Welcome to the recommendations section of the website. Here I’ll post links to things that have helped me on both my writing journey and in life and I hope they’ll help you, too. This section of the website will be updated regularly so keep checking back. When considering which advice to listen to and which to discard I refer to the wisdom of Bruce Lee:
Absorb what is useful, discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.
—Bruce Lee
BOOKS ON WRITING
On writing by stephen king
On Writing is without a doubt my favourite book on the craft of writing. I especially have a soft spot for the audio version narrated by King himself. What separates this from a lot of ‘on writing’ books is that it’s part-memoir and part-creative writing class. And yet none of King’s advice is prescriptive, it fits in with Bruce Lee’s above ethos. This should be mandatory reading for all writers.
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
Like Stephen King’s On Writing there’s an excellent author-narrated audiobook of Story. Unlike King’s On Writing this is very prescriptive, laying out a master formula to write compelling, action-packed, and exciting stories. Don’t be mistaken into thinking this is just for screenwriters. All writers can stand to benefit from McKee’s Story.
Buy Story by Robert McKeeThe best guide on writing you can find.
—Laurence Chollet, The Record, Northern New Jersey
PODCASTS ON WRITING
Grammar Girl
Grammar Girl has been about for over ten years now. In Mignon Fogarty’s excellent podcast she addresses questions, misconceptions, and tricky concepts with regards to grammar, punctuation, and the English language. With episodes that typically last 10–15 minutes this won’t take up much of your time, although given GG’s approaching 600 episodes you’ll have your work cut out for you if you’re planning on listening from scratch!