I had a conversation with a friend a few days ago and we spoke briefly about books for genre fiction writing. Both of us had a few favourites, and I found interesting to compare notes with him because I got a few interesting suggestions. So here’s my list, in no particular order; some of them are outright classics, other less known but not at all inferior in quality:
- Steering the Craft, Ursula K. Le Guin [probably the one that influenced me the most. A compact paperback and a pure gem in Le Guin’s amazing writing style].
- On Writing, Stephen King
- The Elements of Style, William Strunk & E.B. White
- The Writer’s Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe, George Ochoa and Jeffrey Osier
- Solutions for Writers, Sol Stein
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Renni Browne & Dave King
- Wonderbook, Jeff Vandermeer
- Keys for Writers, Ann Raimes
- How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, Orson Scott Card
- Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamotte
If you need more inspiration, you can have a look at this other list, more extensive than mine and that cover other writing than genre fiction, too.
And what about you, fellow writers out there? Which text would you never leave behind? Do let me know!
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