Books on how to write books
Posted by Caldwell on Tue, 24 Sep 2024
Two thesauri, a tonne of dictionaries, Biographical Quotations, Modern English Usage, C. G. Jung's 'Archetypes and the collective unconscious', Vogler's 'The Writer's Journey', Will Storr with 'The Science of Storytelling' and Brody's 'Save The Cat! Writes a novel'.
It's all on my shelves and all remain unread. I see them there, all eager to tell me their secrets but it all seems too much like work. I can't get rid of them because that would make me feel like a total fool, but goodness. I wonder if it's the same with those "Get Rich" books. It's all about the ambition to become something but really, is there a true science to it?
Of those who succeed and want to share their knowledge almost without exception, regardless of the field they're talking about in this alchemical world of creating gold from certain movements and gestures, be it on the page or in front of an audience, they all say that they were in the right place at the right time. That chance has a lot to do with it. As well as the expectation that you will experience failure most of the time and all it comes down to is having the determination to pick yourself up and try again.
There may be a surefire method to do some simple things, but if you're trying to create something unique, I don't know. So long as you know how to put words together so that they can articulate what you deep down want to say, then perhaps these books that stay on my shelves are not worth opening.
At least the writers got some dosh out of me, or at least their publishing houses did, and maybe that's enough. *shrugging emoji hahaha
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I've got Save the Cat and
I've got Save the Cat and quite a few others. The answer is more mundane. Write around a million words. Then you'll have an idea what you're doing.
Until recently I thought
Until recently I thought reading loads would be enough, but turns out that that's a different muscle. I was hoping that osmosis would turn me into my heroes. Ah well, at least it was fun. A million you say... that's 10 bad novels worth. So the 11th should be a cracker!
'The Writer's Journey' is a
'The Writer's Journey' is a favourite of mine. I also like Stephen King's 'On Writing' - though I wish he'd quit wittering on about how his success came about and how much money he made (and makes). Two others that I'd recommend are both by John Gardner - novelist, and also Raymond Carver's writing tutor at college. They are 'On Becoming a Novelist' and 'The Art of Fiction'. Gardner is the serious goods on the subject of craft. One other is Anne Lamott's 'Bird by Bird' - a more light-hearted, but interesting and useful guide to writing (and life!)
NEVER be tempted to read Robert McKee's 'Story'! Often referred to as the Bible for Hollywood screenwriters, it's basically a manual for how to pump out formulaic pap. The best screenwriting book is William Goldman's 'Adventures in the Screen Trade'. Even if you aren't interested in screenwriting, it's a thoroughly entertaining, informative and inspirational read.
Lamot's Bird by Bird is
Lamot's Bird by Bird is beautiful and brilliant. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Same here!
Same here!