In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet's
Portable Workshop, by Steve Kowit. Tilbury House, Publishers (132
Water Street, Gardener, Maine 04345, 1995. [A really fine guide for the
aspiring poet. Addresses issues of creation, revision and 'getting it
out there.']
Writing on Both Sides of the Brain,
by Henriette Anne Klauser. Harper & Row, 1987. [Indispensable.]
Writing from the Inner Self, by
Elaine Farris Hughes. Harper Collins, 1991. [Chock full of writing
exercises designed to free creativity and help you overcome writer's
block.]
Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind, both by Natalie
Goldberg. Shambhala,1986 & Bantam, 1990, respectively. [Students
report that both contain helpful exercises as well as an interesting
Zen approach to writing creatively.]
Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott.
Pantheon, 1994. [A step-by-step guide on how to write and how to
'manage' the writer's life, from "Shitty First Drafts" through "How Do
You Know When You're Done."]
Walking On Alligators: A Book of
Meditations for Writers, by Susan Shaughnessy. Harper San
Francisco, 1993. [A day-book of over 200 stimulating quotes from
a variety of writers (Rice, Morrison, Strand, Ackerman), coupled with a
short-short essay by the author on various aspects of the writing life.
Lovely and inspiring.]
What If?: Writing Exercises for
Fiction Writers, by Anne Bernays & Pamela Painter. Harper
Collins, 1990. [Teaches "how to do two very different things -- write
like a writer and think like one.]
On Writer's Block, by Victoria
Nelson. Houghton Mifflin, 1993. [A look at 'creative silences' as a
positive element in an artist's growth.]
If You Can Talk, You Can Write, by
Joel Saltzman. Warner Books, 1993. [How-to tips for conquering
Perfectionism, Paralysis and Procrastination; dealing with the inner
critic; and, lots more.]
The Forest for the Trees, by Betsy
Lerner. Riverhead Books, 2000. [Interesting, but not for beginners.
Read it after you've finished your novel or book.]
Writer Tells All: Insider Secrets to
Getting Your Book Published, by Robert Masello. Henry Holt, 2001.
[Lays out the progress of a book from inspiration to publication and
beyond. How to pick the proper agent, etc.]
About Creativity
The Artist's Way, by Julia
Cameron. Tracer/Putnam, 1992. [A 12-week course in workbook form,
designed to help you work your way through the blocks and repressed
issues which keep all of us from fulfilling ourselves creatively.
Highly recommended.]
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal
Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Harper & Row, 1990. [An
astute analysis of the core of the creative act, emphasizing the
self-perpetuating pleasure it brings.]
The Path of Least Resistance: Learning
To Become the Creative Force In Your Own Life, by Robert Fritz.
Ballantine, 1989. [Identifies certain principles common to all creative
endeavors, and applicable to your writing or to any other aspect of
living.]
Fire in the Crucible: The Alchemy of
Creative Genius, by John Briggs. St. Martin's Press, 1988. [A good
overview of the various components of the creative process from an
analytical perspective.]
The Courage to Create, by Rollo
May. Bantam Books, 1975. [A classic. Emphasizes courage and risk-taking
as essential to the creative process.]
The Anatomy of Change,
by Richard Heckler. Shambhala, 1985. [Highly recommended, especially if
you're blocked totally or can't finished what you've started or are
dissatisfied with the depth of what you write. This East/West approach
to body/mind therapy describes an illuminating parallel to the
traditional four stages of the creative process.]
The Act of Creation, by Arthur
Kessler. Penguin Books, 1964. [Another classic. Kessler's sweeping
analysis brings together the creative underpinnings of comedy, science
and art in his famous "Aha, Ah-Ha and Aha!" Response.]
Elegant Choices, Healing Choices,
by Marsha Sinetar. Paulist Press, 1988. [A good introduction to the
broader ramifications of creativity as a necessary quality of human
life.]
If you've found a
writing book or book about writing to be particularly helpful, we'll
add it to our reading list. Just email
us giving the book's name, publisher, publication date and a
one-sentence description similar to those in this list.
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