3 thoughts on “The 5 Books That Made Me A Better Writer”
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Great list! I’ve read all but Coronado and Jesus’ Son. I’ll definitely have to check those out soon. The Road is one of my favorites, hands down.
The book I recommend the most, and I loved King’s book on writing too, is David Morrell’s ‘The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons About Writing & Publishing.’ Perhaps it is because I have been a huge fan, and have met him on a couple of occasions, I felt drawn to the book. He talks about the business of writing as well as how to hone your skills. Each chapter is described as a lesson and I felt I learned from this regarding especially structure and viewpoint, and he writes a chapter on the first person, which is how my next novel ‘Kettle of Vultures’ is written. He makes the experience more personal than King and I appreciated that. Really felt he was talking just to me.
Interesting. I think I’ll read Jesus’ Son based on your description (never heard of the author until 10 minutes ago.) I really didn’t like The Road–seemed to have too much of a social agenda to rise above it as literature, and while Carver has a worthwhile quality no doubt, at some point the quotidian moment just gets boring to me. And On Writing! I had felt a little guilty having this under my belt rather than other, more literary author’s advice—but I agree, King is nothing if not enthusiastic about writing, and that alone is inspiring! Thanks,