Book Recs: 5 Books Every Aspiring Writer Needs To Read
One of the questions I get asked by a lot of aspiring authors is, “What books should I read to learn how to start writing a novel?” Below are the 5 best writing books that every aspiring author needs to read.
Now, this list is not the latest and greatest, nor is it exhaustive. There are so many incredible resources out there for those looking to learn how to write, edit, and publish their novels…
But these are the are the books that have had the biggest impact on me and the writers I’ve worked with. I have referred to them again and again and again since I started writing my own fiction (and well before I became an editor and a book coach).
So if you’re an aspiring author or someone who wants to learn how to write a novel from scratch, here are 5 books you should add to your TBR pile immediately…
(Note: Heads up! This blog post contains affiliate links. This means I’ll earn a very small commission if you purchase any of the books through the links in this article.)
#1. Story Genius By Lisa Cron
My first recommendation is Story Genius by Lisa Cron. I love this book because it takes a character-first approach to crafting a novel. In it, Lisa walks you through how to figure out what your character wants and needs, how to uncover what happened in their backstory that created these wants and needs, and how to use that backstory to inform the story present.
In the opening chapters, Lisa talks about how our brains are literally wired for story—and that once you understand how and why our brains are wired for story, it becomes much easier to write a book that’ll give readers the emotional experience they’re looking for. She actually has an entire book about this subject, it’s called Wired For Story, but I find Story Genius to be much more actionable for writers.
My favorite chapter in this book is probably chapter 7 in which Lisa talks about creating a cause and effect chain of events in your story to hook readers and pull them all the way to the end. I also like chapter 15 in which Lisa talks about how stories grow in spirals. This is such a great visual for the writing and editing process—and it’s something I talk to my students about a lot. At some point you really do just have to start writing—and then continue writing all the way to the end of a draft—to know what your story’s about. At that point, you can go back to the beginning and revise, and repeat the process until you’re happy with your book. The first time I read this chapter, I remember feeling a little bit of that perfectionism lift off my shoulders and it was easier to embrace the process of writing a less-than-perfect first draft.
This book is perfect for plotters and pantsers alike, and will be especially helpful for writers who need help fleshing out their characters in an organic way.
Click here to check out Story Genius by Lisa Cron on Amazon.
#2. The Story Grid By Shawn Coyne
The next recommendation I have for you is The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne. This was one of the first craft books that really made things start to click for me. I remember reading this book and feeling like I was finally starting to understand how all the pieces of a novel worked together—and how some of the popular frameworks like the Hero’s Journey or The Three Act Structure really worked.
There are two things in this book that impacted me the most—the Five Commandments of Storytelling (aka the five structural elements every scene needs to have in order to work), and the Story Grid’s emphasis on genre. In the book, that’s chapters 39-47 (for scene structure), and chapters 24-25 (for genre).
In the beginning of the book, Shawn walks you through the importance of genre and how getting clear on your story’s genre can give you a framework to write your story in. He then goes into the different types of plots—the arch plot, mini-plot, and anit-plot, and how to determine if you’re writing a character-driven or plot-driven story. In the second half of the book he digs deep into structure—the difference between scenes, sequences, and acts, and how to write scenes that work.
This book would probably appeal to plotters the most, however, it offers a fantastic framework for editing a novel for both plotters and pantsers alike.
Click here to check out The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne on Amazon.
#3. Save the Cat! Writes A Novel By Jessica Brody
The third recommendation I have for you is Save The Cat! Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody, and I love this book for so many reasons! First and foremost, I appreciate the accessible way Jessica translates the Save The Cat! screenwriting method into something novelists can use. I also like how she explains a concept (like “how to create a story-worthy hero”) and then provides examples to bring the concept to life.
