# Recommend me some books on writing fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739 "2017-12-06T20:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/1 "2017-12-06T20:58:57Z")
I think I might want to write. But I’m not sure to start. Do any of you have books on writing you think might be useful? I’d appreciate your thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/2 "2017-12-06T22:09:19Z")
Stephen King’s _On Writing_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/3 "2017-12-06T22:29:16Z")
_[Techniques of the Selling Writer](https://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Selling-Writer-Dwight-Swain/dp/0806111917)_ by Dwight V. Swain. I haven’t read King, but Swain deals with the nuts and bolts of writing a story. It’s a bit dated (it originally came in on 1965), but it’s still and extremely solid guide. It’s still in print after all these years, which shows it had some real staying power. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/4 "2017-12-06T22:47:46Z")
King’s book is good. Also _Bird by Bird_ by Anne LaMott. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/5 "2017-12-07T17:26:28Z")
I am not a writer, but I hate to see the thread die with so few responses, so I’ll throw out a couple more suggestions. Quite a while back, I stumbled across and enjoyed a couple of books on writing by [Lawrence Block](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=lawrence+block+writing). And I thought [No Plot? No Problem!](https://www.amazon.com/Plot-Problem-Revised-Expanded-High-velocity-ebook/dp/B00JVZ42HM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512667183&sr=8-1&keywords=no+plot+no+problem), by the guy behind [NaNoWriMo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Novel_Writing_Month), had some interesting things to say. I’m not surprised that Stephen King’s _On Writing_ got mentioned. It’s arguably the most famous book on writing, and it is well worth reading (whether or not you’re a fan of King’s fiction), but it’s not without controversy, since what works for King doesn’t work for everybody. In fact, everything I’ve heard and read leads me to believe that different writers work in different ways, and there’s no one Right Way to write fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/6 "2017-12-07T17:36:29Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _[Techniques of the Selling Writer](https://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Selling-Writer-Dwight-Swain/dp/0806111917)_ by Dwight V. Swain. I haven’t read King, but Swain deals with the nuts and bolts of writing a story. It’s a bit dated (it originally came in on 1965), but it’s still and extremely solid guide. It’s still in print after all these years, which shows it had some real staying power. This. I have most of the “classic” books on writing, and this is the one that, in my opinion, has the most nuts-and-bolts value. Another good one, more for exhortative value than anything, is If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/7 "2017-12-07T21:35:04Z")
Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions! I’m not sure I believe that I can write fiction. I really only have one voice (and you’ve all heard it.) But I’m curious about some of the nuts and bolts of it. I will definitely read the suggestions you’ve thrown out. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/8 "2017-12-07T22:27:09Z")
I have found information of value at writers’ websites. Many post their insights and recommendations. Check the sites for writers you like, and see what you find. I found some gems that I use. I believe you can write fiction, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/9 "2017-12-08T00:03:13Z")
Save the Cat! is great but its about writing screenplays, not novels. Almost everything can be applied to fiction also though. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/10 "2017-12-08T00:47:57Z")
Have read stuff by Shirley Jackson talking about writing in years past. Here she is in a [three parter in the New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/memory-and-delusion) talking about writing. **The Lottery** was a masterpiece. The New Yorker lets me see it free. Hopefully this is true for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/11 "2017-12-08T19:20:19Z")
If you write genre fiction and don’t mind quite a bit of potty-mouth (and very funny!) language, try Chuck Wendig’s [The Kick-Ass Writer](https://www.amazon.com/Kick-Ass-Writer-Fiction-Published-Audience/dp/1599637715). ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-books-on-writing-fiction/803739/12 "2017-12-09T01:12:14Z")
I recommend Lawrence Block’s _Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers_ and James Scott Bell’s _Write Great Fiction: Plot and Structure_. Once you’ve got a first draft of a story or book, I recommend Sandy Asher’s _Writing It Right!: How Successful Children’s Authors Revise and Sell Their Stories_, whether or not you’re writing for children.