Books about Writing

Updated October 31, 2024
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
1000 words : a writer's guide to staying creative, focused, and productive all year round
Attenberg, Jami
Paper Book
National Bestseller Inspired by Jami Attenberg's wildly popular literary movement #1000WordsofSummer, this "encouraging handbook" (Publishers Weekly) features essays on creativity, productivity, and writing from acclaimed authors including Roxane Gay, Lauren Groff,...
Dreyer's English : an utterly correct guide to clarity and style
Dreyer, Benjamin
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A sharp, funny grammar guide they'll actually want to read, from Random House's longtime copy chief and one of Twitter's leading language gurus   NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine<...
Steering the craft : a twenty-first century guide to sailing the sea of story
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paper Book
From the celebrated Ursula K. Le Guin, "a writer of enormous intelligence and wit, a master storyteller" (Boston Globe), the revised and updated edition of her classic guide to the essentials of a writer's craft. Completely revised and rewritten to address modern...
You: the story : a writer's guide to craft through memory
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
The nonfiction debut by #1 New York Times bestselling and Carnegie Medal-winning author Ruta Sepetys. Perfect for fans of Burn After Writing and Bird by Bird. Life is story in motion. Each day, you add to your story, revise it, and view it from a different...
Meander, spiral, explode : design and pattern in narrative
Alison, Jane
Paper Book
"How lovely to discover a book on the craft of writing that is also fun to read . . . Alison asserts that the best stories follow patterns in nature, and by defining these new styles she offers writers the freedom to explore but with enough guidance to thrive." ―Maris Kreizman, Vulture<...
The magic words : writing great books for children and young adults
Klein, Cheryl B.
Paper Book
The best children's and young adult novels take readers on wonderful outward adventures and stirring inward journeys. In The Magic Words, editor Cheryl B. Klein guides writers on an enjoyable and practical-minded voyage of their own, from developing a saleable premise for a novel to finding a dream...
A poetry handbook
Oliver, Mary
Paper Book
"Mary Oliver would probably never admit to anything so grandiose as an effort to connect the conscious mind and the heart (that's what she says poetry can do), but that is exactly what she accomplishes in this stunning little handbook."--Los Angeles Times From the beloved...
Bird by Bird Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Lamott, Anne.
Ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer's world...
Story engineering : mastering the 6 core competencies of successful writing
Brooks, Larry
Paper Book
What makes a good story or a screenplay great? The vast majority of writers begin the storytelling process with only a partial understanding where to begin. Some labor their entire lives without ever learning that successful stories are as dependent upon good engineering as they...
Beyond the first draft : the art of fiction
Casey, John
Paper Book
National Book Award winner John Casey is a masterful novelist who is also an inspiring and beloved teacher. In Beyond the First Draft he offers essential and original insights into the art of writing--and rewriting--fiction. Through anecdotes about other writers' methods and habits (as well as...
Letters to a writer of color
Anappara, Deepa
Paper Book
A vital collection of essays on the power of literature and the craft of writing from an international array of writers of color, sharing the experiences, cultural traditions, and convictions that have shaped them and their work "Electric essays that speak to the experience of...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.