Do Top Rated Books on Writing Actually Work?
In my writing career, I haven’t leaned too much into writing resources due to the fact I want my writing to come natural. But as I continue writing my triology I find myself looking for resources to make it the best it can be.
Over the last several months, I've read some of the best rated books on the market to see if they would be able to help with my writing.
Let’s see if they hold up to the hype.
On Writing, Stephen King
This book is a mix of memoir and writing tips. Something I didn’t know I was going to like until I started reading it.
With that, the first part of the book starts with King's background, why he became a writer, and how his family dynamics shaped the writer he is today. Over time you see King's passion grow from a made-at-home newspaper to best-selling novels. The novel ends with more recent information(last updated in 2014) including how his life has turned out now that he has sold so many books and how his writing has changed.
The book has a sandwich effect of lifestyle, writing tips, and then lifestyle again. Something I enjoyed while also reading how the tips King uses daily as beneficial.
The tips given as far as actually writing go are small and mixed in with his lifestyle but larger sections focus on how you should write. What I mean by this is the environment you write in, how long you should write for, and who you are writing for. I think the tips might be helpful to first-time writers but writing 2,000 words a day(as he recommends) is not something everyone can do especially if you aren’t known as a best-selling author who only dedicates their time to writing.
Even though yes, it is a memoir, I think more time could have been spent on writing tips for authors. But then again, sometimes it comes more naturally to some. You can only explain so much to people before it ends up with you just writing their story for them.
I did find it strange how he splits his writing. The sections or chapters are clear but in odd spots. It’s not like most novels where there are page breaks to signify the next chapter. Instead, he puts a number in the middle of the page, with some sections only lasting a few sentences or paragraphs. Even so, it's still easy to read and follow along, just abnormal compared to other authors.
I don’t find myself usually highlighting pages, but in this case, I highlighted many things I found important, especially when it came to actual sentence or word structure.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to write or just interested in Stephen King himself.
Save the Cat A Novel, Jessica Brody
While writing my current novel, I decided to check out Save the Cat writes a Novel to see if it would help with my writing and setting up a triology.
The novel takes every best-selling novel and breaks down every step into why it was successful. Seeing there are only 15 categories a novel can fit into, each one shows examples of how and where the writing tips occur.
This was super easy to follow along and gave great tips. One downfall I realized when reading was I often found myself thinking of my story and what it may or may not lack. I felt as if I had to write a certain way for my story to fit within the restraints this book noted. Even though I know it wasn't the intent, it did help with some story structure I was missing.
Once again, I would recommend this book to anyone who is starting to write and may need help being pushed in the correct direction.
Emotional Wounds Thesaurus, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Understanding your characters can be difficult especially when you haven’t experienced the trauma they have gone through. So, I picked up Emotional Wounds Thesaurus and read it from front to back.
Inside is a collection of traumas someone may face in their everyday lives and how those traumas are seen through behavior. The book is large, containing an overwhelming amount of traumas for authors to chose from as well as two page descriptions of behaviors you might see your characters exhibit. The lists are nice, but many of the behaviors and scenarios are repetitive. This can make reading somewhat boring if you aren’t sure which wounds you want your characters to have.
If you do, then this is a great resource. I went ahead and tabbed all the traumas each of my characters have gone through as well as the behaviors I want them to experience or show.
I do wish there were more examples of how this book could be used or seen in characters of popular books when it comes to writing as it adds more depth to your writing.
In the end, I would recommend this to every author who wants more dynamic characters.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think these books are highly rated when it comes tips and tricks new, or even experienced authors might be able to use. I know I enjoyed reading them and putting them to use when it comes to my own writing. They definitely live up to the hype other authors have spoken.
Check out my other post Rating Which Stores Have the Best Stationary Products for Writers to see how I rated them when it comes to writing. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog if you haven’t already for the latest updates!
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