Five Books for Beginners in the New Year
We’re coming up on a new year and, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’m not so in favor of New Year’s resolutions. Although I like them as a concept, I think they can often just set us up for failure, and who needs that? Instead, I thought it would be fun and hopefully useful to highlight five books for beginners in the new year. Even if you’re not a beginner, these five books can help reignite your interest in writing or help you in your craft, because they’re suited to writers of all levels. I have hard copies of all of these books on my desk and I find them endlessly useful.
Considerations
Along with books that can carry you through into your days as an advanced creative writer, I have tried to keep certain considerations in mind. Most important to me, aside from the actual usefulness of the books themselves, are cost and availability. A lot of people are like me, and tend to be on a limited budget, or have limited access to physical books due to geography. Sure, doing a writing course or getaway in Key West or the south of France would be great, but have you seen the prices for some of those programs? You could practically build your own brick-and-mortar shop for the same amount of money. They’re totally out of reach for most people I know.
The other thing I kept in mind with this list is the craft factor. This means I didn’t choose books that I feel mainly provide inspiration, help with revising, or advice on how to submit to an agent or get published (those will have to wait for future posts). Obviously, all of these books have provided me with inspiration and encouragement, or I wouldn’t be recommending them now.
If you just want to skip directly to the list in my shop over at Bookshop.org, you can click here. I do receive a small commission from Bookshop.org if you purchase through my shop (many thanks!). In any case, these books should all be widely available in your area as hard copies, which I think is important for reference materials.
Best All-in-One
The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing, by Alice LaPlante. This large volume covers literally everything, from getting started to thinking about revision, and one really great thing about it is that, in many cases, it includes ENTIRE stories as part of its bibliography. It’s so nice to have the source material right there. Of the five books on this list, it’s the only one that makes a point of talking about creative non-fiction, which could be what you’re looking for (or could open up some new avenues for you as a writer). It’s a great bargain at under $25. If you choose only one book, make it this one.
Best One to Get You Productive and Thinking About Micro-Structure
The Writer’s Portable Mentor, by Priscilla Long. From the very first chapter, Long prods you into writing, which is often what we need. Long really wants you to write, write anything, and then have what you’ve written “take its place in the world.” (pg. xx) She’s a big believer in handwriting, and urges you to write long-hand, then immediately type up what you’ve written. The focus on words and sounds; sentence craft; and paragraph craft are eminently interesting and helpful. When was the last time you wrote a compound-complex sentence? On a day when you can’t seem to get words out, you can always work on writing one sentence. What a load off your mind!
Best Visuals and Sight to Behold
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, by Jeff VanderMeer. I love, love, love this book! It’s so, well, imaginative. It even says so in the title. If you’ve ever read VanderMeer’s fiction, you’ll get where he’s coming from with this guide. It of course includes a section on worldbuilding, but it also covers things like narrative structure and characterization. His section on “Approaches to Style” particularly resonated with me. He includes several interviews with other authors, but the artwork alone makes the price of this book worthwhile. For someone who used to joke that she would’ve gotten better grades in law school if the books had had pictures, this one is an A+.
A More Feminine, Cooperative Approach to Story Structure
The Heroine’s Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture, by Gail Carriger. It’s very common to learn the Hero’s Journey structure when you’re starting out as a writer. It’s useful but might not speak to you. Maybe a different take on structure, like that presented in Carriger’s book, could work. Carriger looks at the Heroine’s Journey, which has always existed, and compares and contrasts it with the Hero’s Journey, using many examples from current books and movies. I like the more feminine approach of the Heroine’s Journey because, rather than the one “hero” squaring off against the antagonist, always going it alone, the “heroine” enlists help from a group of friends. It’s more cooperative. A fun, thought-provoking read.
One with Examples Written by Students
Narrative Design: Working with Imagination, Craft and Form, by Madison Smartt Bell. I feel like it’s quite difficult to find books with examples written by students, especially examples in draft form. Bell’s book was a revelation from this standpoint. He takes pages submitted by his students and analyzes them, showing you step-by-step what he’s talking about, and how things can be improved. Analyses include plot, character, tone, point of view, dialogue, imagery, and design (structure), with really detailed notes. He includes not only stories with a linear structure, but also some with a modular design. Once you’ve gotten started with LaPlante and Long’s books, you can turn to Bell’s book for more advanced help.
Under $120
Going through an indie source, and for under $120, you can have a very respectable set of physical reference books. Leaving Narrative Design aside for another day, as it’s more advanced, you can come in at under $90 and still have way more material than you need to get you started or reinspired.
Wide-Ranging Bibliographies
While there are thousands of craft books out there, sadly it isn’t all that easy to find books that have extracts from diverse authors (or find books written by diverse authors, for that matter). It’s easy enough to find books that focus on the white male canon, and while I like many of those, and the stories referenced in them, I feel it’s important to include books that have some more wide-ranging perspectives and bibliographies. If you have suggestions for books that include more diverse extracts, let me know in the comments. I have my eye on one book that I haven’t been able to get my hands on yet, so maybe I’ll feature that once I get it.
