Book Talk Tuesday

I have a whole bunch of writing how-to books. Most of them I’ve read and gleaned something from. A few still have uncracked spines. Some are dog-eared, some are still redolent of paper and ink.

I’m currently going through:

                                                 

with a few friends. I’m learning so much from this book. I discovered I’m much too nice to my characters. I have to make life almost not worth living for them, before giving them hope for a future.

I also frequently pull out:

                                               

There’s lot of great stuff in here about how to rise above the unsolicited manuscripts, AKA the Slush Pile.

For inspirational quotes, I turn to

                                 

 

Father Tim’s fictional journal,

compiled by Jan Karon.

 

One of the most influential books about writing I’ve read is

                                   

It’s because of what I read in Making a Literary Life, that I write notes to authors and editors whose work I admire. This book has had a lasting impact.

If you’re thinking about writing a book or your memoirs, I highly recommend any and all of these.