The Novelist's Kit
To go further
The writing guides we recommend.
The kit gets you moving: these books dig deeper. Six trusted companions, written by authors who walked the road, chosen for their honest tone and their real usefulness on a first novel. This is the “To go further” selection from step 6 of The Novelist's Kit, with our reading notes.
On Writing · A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King · Scribner · half memoir, half toolbox: the book that makes you want to write the very next morning. On first drafts and the closed door, nobody has said it better.Start here
Stephen King · Scribner · half memoir, half toolbox: the book that makes you want to write the very next morning. On first drafts and the closed door, nobody has said it better.Start here
Bird by Bird
Anne Lamott · Anchor · funny, tender and merciless about the writing life. Its chapter on terrible first drafts has freed generations of beginners.Spirit
Anne Lamott · Anchor · funny, tender and merciless about the writing life. Its chapter on terrible first drafts has freed generations of beginners.Spirit
The Anatomy of Story
John Truby · Faber & Faber · twenty-two steps to build a story that holds. Written for film, precious for novels: characters and plot grow together.Structure
John Truby · Faber & Faber · twenty-two steps to build a story that holds. Written for film, precious for novels: characters and plot grow together.Structure
Write Away
Elizabeth George · Harper · a novelist opens her workshop: character files, locations, drafts. Joyful proof that a great novel is first a good preparation.Method
Elizabeth George · Harper · a novelist opens her workshop: character files, locations, drafts. Joyful proof that a great novel is first a good preparation.Method
Steering the Craft
Ursula K. Le Guin · Mariner · ten short lessons on the sentence, rhythm and point of view, with exercises. The best companion to the craft step, by a master stylist.Style
Ursula K. Le Guin · Mariner · ten short lessons on the sentence, rhythm and point of view, with exercises. The best companion to the craft step, by a master stylist.Style
Zen in the Art of Writing
Ray Bradbury · Joshua Odell · short, joyful essays on the sheer enthusiasm of writing. Reopen it on the evenings the first draft doubts: ten pages are enough.Spark
Ray Bradbury · Joshua Odell · short, joyful essays on the sheer enthusiasm of writing. Reopen it on the evenings the first draft doubts: ten pages are enough.Spark
All these books are easy to find new or used: order them from your local bookshop if you can. We earn no commission: this selection is ours alone.