My most helpful writing craft books

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels

It’s been three weeks since I published The Cards We’re Dealt, and since my last blog post so I thought I’d better get started on this new series of writing tips and insights. Before I do that though, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of my debut novel so far!

I’ll be using my blog to share articles that other writers may find useful, and which non-writers or readers may simply find insightful. Whichever category you fall into, I hope you’ll stick around! In between the writing advice, I’ll create some posts on my reading habits and favourite books too, among other things.

Today, to kick things off, I thought it might be a good idea to talk about some of the books I found to be the most helpful as an author. I read or used these at various stages in the writing process, and all had something different to offer.

The first book

I’d been spending a lot of time on Writing Twitter/X and had seen this first book come up a lot. Some even referred to it as the Writing Bible and a must-read for writers. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by none other than Stephen King, one of America’s most successful authors, is more than just a memoir. I’m not a big reader of Stephen King’s novels, but I can appreciate that he knows how to write story after story even if they’re not my preferred genre.

Part memoir, part writing craft book, King shares memories from his childhood and throughout his career and life, while interspersing them with advice that’s invaluable.

The most fundamental takeaway is that to be a writer you must be a reader. Reading teaches you about writing and language in a way that’s subtle, but you’re absorbing it all the time as you read.

One quote that resonated with me was “write with the door closed” but “rewrite with the door open.” What King means by this is that your first draft is for yourself first and foremost. You’re telling yourself the story first. But when it comes to editing and improving that story, that’s when you’re ready to start sharing and bouncing ideas off early readers of your book, seeking feedback.

Another quote I’m fond of is “the road to hell is paved with adverbs.” If you’ve hung out on Writing Twitter, at some point you’ll have come across the debate about adverbs. This is one thing I look out for in my rounds of edits: Where are my adverbs? Why are they there? As King says, it’s often because the verb they accompany is weak (e.g. “he said quietly” can be improved with “he whispered”). I don’t go the whole way and cut every adverb from my manuscript though! Some do have their place.

A helpful book for authors when plotting

Another hugely popular book among authors, and one I found incredibly useful when plotting the novel I’m currently working on and another I have in the works (I swear, I have too many ideas and not enough time!) is Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need by Jessica Brody. This one is based on the similarly titled book on screenwriting by Blake Snyder, and it breaks down plotting into manageable pieces that help you with the pacing in your novel.

This is one plotting method among many that writers use. It uses a 15-plot point structure, with these plot points referred to as ‘beats’. It’s an entertaining read and not at all preachy. It’s also full of examples that really emphasise and help you understand the aspects it lays out.

Now, I’m not saying every story needs to follow a rigid structure to succeed, because if we all did that, we’d be churning out books that are imitations of each other. However, if you struggle with plotting or you write a first draft and find it rambles in places, or the pace is too slow, or something’s not working, it might be worth taking a look at this book to see if you can identify some of these beats in your novel and see if there are any missing that would improve your story if they were added.

This book helps you map out your novel, but I always think you should give yourself some free rein to wander off the path you’ve plotted. Sometimes your characters take you places you hadn’t considered before, and suddenly your story is better for it.

The most life-changing writing craft book

G M C: Goal, Motivation and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction by Debra Dixon was one of the best things to come out of Writing Twitter for me. This book changed how I see writing and how I approach plotting, from the entire book to a single scene, and it’s worth its weight in gold, in my opinion.

Basically, it helps you map out what it is your characters want, why they want it, and the obstacles that stand in their way. The key ingredients in storytelling. This book delves into both the internal (emotional) and external GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict). I create my characters now using this method, and there are a few important parts to bear in mind.

Goals should be clear and as urgent as possible, as urgency is what pushes the plot forward. If a goal is too vague, it isn’t urgent enough.

Your characters’ GMC should also oppose or overlap with each other to create conflict in your story. If they don’t, what are they doing in the same novel?

The book uses examples of different movies, and it’s full of tables and charts to help you map out your characters in short, drilled-down phrases that keep things simple.

Honestly, if you’re only going to read one writing craft book, make it this one.

