In this post, I write about three of my favorite books about writing.
I started to read about writing in Graduate School. Stuck on my dissertation, I soon realized that my problem was not about mastering the technical aspects of writing, as I could easily find that kind of information in books and workshops. Being stuck was more about the process of self-exploration that comes with choosing words to create meaning.
Writing is a journey without maps.
There are no definite paths. You might try to start with an outline. Soon, you will realize that new ideas and concepts will come to mind and change your plans. Writing demands concentration, humility, and a willingness to surrender. It uncovers fears, anxieties, or unresolved issues that you did not know you had. Writing helps you to know yourself better and understand others.
Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
This beautiful book explores many aspects of writing faced by every writer, such as perfectionism, jealousy, and finding your voice. It gives permission to everyone to pay attention, discover areas for exploration, and start telling their truth through words.
The book is full of practical advice. It is divided into five parts: Writing, The Writing Frame of Mind, Help Along the Way, Publication—and Other Reasons to Write, and The Last Class. You can read the chapters in the order as they relate to each other or another; they do not follow a sequence.
My favorite quote is…
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.
Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
This beautiful book is written in short inspirational chapters that examine many aspects of writing, such as obsessions, loneliness, and writing as practice. Every short chapter invites you to reflect on the act of writing.
The book contains advice that applies to other aspects of your life. I really like that this book is not about how to place a comma or use adverbs, but how to approach writing as another aspect of living. Reading the book feels like meditation.
My favorite quote is…
Writing can teach us the dignity of speaking the truth, and it spreads out from the page into all of our life, and it should. Otherwise, there is too much of a schism between who we are as writers and how we live our daily lives. That is the challenge: to let writing teach us about life and life about writing.
John R. Trimble’s Writing with Style. Conversations on the Art of Writing
This beautiful and practical book is more technical than the previous one I mentioned. If you are a professor and want to teach writing, this might be your choice. If you are a student and want to write better essays, this is the book for you.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part, “Fundamentals,” deals with general aspects of writing, such as thinking, readability, and revising. The second part, “Odds and Ends,” deals with more technical aspects of writing, such as punctuation, quoting, and abbreviations.
My favorite quote is…
The writer, for example, after realizing that a world—a reader— exists out there beyond himself, slowly comes to develop, first, an awareness of himself from the reader’s vantage point (objectivity); next, a capacity to put himself imaginatively in the mind of the reader (empathy); and finally, an appreciation of the reader’s rights and feelings (courtesy).
Have you read one of these books? What were your favorite books about writing? What is the best advice you have received on writing?
Disclosure: This blog post includes a link as part of the Amazon Affiliate Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.