Saturday, September 5: Mississippi Mud
PROFESSIONAL HELP
by John M. Floyd
This week I’d like to veer off into the quirky world of those who not only read but write short stories. It’s my hope that it might be interesting to some non-writers as well, in sort of the same way that Field & Stream and “Toy Story” and the Sci-Fi Channel sometimes attract folks who are not themselves outdoorsmen or kids or aliens.
My subject, though, is not about people who write. It’s about books that tell people how to write.
Author’s guidelines
The shelves in my home office contain, in addition to way too many novels, more than 100 books on the subject of writing and marketing fiction, and primarily short fiction. Not all of them are useful unless you need to prop up a table leg, but some are, and have helped me a great deal in the fifteen years that I’ve been writing for publication and the nine years that I’ve been teaching writing courses.
I know what you’re thinking. How can a book teach you how to write? Well, it can’t, any more than a class can teach you how to write. But what books and classes can do is (1) teach you the rules, (2) offer encouragement and insight, and (3) show you what not to do. Besides, I read books about writing for the same reason I read books about golf or filmmaking or poker or the Old West or football or Hawaii — I like to see what others have to say about subjects that I like.
Here are some how-to books and reference books that I’ve found to be especially worthwhile. (The list includes only printed material — no online resources.)
The craft of writing
- The Chicago Manual of Style, University of Chicago Press
- The First Five Pages, Noah Lukeman
- Elements of Style, William Strunk and E. B. White
- Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss
- Woe Is I, Patricia T. O’Conner
- Writing the Short Story, Jack Bickham
- Spider, Spin Me a Web, Lawrence Block
- Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies, June Casagrande
- Creating Short Fiction, Damon Knight
- How I Write, Janet Evanovich
- Lapsing Into a Comma, Bill Walsh
- The Elephants of Style, Bill Walsh
- Writing Great Short Stories, Margaret Lucke
- Fiction Writer’s Handbook, Hallie and Whit Burnett
- Story, Robert McKee
- How to Write Killer Fiction, Carolyn Wheat
- Twenty Master Plots, Ronald B. Tobias
- A Writer’s Guide to Fiction, Elizabeth Lyon
- The Art and Craft of the Short Story, Rick Demarinis
- Stein on Writing, Sol Stein
- How to Write a Damn Good Mystery, James N. Frey
- The Plot Thickens, Noah Lukeman
- The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler
- The Writer’s Digest style/structure books (Dialogue, Theme & Strategy, Setting, Revision, etc.)
Research, marketing, and the writer’s life
- What Happened When, Gorton Carruth
- The Ultimate Visual Dictionary, DK Publishing
- Reverse Dictionary, Theodore M. Berstein
- How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead, Ariel Gore
- Manuscript Submission, Scott Edelstein
- What’s What, David Fisher and Reginald Bragoneir, Jr.
- Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
- Dictionary of Foreign Terms, Charles Berlitz
- Writer Tells All, Robert Masello
- Writing for Dollars, John McCollister
- Novel & Short Story Writers Market, Writer’s Digest Books
- The Forest for the Trees, Betsy Lerner
- Writer’s Guide to Places, Don Prues and Jack Heffron
- The Writer’s Digest crime books (Police Procedural, Armed & Dangerous, Scene of the Crime, Deadly Doses, etc.)
And my three all-time favorites
- Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, Lawrence Block
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Renni Browne and Dave King
- On Writing, Stephen King
(The last half of King’s book is probably the best single discussion of the writer’s craft that I’ve seen.)
If you know of other helpful books on writing and/or the writing life, please let me know. For some reason I haven’t bought one in several weeks now, and my wife’s beginning to wonder if I’m sick.
One more thing. As I’ve mentioned before, I sometimes read novels based solely on their titles. The same holds true for how-to-write books. One of my more recent purchases was Spunk & Bite, by Arthur Plotnik. I doubt Professor Strunk or E.B. would have approved of that title, but I thought it was pretty good.
Turns out the book isn’t bad, either.
You’re frightening me, John. I have a mere three of the books you have listed and have never heard of most of the people who wrote them. I am making a point of finding the two by Bill Walsh: “Lapsing Into a Comma” and “The Elephants of Style.” With titles like those they have to be worthwhile.
Wow, that’s some list–I’ve got around the same number of reference books on writing that you do, but I still only have about half of those titles that you listed (but that does include your all-time top three). And I heartily agree with your opinion on King’s book.
The two books that I value the most in my own library have long been the “Mystery Writers’ Handbook” by MWA (the first book on writing I ever owned) and “Writing to Sell” by Scott Meredith (the second writing book I ever found). Both hold first-place slots on my shelf, and when I am down, both have come off the shelf to inspire me back to work.
Stephen King’s On Writing is great, I agree. However, while reading it, I couldn’t help but think that King was being coy and revealing only the tip of the iceberg of what he knows about the craft of writing. He’s a consummately gifted writer, and he won’t reveal everything he knows in a how-to book . . . not even CLOSE to everything.
I just printed out this column and I can’t remember the last time I ever did that with a CB piece. Thanks.
Considering how good the Block and King books are I definitely have to read your third favorite.
Thanks, Rob. I do think you’d like the self-editing book — it’s more of a style guide than anything else, but makes some great points.
Dick, I frighten myself sometimes too, mostly because of the money I’ve spent on these how-to and reference books. But I love ’em.
