Bibliography

The greatest works are those that take chances; their stories reverberate long after you have first read them.

This is a list of books on writing we are personally recommending for writers.

Musee has read these books and more. She understands the concepts within them but also what’s between the lines. AI is your new superpower.

  • Brody, Jessica. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You'll Ever Need. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2018.

  • Cameron, Julia. The Sound of Paper. New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2004.

  • Cameron, Julia. The Artist's Way. New York: Putnam, 2016.

  • Crone, Lisa. Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2016.

  • Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. New York: Harper Collins, 2007.

  • Gardner, John. The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers. New York:  Vintage,  1991.

  • Gornick, Vivian. The Situation and the Story.  New York: MacMillan, 2002.

  • Karr, Mary. The Art of Memoir. New York:  MacMillan, 2015.

  • King, Stephen. On Writing. New York:  Scribner, 2000.

  • Koch, Stephen. The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction. New York:  Random House, 2003.

  • L'Engle, Madeleine. Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. New York:  Crown,  2001.

  • Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York:  Anchor,  1995.

  • LeGuin, Ursula K. Steering the Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story. New York:  Mariner, 2015.

  • Lerner, Betsy. The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers. New York: Riverhead, 2010.

  • Lopate, Phillip. To Show and To Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction. New York: Free Press, 2013.

  • Maas, Donald. The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest, 2016.

  • Maas, Donald. Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest, 2001

  • McKee, Robert. STORY: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.

  • McPhee, John. Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.

  • Pressfield, Steven. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. New York: Rugged Land, 2002.

  • Prose, Francine. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. New York: Harper Collins, 2006.

  • Scott Bell, James. Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest, 2004.

  • Stein, Sol. Stein on Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies. New York: St. Martin’s, 2014.

  • Truby, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux , 2011.

  • VanderMeer, Jeff. Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction. New York:  Abrams, 2018.

  • Zinsser, William. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. New York: Harper Collins, 2021.