Wednesday, June 07, 2006

"How to Write" Books

Dwight Swain's Techniques of the Selling Writer just arrived in the mail for me yesterday. At our last chapter meeting, a gal gave a presentation on Swain's "scene and sequel." I wanted to delve into the concept more and apply it to my current manuscript because let's face it - I want to sell.

What writing book have you found the most helpful?

8 comments:

  1. Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance. Great exercises for character development.

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  2. First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Wiesner :-)

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  3. Anonymous4:46 AM

    That's a book to read in small doses. Great information, but VERY dry. :)

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  4. I definitely found First Draft in 30 days useful. Especially where I like to plan my book out first. It also really helps with the revision process too.

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  5. I love Swain. Hard to read but brilliant insight.

    30 days to first draft. I have that from the library. Must give it a go :)

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  6. Anonymous3:02 PM

    Great book, but I agree it can be dry. There are, however, some good articles on line that summarize. Example:
    http://www.rsingermanson.com/html/perfect_scene.html

    Another great book is Debra Dixon's GMC.

    There are many books/articles I find helpful. My problem is I spend too much time reading about writing and not enough time writing!

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