I’m going to own up to
this right now. I have a problem—it’s a good problem—but a problem none-the-less.
I am addicted to writing craft books.
I just can’t say no!
They are like my own form of Pringles! Maybe not so tasty but certainly better
for my hips.
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| Image courtesy of giphy.com |
This has been a
lifelong habit for me; Whenever I find a topic of interest I always go
overboard. E.g. Husband bought me a rose, but how does one look after a rose?
Off to the library I went, seventeen books on roses later, well let’s just say
I haven’t killed the rose yet.
With writing craft
books, I started small. I went to the library and borrowed/reserved every
writing book I could get my greedy little hands on. There weren’t a lot that
actually covered my genre: Romance. That meant it was time to dig deeper.
Booktopia, Ever After Book Store, Amazon… One little click into Google and I
was buried with suggestions on the best ever romance writing craft books.
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| My writing craft collection |
Over time I’ve built
up quite a little collection (see picture above) But I thought I’d do a mini
run down on those that I CANNOT live without. These babies sit beside me as I
write, their corners well licked from my desperate thumbing of pages to find
the information I need.
GMC – Debra Dixon
I think this is like a
unicorn craft book – all bright, sparkly and beautiful. It’s mythical in its
printed form but I was lucky enough to score a hardback from my local romance store
and boy do I love this book. The authors tone is enjoyable and her information
so darn easy to understand.
The Emotion
Thesaurus – Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi
I’m going to add here
that ALL the thesauri are incredibly insightful and useful for writers of any genre.
Also the websites; https://writershelpingwriters.net
& https://onestopforwriters.com
are brilliant and I’ve often found myself losing hours just reading all the
craft blogs and traipsing through the wonderful information contained on both
of these sites. The emotion thesaurus though has REALLY added depth to my
characters. It has improved my showing through visceral reactions, and I find
myself now studying other people, matching their reactions to those outlined
under the emotions in the books (yes I probably look weird; but I also hear
voices in my head so really what hope is there!)
Romancing the Beat
– Gwen Hayes
This is short, sweet
and simple. I love the breakdown of beats for a romance novel. I mainly write category
length, so I found this breakdown particularly useful for that. She also has
some great follow up information on her website including a free scrivener template
that has the beats laid out so you can just open and get writing. Her sense of
humour had me chuckling whilst I soaked up her information like a sponge. I
also found myself creating a playlist from her suggestions – though I will
admit I can’t listen to it whilst I write.
These are my top three
and they have all helped add structure and depth to my stories J Particularly GMC – the first few manuscripts I
wrote I have now revisited – realising there was an underlying story but not enough
strong conflict to sustain reader interest. My characters were flat and
boring without obvious goals and motivations. Now I have a better understanding
of GMC I really feel my stories have improved dramatically. It’s been a
lifesaver!
If anyone is keen on
some further reading on GMC, please let me recommend these excellent Blogs:
I love to
love... romance craft
books
I love to laugh... at my terribly messy desk
I love to learn... what other’s turning points were for their writing
I love to laugh... at my terribly messy desk
I love to learn... what other’s turning points were for their writing
How about you? Do you
have any favourite writing craft books you simply cannot live without?
