Book Recommendation - Writing Down the Bones - freeing the writer within: by Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg believes the secret of creativity is to pare away the rules of writing, not add them. She calls the process “uneducation”, not education. She stresses that only through daily writing practice do you develop as a writer and find your voice.
Unlocking Your Creativity
Here are some ways writers have used to stimulate their creativity. Try some. Not all of these ideas work for everyone. Find those that work for you.
Book Recommendation - Making a Literary Life: by Carolyn See
This book covers the gamut of writing from the decision to become a writer to the challenges of publishing your work. It includes strategies to protect your emotional self so you can focus on writing creatively and effectively.
Book Recommendation - Bird by Bird: by Anne Lamott
Despite being published more than 25 years ago, Ms. Lamott’s advice is timeless. She offers a witty yet informative look at the life and development as a writer. She covers the whole gamut from beginning the writer’s journey to publication and beyond.
Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression
This book by Angela Ackerman and Becca Pulisi is a great resource for writers. It is much more detailed than a regular, all-purpose thesaurus or synonyms on the internet. It includes 130 entries of emotions and ways of describing them - both physically and in a character’s mind.
Why Writers Need to Be Readers
One common thread among published writers is they are avid readers. Here is why - and why you should be too.
Conquering Writer’s Block
Sooner or later, all writers encounter writer’s block. What to do? First of all—quit fighting the block. Before you can write productively, you need to take a break and replenish your creative bank account. Here are some ideas you can use to refill it:
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
This book by Julia Cameron is also described as A Course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self. Don’t be deterred by the ‘spiritual’ part of the title. It offers a wealth of information by a woman that has decades of experience. Ms. Cameron is a teacher, novelist, poet, filmmaker, composer and journalist. Wikipedia lists 33 non-fiction books, as well as novels, musicals, plays, TV films, and poetry collections.
Book Recommendation - Actually, the Comma Goes Here: by Lucy Cripps
A practical guide to punctuation. This book covers the basics and more in a concise, small desktop volume (153 pages). It includes sample sentences, handy mnemonics, and a reference guide showing the differences in the major style guides.