Jessica Page Morrell

I would rank this as one of the best books for writers on how to prep your writing and work for publication. It's got a great sense of humor in its very succinct directions. I'd recommend this book highly to any writer, professional (for reminders and refreshers) and amateur (for great advice given openly and clearly) alike.

This one's going on my top 5 books to point writers at along with Stephen King's On Writing.

This is one of the best books on writing I've read. I should warn you that it's harsh. It left me wanting to throw things away. Because, you see, it's mostly what not to do. She won't tell you the secret to writing a novel the right way; she'll only list all the wrong ways.

And yet, I trust her advice more than many others because she doesn't pretend there's one right way. Your plot should involve the transformation of the protagonist...most of the time. You should cut out show more descriptions....unless you tend to under-describe. So it felt a little more credible than writing books that sell a formula and guarantee it works. Or those that go on and on about their favorite books and how you should definitely write like that, but without getting into the nitty gritty of how you'll know when you've done it. show less

If you don't own any other how-to book on writing, buy this one. I've only had my copy for 2 weeks and it is already full of post-it notes and most of the text is highlighted by now. Definitely worth the money.

Just be sure not to try to incorporate EVERYTHING you read in here into your first draft - otherwise you'll never get it done! This book is more of a toolbox to use in your final drafts. Keep some of the tools on your desk, keep some in the box while you're writing.

I would rank this as one of the best books for writers on how to prep your writing and work for publication. It's got a great sense of humor in its very succinct directions. I'd recommend this book highly to any writer, professional (for reminders and refreshers) and amateur (for great advice given openly and clearly) alike.

This one's going on my top 5 books to point writers at along with Stephen King's On Writing.