In the beginning of this book, Jesscia walks through the fifteen Save The Cat! story beats one by one, and shares both why they’re important and what they do for your overarching story. She says, “To this day, I have never been asked by an editor to do a from-page-one rewrite. Sure, I have revisions. I have tweaks to make and scenes to cut and characters to flesh out. But I have never have to start from scratch. Why? Because I did my road mapping.” (So, yeah, this method works!)
But my favorite part of this book is how Jessica shows us what the Save The Cat! beat sheet looks like across genres. So, she gives examples of what the fifteen beats look like in a Superhero story versus a Buddy Love story versus a Monster In The House Story, and things like that. I also love how Jessica included answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about writing a book with the Save The Cat! method in the very last chapter (chapter 15).
This book is perfect for both plotters and pantsers, and will appeal to anyone who wants to see how popular best-selling novels work from a structural perspective.
Click here to check out Save The Cat! Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody on Amazon. Or if you’re writing YA, check out Save The Cat! Writes A YA Novel by Jessica Brody.
#4. The Story Grid Masterwork Analysis Guide To Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone By Savannah Gilbo
A bit of shameless plug, I know! But the next recommendation I have for you is my very own book, The Story Grid Masterwork Analysis Guide To Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone. This is the book I wish I had when I first started writing fiction.
It’s not just an exploration of how this story unfolds via the three-act structure, or how Rowling crafted compelling characters, or how worldbuilding shows up on the page… It’s a look at how the entire novel works from the global story structure all the way down to each individual scene and everything in between.
And it’s written in a way that’s accessible to all writers, no matter their genre or experience level. There’s no fancy jargon or complicated strategies—it’s in the same friendly, conversational tone I use on my blog and podcast.
We’ve had so much great feedback on this book, and the number one thing I keep hearing is that it’s like getting a peek behind the curtain to see how someone put a story together—and that this peek behind the curtain is making the idea (and process) of writing a novel a whole lot less intimidating.
My favorite part of this book are the notes sections that follow each scene analysis. In the notes sections, I called out things like how Rowling used Snape as the red herring to hid the truth about Professor Quirrell and Voldemort, how she shows Harry’s character development on the page, how she raises the stakes, shows us the wizarding world without overwhelming readers, and so much more.
This book is perfect for both plotters and pantsers, but especially those writing fantasy or any story that requires worldbuilding. That being said, the strategies in this book are not just for fantasy writers or writers of middle-grade fiction.
#5. Write Your Novel From The Middle By James Scott Bell
The final recommendation I have for you is Write Your Novel From The Middle by James Scott Bell. I love this book because it focuses on the all-important midpoint moment and shows you how to use what happens at the midpoint to craft the other key structural moments in your novel.
I also like how the author speaks to both plotters and pantsers, as well as a new type of writer he calls the “tweeners.” So, with each craft tip or strategy he offers, he translates how that tip or strategy might work best for a plotter, pantser, or tweener—and demonstrates how they could each implement his advice.
My favorite part of this book is probably the section on creating your story’s Golden Triangle—aka the relationship between the beginning (where your character and story starts), the midpoint (or the big shift that happens in the middle of your story), and the final transformation that occurs near the end of your story when the protagonist’s arc of change is shown on the page.
In chapter 7 (another favorite part of mine), he says, “Change does involve an inner realization. But then, to prove itself, it must work outward in visual form.” And he walks you through an exercise to brainstorm both of these things—the inner realization and the outer manifestation of that realization.
This book would be perfect for both plotters and pantsers alike (or anyone who falls in the middle of this spectrum—a “tweener!”).
He also has a fantastic book called How To Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way To Improve Any Manuscript, which I really love as well.
Click here to check out Write Your Novel From The Middle by James Scott Bell.
Final Thoughts
Honorable mentions that are absolutely in my top 10: DIY MFA by Gabriela Periera, The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface by Donald Maas
So there you have it! Those are my top 5 writing book recommendations that you should read immediately if you want to learn how to write a novel from scratch. Now, I want to hear from you, do you have a favorite writing craft book? Comment below!