Be aware, these are not necessarily the best books about writing; these are just the ones that have helped me the most. I don’t own MYSTERY WRITERS’ HANDBOOK, Joseph, but I’ve heard about it, and I didn’t know about WRITING TO SELL. Thanks for the info.
Of those I’ve listed, other favorites are THE FIRST FIVE PAGES, Bill Walsh’s two style books, and BIRD BY BIRD.
I am not a big fan of “how to write” books, but I do not have any strong objection to others admiring them. As the saying goes, whatever works, works.
But I am perhaps completely isolated in not admiring Stephen King as a writer. I do admire him as a human being and champion of culture, so please believe me when I say there’s nothing personal involved when I say he has never written anything that ever wowed me. Quite the contrary — more than 20 years ago, I was so bored and disappointed in The Shining after 60 pages that I never finished it, and haven’t read anything by him beyond the first page since. My lack of enthusiasm extends to On Writing.
Lots of writers who share their views on proper craft suffer from not differentiating between their personal pet peeves and actual constructive instruction. Pet peeves are personal preferences and have no place in affecting others’ style. My pal Paul Guyot, for example, is bugged by dialogue that is indicated with “said John” instead of “John said.”
King’s pet peeve is the use of adverbs, particularly when applied to describing the manner of speech. “He said angrily” is a phrase that would drive King crazy. His argument is that if the speech is angry, it should be expressed in the speech itself, making the adverb superfluous. In other words, using an adverb is the mark of an otherwise inexpressive writer, a crutch to support effete prose.
Well, maybe. Sometimes he’s right. But this can be said of any technique, e.g., the use of colorful metaphors in an attempt to dress up a colorless tale. But in the hands of a Raymond Chandler or a James Lee Burke, that wild simile can hit the nail dead center. Personally, I don’t think that any technique should be removed from the repertoire on principle, but that every technique must be applied with taste and judgment.
Sometimes the speaker’s tone of voice can’t be deduced from context. In that case, the use of an adverb is absolutely called for.
Which of the following is more economical?
(1) “Right,” he said sarcastically.
(2) “Right” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
I spend my shekels on dictionaries, thesauri, and reputable style manuals instead of DIY books, because for me, the best way to learn to write effectively is to read effective writers.
JLW, you’re dead right about pet peeves. I’m reminded of the old saying that good instructors (whether they’re classroom teachers or authors of how-to books) don’t say, “This is the way you do it”; instead they say, “This is the way I do it,” and let you decide what works for you.
But I think you’re missing out on some good reading by not giving Stephen King another chance. Try THE DEAD ZONE or MISERY or THE STAND sometime.
(Not that it matters, but I agree with Paul in the use of “John said” in dialogue — I prefer putting the name or pronoun first.)
Stephen King isn’t my cup of meat as a novelist – I’ve read a few of his books. Not that big on horror, suspense, or really long books.
But before you write him off completely you might try a few of his short stories. I list “Quitters, Inc.” in my top 50 and I think Roald Dahl or John Collier would have envied that one.
Great list! I too thought On Writing was excellent. I have a few instructionals here on the shelf, and the one that’s been there the longest is E.M. Forster’s Aspects of the Novel.
John, have you read “Zen in the Art of Writing” by Ray Bradbury? This one’s another keeper.
I have indeed read Bradbury’s book, and you’re right, it’s a good addition to any list of books about writing. I’m afraid I included only those that I own and refer to a lot, and I don’t have ZEN on my shelves.
Another good collection of essays, like Bradbury’s, is a little-known book called SECRET WINDOWS by Stephen King. It includes thoughts about story openings, suspense, etc., and several essays about the writing of some of his stories and novels. It also features a few interviews, and King’s excellent foreword from NIGHT SHIFT. I bought a hardback copy of SW at a library book sale a few years ago, for fifty cents.
I don’t have SECRET WINDOWS (not the novella, which I do have and love), but a few years ago I stumbled across BARE BONES and FEAR ITSELF in a used book store in Boston. The former is a collection of interviews with King, and the latter is a collection of essays on writing, written by King and others. I treasure both, especially since both have long been out of print.
Speaking of Stephen King . . . hands up, who can’t wait for UNDER THE DOME, a 1088-page apocalyptic monster novel, no pun intended! LOL.
It’s good to hear about the upcoming UNDER THE DOME. My hand’s up.
I too have FEAR ITSELF and BARE BONES, as well as (and I can see JLW rolling his eyes as I write this) THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE, THE STEPHEN KING COMPANION, STEPHEN KING: THE ART OF DARKNESS, KINGDOM OF FEAR: THE WORLD OF STEPHEN KING, and THE ESSENTIAL STEPHEN KING. That last one is the best of all, with rankings of of all his short stories and novels.
I guess you could say I’m a fan . . .
Using “said John” instead of “John said” doesn’t bother me at all, but I can see the logic of those who find it archaic. No one today would write “said I” or “said he”.
No one today would write “said I” or “said he”.
Says you!
Writer’s Digest Books put out a series of writer’s guides to various historical periods, like “The Writer’s Guide To Everyday Life in the 1800’s” as well as Writer’s Guides to everyday life in The Wild West, Colonial America, Renaissance England and the U.S. from Prohibition to WWII.
A lot of the information is in the form of lists but they are darn fun reads, even if you don’t plan to write anything.