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About Writing Books
Showing 1-50 of 3,597
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 169 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.34 — 325,503 ratings — published 2002
Bird by Bird (Paperback)
by (shelved 129 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.24 — 113,848 ratings — published 1994
The Elements of Style (Hardcover)
by (shelved 65 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.18 — 88,078 ratings — published 1918
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Paperback)
by (shelved 56 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.21 — 32,306 ratings — published 1986
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Paperback)
by (shelved 40 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.24 — 31,492 ratings — published 1976
Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 39 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.08 — 21,837 ratings — published 1973
The Writing Life: The Classic Essay Collection on the Creative Process (Paperback)
by (shelved 37 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.98 — 18,683 ratings — published 1989
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 34 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.53 — 26,963 ratings — published 2021
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print (Paperback)
by (shelved 34 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.25 — 7,211 ratings — published 1993
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (Paperback)
by (shelved 33 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.78 — 12,085 ratings — published 2006
The War of Art (Paperback)
by (shelved 31 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.96 — 122,620 ratings — published 2002
Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (Hardcover)
by (shelved 30 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.27 — 17,922 ratings — published 1997
Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew (Paperback)
by (shelved 30 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.24 — 6,421 ratings — published 1998
Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need (Paperback)
by (shelved 27 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.01 — 22,615 ratings — published 2005
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression (Writers Helping Writers, #1)
by (shelved 25 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.53 — 6,434 ratings — published 2012
Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish (Paperback)
by (shelved 25 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.11 — 6,004 ratings — published 2004
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear (Hardcover)
by (shelved 24 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.96 — 239,514 ratings — published 2015
The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller (Hardcover)
by (shelved 24 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.25 — 7,407 ratings — published 2007
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (Paperback)
by (shelved 23 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.49 — 14,426 ratings — published 2018
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (Paperback)
by (shelved 23 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.96 — 122,989 ratings — published 2002
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)
by (shelved 22 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.19 — 6,727 ratings — published 2016
A Room of One’s Own (Paperback)
by (shelved 21 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.22 — 275,732 ratings — published 1929
Becoming a Writer (Paperback)
by (shelved 21 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.00 — 6,367 ratings — published 1934
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers (Paperback)
by (shelved 20 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.99 — 6,377 ratings — published 1984
Letters to a Young Poet (Paperback)
by (shelved 19 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.27 — 130,793 ratings — published 1929
No Plot? No Problem! (Paperback)
by (shelved 19 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.83 — 7,311 ratings — published 2004
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Hardcover)
by (shelved 19 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.87 — 106,867 ratings — published 2003
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Paperback)
by (shelved 18 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.10 — 10,516 ratings — published 1992
The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century (Hardcover)
by (shelved 18 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.04 — 9,356 ratings — published 2014
The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation Into the Writing Life (Paperback)
by (shelved 17 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.07 — 6,442 ratings — published 1998
Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life (Hardcover)
by (shelved 16 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.22 — 4,810 ratings — published 2013
Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing (Paperback)
by (shelved 16 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.90 — 5,310 ratings — published 2002
If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit (Paperback)
by (shelved 15 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.12 — 8,725 ratings — published 2012
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (Hardcover)
by (shelved 15 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.86 — 214,650 ratings — published 2007
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting (Paperback)
by (shelved 15 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.99 — 8,982 ratings — published 1979
On Writing (Paperback)
by (shelved 14 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.02 — 4,916 ratings — published 1984
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Paperback)
by (shelved 14 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.97 — 347,775 ratings — published 2012
Why I Write (Paperback)
by (shelved 14 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.01 — 16,101 ratings — published 1946
Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level (Paperback)
by (shelved 14 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.08 — 4,101 ratings — published 2001
The Art of the Novel (Paperback)
by (shelved 13 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.98 — 7,541 ratings — published 1960
How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Classic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them—A Misstep-by-Misstep Guide (Paperback)
by (shelved 13 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.98 — 4,280 ratings — published 2008
The Forest for the Trees (Paperback)
by (shelved 13 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.94 — 3,179 ratings — published 2000
How Fiction Works (Paperback)
by (shelved 13 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.99 — 8,390 ratings — published 2008
Characters & Viewpoint (Paperback)
by (shelved 13 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.04 — 4,736 ratings — published 1988
Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.43 — 2,282 ratings — published 2022
The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.25 — 3,131 ratings — published 2016
Aspects of the Novel (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.80 — 5,049 ratings — published 1927
2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 12 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.19 — 4,688 ratings — published 2012
Stein on Writing (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as about-writing)
avg rating 4.28 — 4,849 ratings — published 1995
The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection Pile (Paperback)
by (shelved 12 times as about-writing)
avg rating 3.98 — 3,686 ratings — published 2000
“Writing is not about how well you can write the next "Great American Novel," using flawless grammar and snooty punctuation; sometimes, it's only about making someone smile, or laugh out loud. Sometimes, its sharing a fun thought, or putting a vivid life experience on paper so others' can share a great moment that had an impact on you, the author.”
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“John Turner lived at Saltersford Hall, where his father was a tenant farmer. He was born in 1706 and became a packman, or jagger, with a train of four horses. His main occupation was from Chester and Northwich, carrying salt, to Derby, from where he would return with malt. His home in Saltersford was ideally placed on this prehistoric trade route.
On Christmas Eve, 1735, (that is, when John was twenty-nine), he was on his way back from Northwich. It was snowing. But packmen were used to being on the road in all weathers and at all hours. They knew the hills better than anyone. They took no risks. Jaggers were essential to their communities and yet at the same time mistrusted. Travel in eighteenth century England was not for ordinary folk. Most people didn’t move more than four miles from their birthplace in their entire lives. Jaggers were looked on as boundary-striders, as Grendel is described in Beowulf, wild men, wodwose, as in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. They belonged more to the hills than to the valleys. Yet on that Christmas Eve, John Turner did not reach home. The next morning he was found dead, though his team of horses survived, covered by drifts. And by him, on the white, wind-smoothed land, was the single print of a woman’s shoe in the snow.”
― The Voice That Thunders
On Christmas Eve, 1735, (that is, when John was twenty-nine), he was on his way back from Northwich. It was snowing. But packmen were used to being on the road in all weathers and at all hours. They knew the hills better than anyone. They took no risks. Jaggers were essential to their communities and yet at the same time mistrusted. Travel in eighteenth century England was not for ordinary folk. Most people didn’t move more than four miles from their birthplace in their entire lives. Jaggers were looked on as boundary-striders, as Grendel is described in Beowulf, wild men, wodwose, as in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. They belonged more to the hills than to the valleys. Yet on that Christmas Eve, John Turner did not reach home. The next morning he was found dead, though his team of horses survived, covered by drifts. And by him, on the white, wind-smoothed land, was the single print of a woman’s shoe in the snow.”
― The Voice That Thunders