My Top 5 Books on the Craft of Writing
I'd love to hear yours as well.
Someone recently asked me to name my favorite books on writing. Here they are.
1.
Ensouling Language: On the Art of Nonfiction and the Writer’s Life | Stephen Harrod Buhner
Buhner was an herbalist, and most of his writing was medical. His method of treating Lyme disease had worked miracles for me. I thought that an herbalist writing about language was a bit strange.
Yet—hear me out—this was the first book in all my life that, when I reached the final page, I turned back to page 1 and began to read again.
The book was a complete surprise. I expected a how-to but the how-to I got was wildly different. This is not how to write nonfiction. This is how to bring duende to your work.
On the whole the book is mesmerizing, mind-blowing, powerful—exactly what I needed at the time it showed up. Not only was he a stellar herbalist, Buhner was a wacky genius, a deep-thinking visionary, a wizard. Yes, that's exactly what he was, a wizard.
Only a small percentage of writers are going to dig this book, but if you are one of them, you're my people.
One small word of warning: The middle sections are sometimes slow. As Buhner himself admits late in the book, he makes a point of repeating important things a number of times, often three. He does it so that the material sinks in. Not knowing that, in the course of reading the book, I got impatient with its long-windedness.
I highly, highly recommend this book.
2.
Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose | Flannery O’Connor
After Flannery died in 1964, her longtime colleagues and friends Sally and Robert Fitzgerald collected loose essays on writing into a volume published in 1969. My favorites are the three that concern regional writing, which we now call “place-based.” The essay that I share every time I teach writing is “Writing Short Stories.” Flannery is talking about fiction in that essay, but you can easily substitute the words “creative nonfiction.”
This book is an old friend.
3.
On Lies, Secrets and Silence: Selected Prose 1966-1978 | Adrienne Rich
This book is Rich’s collected prose. I want to call attention to one essay in particular: “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying.”
Reading this is imperative for the writer of nonfiction, and the wisdom contained in this essay is not only for women. I don’t have the same reaction to every essay in this book, but I’m citing it as one of my Top 5 because of the power of that one piece.
4.
The Practice: Shipping Creative Work | Seth Godin
For a self-help book, this gets 5 stars. As a creative always seeking motivation and a profound reason to keep writing about the environment (in the face of not-good news), I found many great ideas here. Seth Godin just pounds again and again that what matters is showing up and doing the work, what he calls "the practice," without thinking about outcome. You just do the work.
The word "shipping" in the title was quite confusing at first, especially because my husband is an oil painter and he's always shipping work. When Godin says "shipping," think "doing." It means shipping it from the inside of you to the outside of you, showing up and shipping it.
I took lots of notes, including some mantras to post above my desk.
If you need inspiration, get this book. And get busy shipping.
5.
Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction | Benjamin Percy
I am most often classified as a nature writer, understandably. And nature writers are notorious for thinking that the elements of fiction do not concern them. Much of this book is about tension-building, including how to do it. This has been a favorite of mine for a few years now as I teach myself a crucial element of the craft.
I read the book with pencil and highlighter in hand. When it was done, I—as I had done with Ensouling Language—turned back to the front and started again.
I love it.
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I’m happy to have read 2 books on this list: Ensouling Language, which no one told me about but I found in a little bookstore in Burnsville, NC called Plot Hound books. I recognized that was what I wanted more than anything; to put my soul, my very spirit into the language I used to write anything—poetry, essay, song, fiction. What I learned was to let the soul of every thing shine through me. Since I read it, this book has affected other aspects of my life in unexpected ways. He is teaching you to “see” and to follow the golden thread, which is your raison d’etre. I was and still am, awed by his insights.
Mystery and Manners I read because I had already finished every other book and short story I could find by Flannery O’Connor. I was fascinated with her characters and creepiness, her distinct Southerness. I could hear that soft drawl when I read her work. Mystery and Manners allowed me inside her, showed me her sense of humor, the depth of her, and how to keep writing when you have a debilitating illness which comes with depression. Flannery had lupus and it killed her at what should have been the height of her creative prowess. This book is a final gift from her to you. Read it.
On Writing by Stephen King will surprise you with his insights into craft and is as easy to read as one of his short stories. Written to a large extent after he was hit by a car while on his daily walk and nearly killed, the insights are heightened by his close encounter with death. Even if you never read another book by King, writers should read On Writing.
A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver, even if poetry is not your main gig. If you write at all, you should probably write a poem once in awhile. It’s good for practicing brevity, for learning how to condense your work and make it pack a punch, for creating new and interesting verbs, and for the meditative quality of keeping the language simple while presenting complex ideas. And, well, for beauty. When I planted peonies, Leigh would say, “Now that’s a useless plant.” I asked why and she told me, “Well, it doesn’t feed anything.” Although I got her point, I continued my peony bed and said, “Oh yes, it does. The beauty of the flowers feed my soul. We have enough room for beauty.” When Spring arrived, she agreed.
Finally, I’m in agreement with Jeanne M. Craft and Current by Janisse Ray is one of the best, most inspired books on writing I’ve ever read. I have bought many copies to give to writing friends (and friends who used to write) as presents. I’ll be taking the workshop starting in January. I have so much to learn about the art of the essay that I am starting this book over on page 1 (something I did with none of the above mentioned books) and reading every word again. Because Janisse believes in magic, in everyday magic, as well as skills. She teaches that we all possess our own special magic that cannot be taken from you, although you can choose to throw it away. While I was reading it, I kept murmuring to myself, “Damn, Janisse, this is the BEST book on writing I’ve ever read.” And I have read many, many books about writing.
Please forgive my long-windedness, I’m a former bookseller and can’t help but want to sell you some really good books. Please buy from Independents if you can. ❤️
Still Writing - Dani Shapiro