-English Guide to the Transformational Character Arc and Story Mechanics, 2015.
- Marks, Dara, Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc: The Secret to Crafting Extraordinary Screenplays, Three Mountain Press, 2017.
- Weiland, K.M., Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author’s Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development, PenForASword Publishing, 2016.
WRITING REFERENCE BOOKS
- Kenyon, Sherrilyn, The Character Naming Sourcebook, Sherrilyn Kenyon, 2014.