Okay, Just One More

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. 

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.

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:

https://shannoncurtis.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/writing-101-internal-vs-external-conflict/

http://romanceuniversity.org/2017/05/03/goal-motivation-and-conflict-with-joanne-dannon/

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

How about you? Do you have any favourite writing craft books you simply cannot live without?

7 Must-Have Writing Craft Books

With Marilyn Forsyth

Image courtesy of Giphy

Writers all have a favourite craft book (or two, or ten *grin*) that has helped us along our journey towards publication. Here are the faves of the Breathless group.


Cassandra

The book I've chosen is The Mental Game of Writing by James Scott Bell.

Writing is a mental game (goodness knows my muse often refuses to play fair) but Bell breaks it down into manageable chapters, covering topics such as Burn Out, Stress, Inspiration, Speed, Envy, and many more. He gives some great advice and warns of the many pitfalls a writer can fall into. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and will refer to it when necessary.










Enisa

If you are a perfectionist writer (I’ll admit to being one of those), always editing and re-editing in search of the perfect word/s, and you want to break out of that never-ending cycle I recommend this reference book to teach you how to silence your inner critic and let your muse embrace creativity so you can get on and write the book!

Inspired Writer: How to Create Magic with Your Words by Bryan Hutchinson reveals in an easy-to-read format how to embrace your creative side and embrace it with a passion that will not let you go as you write. Wonderful, helpful advice.

Dee

Writing Screenplays That Sell: The Complete Guide to Turning Story Concepts into Movie and Television Deals by Michael Hauge is my favourite writing craft book. Even though this book is written for the screenwriter, it works for writers in all genres. In it, Hauge (screenwriter of some of the best Hollywood movies of all time) details not only how to develop your story but also how to emote it, make it believable, and how to make viewers/readers absolutely love it! His 3 act structure makes it all so simple. Check out his website Story Mastery for more tips and tools.


Michael’s website: http://www.storymastery.com/




Sharon

The Art of Romance Writing by Valerie Parv is my favourite "how to" book. Valerie begins with a spirited defence of Romantic Novels then goes on to summarise some of the diversity within the genre. Her clear, articulate, engaging writing style enables her to impart important information while empowering her readers.

Miranda


I love Writing Romance by Vanessa Grant. She manages to make everything seem simple and clear about romance writing, and gives excellent suggestions and tips. This one was published some years ago, but it still resonates with me. She gives examples from her own work that illustrate every point. She talks about everything from planning your book to selling it, and also explains the romantic sub-genres. Everything here to make a start, then continue on writing to fulfil your dreams!

Karen

I like Editing Made Easy by Bruce Kaplan.
This book is a practical guide for writers and editors. It explains adjectives, turning nouns into verbs, words to avoid, how to avoid word confusion, punctuation, plural traps, getting to the point, and also gives an editing checklist for when polishing your manuscript. English classes were a while ago so this book serves me in that it is a reminder of the basic rules of writing.



Marilyn 

Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook is a brilliant writing course in a book. He covers Character Development, Plot Development and General Story Techniques with a stimulating exercise at the end of each chapter. I particularly like his 22 steps to create a book outline. It’s suitable for writers with either a work-in-progress or a completed manuscript. (PS: Although it’s an adjunct to Writing the Breakout Novel, you don’t need to have read it to gain from the workbook.)



Do you have a favourite writing craft book? At Breathless we're always on the lookout for great books to add to our professional library so please feel free to add your favourite craft book in a comment.

Love to Love receiving my first sales statement from Harlequin MIRA. HUGE thanks to all my lovely readers!

Love to Laugh at Halloween creativity.

Love to Learn about Making Facebook My Friend with Sarah Hood (an RWAus OWL course). Sarah has a wealth of knowledge about marketing and the course was very helpful. Follow this link to her website http://www.marketing4writers.net