As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I once attempted completing a Bachelor of Writing and Editing and anything that I once learned from that course has long left my brain, though the self-consciousness, verging on embarrassment of reading works aloud has never quite left.
Thankfully when it comes to the subject of writing craft there are many, many books available, alongside many authors who are happy to share both their knowledge and experience of the writing craft and writing industry along with their struggles in an online format.
Some of the books on writing craft that I’ve found useful (so far, there are many that I’ve still yet to read), include:
John Marsden’s, Everything I know About Writing – this book I read for the first time when I was a teenager and eager to read all the books that John Marsden had written. His Tomorrow series is still a favourite from my youth. This book is a solid, easy to follow book, that shares a few tips and tricks of writing alongside giving you a glimpse into the author’s life.
Romancing The Beat: Story Structure For Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes is a short quick read that highlights all of the romance beats that a romance story should hit and has a nifty little romance beat checklist included at the back of the book. This book is useful for those interested in writing romance.
K.M. Weiland’s, Structuring Your Novel (which is available in an ebook boxset that also includes the workbook), goes through story structure and gives the reader insight into what elements should be included in the story structure. I’m cringing as I write this, but I really should re-read this book because I’ve mostly forgotten anything that I read in it last year.
If we’re discussing the books that I’ve read on writing craft, which it appears we are, then I have to mention Stephen King’s, On Writing – this book was one of the first books on writing craft that I read, after reading John Marsden’s book on the subject and while I loved getting a glimpse of the author’s life and how his love of story developed and insight into the struggles of his early writing career, I didn’t really find it useful in terms of learning more about writing structure – though I am attempting to take his advice in writing, or attempting to write, every day.
For online author resources I’ve found both inspirational and useful and enjoyed so far:
Sarra Cannon’s HeartBreathings YouTube Channel is a favourite and I always feel uplifted and just a bit more centred, grounded and focused on my goals and on writing whenever I watch one of her videos.
Brandon Sanderson’s YouTube Channel, in particular, his lecture series from the fantasy/sci-fi course on writing he teaches. I’m actually thinking of re-watching this as I really enjoyed it and mostly took notes the last time I watched it. This time around, I just want to watch for the entertainment and inspiration.
K.M.Weiland has a newsletter that you can sign up for, and you will receive a tonne of writing tips and writing craft knowledge sent directly to your inbox.
Personally, when it comes to writing, I class myself as a beginner or going through my traineeship years, as while I have started many, numerous stories, only once in my early teen years did I see a story through to its conclusion, and I distinctly remember that the story was an absolute mess and basically jumped from action to action with no emotion involved whatsoever and no rhyme or reason to it.
So as I approach writing once more, with the intention of actually finishing a story and one day publishing my work, I’m reading a number of books on the writing craft.
Currently, I’m 32% (on my kindle) through reading Lisa Cron’s Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Create a Riveting Novel.
So far, I’m finding the book incredibly helpful in the drafting/outlining process as I’m gaining clearer insight into the protagonist’s character.
In the past, any time that I attempted to write a story, a scene or character involved in a scene would just jump out at me and I’d start writing with no clear idea of what direction the story was headed in until eventually I would hit a point where I’d be left staring blankly at the screen or the notebook I was writing in, with no idea of where the story should head next and usually it was at this point that I’d abandon a project.
This time around, in my quest to develop a solid writing foundation and routine, I’ve decided to get a clearer picture of both the protagonist and other characters involved in the story and a much more in-depth vision of where the story will go before I begin writing.
This choice isn’t the careful or safe choice for me.
As I navigate this writing direction that I’m wandering down, I find myself battling with my fear and doubt of whether these methods will work for me or if some of the joy writing once sparked within me will be missing if I use this approach.
Will I dread the writing experience or not want to write the story because I know how it will end; the same way that knowing how a book ends makes me not want to read it? Though, oddly enough, re-reading books is something I love and take immense comfort in.
When it comes down to it, I won’t know anything about what’s going to work for me during the writing process, unless I try it, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m trying the plotting method of writing, and I’ll see if it works for me, though I don’t know if it’ll completely eliminate the pantser heart within me.
While navigating this method means waging war with my fears and doubts, I’m also really enjoying increasing my knowledge of the writing craft through the outlining process.
Kit's Corner of Chaos 