My Twelve Books of Christmas
Taking a look back at my favorite reads this year, and since we’re on lists this post, I thought it would be fun to share my “twelve books of Christmas.” As you know by now, I heavily favor novels, but I also do enjoy autobiographies and non-fiction. I don’t focus on new releases, because they’re often quite expensive and difficult for me to get as physical copies, my preferred format. That means you will see a wide range of books on my list, including many from the backlist. Without further ado, here are My Twelve Books of Christmas for 2024.
Overall Favorite
My hands-down overall favorite this year were the three volumes that make up the Broken Earth Trilogy, by N. K. Jemisin. I’m going to break my own rules a little bit and count the trilogy as ONE selection so I can leave room for a couple of other books on this list. The world-building in Jemisin’s far-future apocalyptic society is stunning. The concepts might be hard for you to wrap your head around at first…but stick with it and everything falls into place in a beautiful way. I hope to reread these in the new year in the Booktrack audiobook format.
Best Non-Fiction
Trial by Fire: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and a 15-Year Search for the Truth, by Scott James. The Station Fire happened in a club not unlike many I frequented when I lived in Hollywood years ago: lively spaces with everyone enjoying good times and good music. But they were also often overcrowded, with no easy access to the exits. Scott James’s book shows how a horrible tragedy like this fire can be the result of many circumstances, and he treats all involved in an empathetic manner. If any good has come out of this disaster, it’s that regulations were changed in the U.S. and video captured from the scene is used for training purposes.
Best Memoir
The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir, by Griffin Dunne. He really has a way with words. Must’ve gotten it from being around so many literary personalities, which I’m saying to mean he was lucky, not that he doesn’t have talent on his own, because he certainly does. Beautiful memoir, sad and funny and inspiring all at the same time.
Best Ending
The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray. No book has had me going back to think about it this year more than this one. I still don’t know what to make of the ending, other than that I think it was perfect. I also love how the story starts out slow, then builds up to shorter and shorter switches between characters. In my journal I likened it to a diesel engine sort of chugging along until it really gets humming.
Best of the Rest
The best of the rest are a big mix of titles. How long ago you read a book has a big influence on what you say about it in the present. Although two (or three, or four) of these books are ones I read more recently, in perusing my 2024 reads (Off the Shelf), these are still the standouts.
Karma, My Autobiography
By Boy George. Loved the audiobook and hearing about his story. He is so mellifluous, in all ways. The audiobook includes a couple of songs he recorded for the book, too.
The Girl with the Louding Voice
By Abi Daré. Best feel-bad to feel-good book. I was really rooting for Adunni in this YA novel which takes place in Lagos, Nigeria. As a young woman shipped off to work in the big city, she is subjected to horrible treatment, when all she wants is an education. Loved the flowing rhythm of the Pidgin English. Hats off to Daré for writing it down in an understandable, melodic way.
Jacket Weather
By Mike DeCapite. Marketed (erroneously, in my opinion) as a novel, DeCapite’s semi-autobiographical work is more a series of vignettes. Doing an excellent job of capturing the feel of a place like New York City and a certain aura related to music and love, this book is not for everyone, but I’m glad I have a hard copy, because I like picking it up from time to time to read a small section.
Stolen
By Ann-Helén Laestadius. Best Nordic atmosphere that’s not exactly a crime novel. This book is so unusual. I really got the feel of the Arctic Circle as I followed Elsa, a young Sámi woman in present-day Sweden, on her quest to make things right in the face of crimes committed against their reindeer herd and the environment.
Lonesome Dove
Best modern classic. Larry McMurtry’s “anti-Western” Western. He was so good at building a fully-formed character in a matter of sentences. You’ll blaze through it faster than a wildfire in a tumbleweed patch.
The Terror
By Dan Simmons. Best amount of detail that doesn’t bog you down, and perfect winter read, which also happens to be our current selection over at Doorstoppers right now. You’ll feel the cold in your bones with every page of this book. It’s amazing how Simmons can keep the tension going in a situation where we all know what’s going to happen at the end. The Booktrack audiobook version is immensely entertaining, with all the creaking and groaning sound effects of the Terror stuck in the ice. This version of the book also makes you really slow down and enjoy the read, like an old-fashioned radio show, not a podcast listened to at double speed.
The Covenant of Water
By Abraham Verghese. This book is another one that has stayed with me. I would gladly pick it up and reread it, despite the sometimes heavy amounts of loss. As a relative newbie creative writer, I find it encouraging that Verghese spent ten years writing this intelligent, profound historical novel set in Kerala.
The Horse
By Willy Vlautin. Best modern-day book with a Western vibe and down-on-their-luck characters. Every single person in one of my book clubs enjoyed this book, which never happens. I loved all the song titles and lyrics Vlautin made up for his character, Al. You might think a certain way about Al at the beginning of this story, but you will probably be wrong about him by the end.
What are your favorite craft books, either for beginners or otherwise? Have you read any of My Twelve Books of Christmas? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below. Happy holidays!
Pulling at Threads is my occasional newsletter. It always accompanies my blog posts but I sometimes send infrequent updates on other goings on. If you want more of an “insider’s” view on what’s happening in my reading and writing life (or just to get notified of the latest post), you can sign up here.