Making your characters seem real, and writing your novel

When it comes to creating layered characters and actually getting words on the page, there is one craft book that has helped me more than any others – or should I say one series of books. It’s known as The Emotion Thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, although there are several books in this vein. I own three of them:

-          The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression (which I bought first and used to write The Cards We’re Dealt)

-          The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Psychological Trauma (which I also used in creating my characters in The Cards We’re Dealt)

-          The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volume 1) (a subsequent purchase that I’ve used to plan my latest novels)

These have been incredible additions to my writing craft library.

The first, The Emotion Thesaurus, breaks down character reactions. What physical signs would a character show, what sensations would they experience, what would they think internally when they’re feeling despair? Hopefulness? Resignation? Terror? This book has it all. It helps you get away from the same repetitive movements or dialogue tags (I don’t know about you, but my characters usually do a whole lot of looking and staring before I go back to edit properly and use this book to have them do something else!). If you’re looking to add interiority to your character’s reactions and to use the famous ‘show don’t tell’ approach, then you need this book.

The Emotional Wound Thesaurus really helps me map out my characters before I put a single word on the page, and I’ve used it in planning all my books. Characters need past traumas that create emotional wounds as these lead to them holding onto misbeliefs about themselves or the world, or both, and reacting in certain ways. This creates flawed characters – something we need as readers to connect with them, and something that makes them realistic.

This book has so many emotional wounds you can basically take your pick. Want a character who was abandoned by a parent during childhood? Got another who’s discovered her spouse has been cheating on her? Have another who’s witnessed a murder, or survived an event when somebody died? Look no further. Each emotional wound comes with examples, basic needs that are compromised (for example, esteem and recognition), along with misbeliefs, fears, responses, personality traits, triggers and ways the emotional wound can be overcome, all of which can help enrich your story and give you ideas on how you want your characters’ arcs to evolve.

In addition, it comes with a handy character arc progression flowchart at the back that you can use to plot your characters’ growth.

The last of the three I have from the collection is The Conflict Thesaurus. This one comes in handy when you’re plotting your story, or when you’re writing a scene and are looking for ways to add urgency or, as the name suggests, conflict. Its structure is similar to the others in the series, where you have an entry dedicated to each form of conflict. Examples include family secrets being revealed, making a crucial mistake at work, having to break a promise, and being unable to save everyone.

Each entry comes with examples, some minor complications, some more serious consequences, related emotions and internal struggles, and both positive and negative traits, among other aspects.

After the first draft – polishing to find the diamond

You can see all the pages I've noted as useful!

When it comes to editing, there are two writing craft books that I found hugely beneficial and which I continue to refer to when editing every story I write.

The first of these is Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell. I can’t remember where I first heart about this one, if I’m honest, and the novels I’ve written need more than two rounds of edits, but some of the advice in here is great. I picked this one up after I’d written my first draft of The Cards We’re Dealt, so I skipped over the parts related to writing a first draft, but the editing advice was worth the money spent alone.

It discusses everything from sentence length and rhythm to obvious word pairings (like “pitch black”), reducing thought tags and uses of the verb “to be”, and tips like starting your chapters earlier/later, and techniques like highlighting the weakest sentences on each page of your manuscript to try and improve it or cut it.

The other one – and the last helpful book for authors I have to recommend – is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King, two professional editors. This one dives into editing techniques, exploring everything from dialogue and exposition, to interior monologue and passive voice, and crutch words to look out for. Particularly useful was the exploration of the eternal ‘show vs. tell’ argument.

This book also has some cool exercises where you can try out the skills they discuss on passages of text, as well as checklists at the end of each chapter that you can use in your own editing process.

Eight books to help you hone your writing process

So there you have it! The eight writing craft books that help me plot out my characters and my story, get words on the page, then chop them all up and make them look even more beautiful and effective! Sounds simple, right? Ha!

If you’re a writer, I’d love to know which craft books you’ve found the most useful in your writing career – let me know in the comments or message me on social media. I’m always keen to expand my knowledge, and I have more than a few other craft books on my wishlist. You can never read too many books about writing, in my opinion. Or too many books in general! If my bank balance would allow it, I’d buy the entire Emotion Thesaurus series for starters, but I’ll settle for the three I have at the moment.

If you haven’t already, make sure you sign up for my updates and monthly newsletter using the form below on this page. You can also follow me on Twitter/X (@RhiMacG), Instagram (@rhian_writes) and Goodreads.

And if you haven’t got yourself a copy of The Cards We’re Dealt yet, head to my Books section and pick your preferred marketplace. Thanks, and see you soon!