Books on the Art & Craft of Writing

by Dan Stout in


I read a lot of books, especially books about writing and storytelling.

As a frequent library writer, I made it a habit to check out the writing section on every visit. I’d pick up the latest acquisitions and check out whatever looked most interesting. That way I always had at least one book on writing near my desk.

I’ve kept a list of all the books that helped me, along with notes, quotes, and excerpts. Since I get asked for it a lot, I figured I’d save a little time by dumping them all into one spot. Here are the titles, in no particular order. The ones in Bold are books that were particularly helpful to me when I read them. That doesn’t mean that they’ll be helpful to you, but I like to give credit to all the smart people who influence me.

Remember, most of these books say the same things — it’s just a matter of hearing them repeated until it clicks with you at that moment in your life.

Note: I’m gonna drop some affiliate links in here, so I’ll get some kickback if you buy them.

  • The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield

  • Writing the Breakout Novel, by Donald Maas

  • Writing the Blockbuster Novel, by Albert Zuckerman

  • Art & Fear, by David Bayles & Ted Orland

  • Characters & Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card

  • Writing Down the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg

  • Don't Sabotage Your Submission, by Chris Roerden

  • Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, by Joseph Sugarman

  • Danse Macabre, by Stephen King

  • On Writing, by Stephen King

  • Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamont,

  • The Story Grid, by Shawn Coyne

  • On Writing Horror, ed by Mort Castle

  • Daily Meditations: Writer Tips for 100 Days, by David Farland

  • Million Dollar Outlines, by David Farland

  • Starve Better, by Nick Mamatas

  • Shooting Yourself in the Head for Fun and Profit, by Lucy Snyder

  • How to Write a Damn Good Thriller, by James Frey

  • Story, by Robert McKee

  • Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury

  • Wired for Story, by Lisa Cron

  • You're not Fooling Anyone When you Take Your Laptop to the Coffee Shop, John Scalzi

  • Beginnings, Middles, and Ends, by Nancy Kress

  • Dynamic Characters, by Nancy Kress

  • Poetics, by Aristotle

  • Conflict and Suspense, James Scott Bell

  • The Writing Warrior, by Laraine Herring

  • The Writer's Journey, by Christopher Vogler

  • Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit!, by Steven Pressfield

  • Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder

  • Hooked, by Les Edgerton

  • From 2 to 10 K, by Rachel Aaron

  • Write to Market, by Chris Fox

  • Writing the Fiction Series by Karen S. Wiesner

  • The Art of Time in Fiction, by Joan Silber

  • Story Engineering, Larry Brooks

  • Story Trumps Structure, by Steven James

  • The First 50 Pages, by Jeff Gerke

  • Wonderbook, by Jeff VanderMeer

  • Steering the Craft, by Ursula K. LeGuin

  • The Emotional Craft of Writing, by Donald Maas

  • Story Genius, by Lisa Cron

  • On Writing Romance, by Leigh Michaels

  • Save the Cat Strikes Back! by Blake Snyder

  • Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

  • Comics Experience Guide to Writing Comics, by Andy Schmidt

  • DIY MFA, by Gabriela Pereira

  • Writing & Selling Your Mystery Novel, by Hallie Ephron

  • Romancing the Beat, by Gwen Hayes

  • The Emotion Thesaurus, by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman

  • Making Comics, by Scott McCloud

  • Making Comics, by Linda Barry

  • Comics & Sequential Art, by Will Eisner

  • Graphic Storytelling, by Will Eisner

  • The Art of Game Design, by Jesse Schell

  • Slay the Dragon, by Robert Denton Bryant & Keith Gigilo

  • Acting for Animators, by Ed Hooks

  • The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox, ed by Tobias Heussner

  • Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer, by J. Michael Staczynski

  • Impro - Improvisation and the Theatre, by Keith Johnstone

I'm Dan Stout, a joyfully collaborative storyteller who loves rocket ships, dinosaurs, and monsters that skulk through shadows.