Second Chapter Resources: Book Edition
Craft books to help with your writing. Save this post for now and later!
Even though writing is a solitary endeavour, I find so much inspiration and commiseration from craft books (go figure!). I also find a lot of help from podcasts and courses, and many of my writing friends find competitions helpful for them as well. I think there’s something special in being able to relate and learn from how people craft their own books or keep their writing muscle alive and growing.
So, I thought I would start offering posts about different writing resources that could be helpful to you. Hopefully you can save this post and return to it when you’re crafting.
This post will be all about books. If there are any books you’ve found particularly helpful, let me know in the comments and I’ll add them to the post.
Books That Have Helped Me
The Five-Minute Writer by Margret Geraghty
I meet with a local group of writers on Wednesday nights at a pub in Edinburgh to talk about our current writing project. Sometimes we brainstorm. Sometimes we share. Sometimes we just discuss what’s going on in our lives, pop culture or what we’re reading. But what we always do is an exercise from Margret. I love this book. There are about 52 exercises that range from pointed free writing to making lists to developing characters. They’re all roughly 5 minutes long (some are a bit longer) and every single time I do an exercise I feel the rust falling off. It’s like a gentle stretch and warm-up for writing.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
This is probably one of the more famous craft books. I think the original book - Save the Cat! by - was based on screenwriting but Brody has adapted this one to writing novels. If you’ve heard things like “All is Lost”, “Dark Night of the Soul”, etc. it’s likely from these books. It’s all about how to structure your novel and different points that you need to hit no matter the genre you’re writing. I really love it to help me with pacing and knowing roughly how long each section is.
I’m currently working my way through this one. At times I love it, at times I find it frustrating because it feels like work - it makes me think hard and critically about my characters and book. Which is the entire point of the book (and what I need to be doing)! Cron makes a case that many novels never see the light of day because there’s not enough urgency or internal logic. Essentially, there’s not enough of knowing the character’s why for every chapter, scene and book. She breaks down how to develop your book from the glimmer that started it all to fully fleshed out scenes. There’s lots of practices pieces of homework to do throughout the book.
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The stars must be aligning this week, because when I opened up Substack on Monday morning,
also shared writing books that have helped her. I thought she summarised this book much more succinctly than I did, so I’ve deleted my original draft of this and quoted her directly. Would highly recommend this book if you need to get out of your head with writing.In an early chapter, the author writes: “I have not worked much with a computer, but I can imagine using a Macintosh, where the keyboard can be put on my lap, closing my eyes and just typing away. The computer automatically returns the carriage. The device is called a ‘wraparound.’ You can rap nonstop. You don’t need to worry about the typewriter ringing a little bell at the end of a line.” And yet, this book—originally published in 1986—is surprising the hell out of me with its relevance. Its practical advice about the mental game of writing and dealing with ego, procrastination, and structuring your writing life are valid as ever.
Writing New Adult Fiction by Deborah Halverson
Admittedly, this is a very niche book. Some argue that “New Adult Fiction” isn’t a thing, after the industry tried to make it a think awhile ago. I disagree. I think it still is a thing, and I genuinely don’t know why the industry just stopped it? The years between 18 and 26 are some of the most transformational years ever. If you’re like me and those years are nearly half your lifetime ago, this book is perfect for getting you back into that mindset, practically helping to develop your characters and build your plot.
The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
If you have trouble expressing emotions that you’re not necessarily close to (hi, it’s me!), this is for you. For 130 emotions, it lists out the definition, physical signals and behaviors, mental responses, acute or long-term responses for this emotion, signs that this emotion is being supressed, could escalate or de-escalate to, and associated power verbs. I love it for developing characters and during revisions.
Books On My Radar & Reader Submitted Books
Stephen King on Writing by Stephen King
Admittedly, I haven’t read this book yet. I got it in a book exchange, and I’m excited to dive into it after I finish working through Story Genius. The summarised version I’ve heard from the people who have read it is that King writes by asking “What would happen if I put these two characters in a room together?” and he goes from there.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
I’ve bought this book for many colleagues, but never myself (maybe that says something?). I think this book is probably more of a confidence building book than a technical craft book, but I strongly believe that to write you have to shut down - or at least quieten and soften - your inner bully. And to do that, you need confidence.
I love to follow
on her Craft Talk Substack. As the name suggests, she writes a lot about writing craft, but she also hosts #1000words of summer, a shorter, more attainable version of NaNoWrMo. Thankfully though has started to read it and she’s said the below:The book is divided into “seasons” of writing that roughly equate to different phases of a project: preparing, drafting, editing, and having a complete nervous breakdown. Within each, there are mini-essays from acclaimed writers—think: Rumaan Alam, Emma Straub, Carmen Maria Machado, Lauren Groff—with advice and pep talks. This is a great one to keep on your desk and pop into at random when you need a boost.
Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow by Steve Almond
A recommendation from
, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow is “the long-awaited craft book from Steve Almond, based on three decades of writing, failing, and trying again…The goal is to explode the well-meaning but misguided myths that hold us back from writing our deepest and most honest work, to awaken the joys of storytelling while also confronting how grueling the process can be.” Sounds like an absolute winner of a craft book!The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
One of two craft books recommended by
. Maass’ book is great “for digging deeper into the emotional core of the story”. Taken from the blurb, this book will “how to use story to provoke a visceral and emotional experience in readers. Topics covered include: emotional modes of writing, beyond showing versus telling, your story's emotional world, moral stakes, connecting the inner and outer journeys, plot as emotional opportunities, invoking higher emotions, symbols, and emotional language, cascading change, story as emotional mirror, positive spirit and magnanimous writing, the hidden current that makes stories move.” Sign me up!The second craft book recommended by
for “motivation around writing”. If a book hasn’t stopped selling since the 1990’s you know it’s a keeper.What books should be added? Let me know in the comments and I’ll include in the post!
As always, thanks for reading! You can find Second Chapter also on Instagram and Threads. I love putting this weekly newsletter together, and I hope it inspires you along the way.
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I loved Steve Almond's Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow. Thanks!