Some Books That Have Helped Me Get Going

I thought I'd review some of the books that have helped me get back on track with my writing career. Working has been difficult for me because of my depression. It makes it hard to focus, but since I got medicated things have been somewhat easier. I recently invested in several books to help me get organized and stay on track.

First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner has been a huge help with the challenge of organization. Usually, the information for my novels is scattered to the four winds. In the past, I've habitually had to write and re-write story ideas because I've misplaced the information I came up with for it before. This book has made it simple for me to organize the information I need to actually get things done with my novels-in-progress, as well as my new ideas.

From First Draft to Finished Novel is Karen S. Wiesner's companion book to First Draft in 30 Days, and it continues the quest to create a cohesive manuscript. It helps the author lay out the manuscript in such a way that it makes it easy to see where you need to make changes before you send your work to an agent or a publisher.

Bullies, Bastards & Bitches by Jessica Page Morrell has helped me create more complex, believable antagonists for my stories. Rather than having two-dimensional, cartoon-esque villains, I now have three-dimensional characters with interesting and believable motivations.

Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld has been interesting, thus far. I think it would have been useful when I was taking Introduction to Creative Writing last semester. It includes a lot of tips that my professor, Jim Davis, also gave me. I like having it around as an easy reference guide for when I am crafting the actual scenes in my novels and short stories.

Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb is full of key information about avoiding common pitfalls both in writing and in seeking publication. I have not gotten as far in it as I have in the others, but I believe it will be infinitely helpful in my quest to finish my first novel and get it published.

The Everything Guide to Writing A Novel by Joyce and Jim Lavene has been incredibly helpful with some of the finer points concerning writing and publication. Before I started reading it, I was unsure of what word count actually qualifies a book as a novel, as opposed to a novella or a short story.

I am in love with The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, edited by Meg Leder, Jack Heffron, and the editors of Writer's Digest. It includes interviews with and articles by a multitude of authors and others involved in the writing and publishing business. It's well-organized and has easy-to-find sections concerning every aspect you could hope to encounter as an aspiring author.

The Craft and Business of Writing, from the editors of Writer's Digest Books, has useful tabs concerning the general business and different genres of writing.

I've also been using the Writer's Digest Writing Kit from the editors of Writer's Digest Books. I love the idea sparkers. They're a lot of fun to work with!

I also adore The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction from the staff of Fresh Boiled Peanuts. The prompts are quirky and hilarious, as well as thoroughly inspiring.