Poet Rita Dove was once asked what makes poetry successful. she went on to illuminate three key areas: first, the heart of the writer; the things they want to say: their politics and their general sensibilities. second, his tools: how language works to organize and position words. and the third, the love that a person should have for books: “read, read, read”.
When I started planning how to write it, I wanted to focus on the developmental aspects of writing that encompassed both theoretical and interpersonal aspects. no writer lives in a vacuum, his work is an endless task of paying attention.
You are reading: Books on creative writing
How do I get an agent? what is the best way to approach an editor? should i self-publish? There is never just one way to ease the worries of those looking to make a career out of writing. many work tirelessly for decades on manuscripts that never make it to print. The UK publishes on average around 185,000 new titles per year, making us the third largest publishing market in the world, however the number of aspiring writers is substantially higher.
Writers who write about writing can become an arrogant endeavor; I’m more interested in the process of doing the work and the writer’s perspectives that underpin the framework.
There is no single authority, everything is possible. all that is required is a few words and an idea, which makes the art of writing attractive but also difficult and daunting. The books listed below, diverse in their central plots and genres, guide us to more interesting and lateral ways of thinking about what we want to say and, ultimately, how we choose to say it.
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1. Ben Lerner’s Hatred of Poetry: An Intellectual Meditation on the Cultural Function of Poetry. Less idealistic than other poetry critics, Lerner makes a richly layered case for why writers and readers turn to poetry, investigating why it is often misconceived as elitist or tedious, and asking us to reconsider the value we give to the art form today. .
2. find your voice by angie thomasone of the hardest things about creative writing is developing a voice and not compromising your vision for the sake of public appeal. Thomas offers insightful advice for those struggling with young adult novels or fiction. she writes with engaging honesty, taking into account everything from writer’s block to deciding what a final draft should look like. The book is also interspersed with writing prompts and exercises along with other hints and tips to help writers get out of the mud.
3. Linguistics: Why It Matters by Geoffrey K PullumIf language is in a state of constant flux, and the rules that govern sentence construction, meaning, and logic are always a point of contention, what? what then can the conventional modes of language and linguistics say? us about ourselves, our cultures and our relationship with the material world? pullum addresses a number of philosophical questions through the scientific study of human languages: their grammars, clauses, and limitations. an accessible and fascinating resource for those interested in the mechanics of words.
4. madness, torment and honey by mary ruefle poet and professor mary ruefle’s collection of lectures presents scholarly research on some of the major aspects of a writer’s mind and craft. ruefle possesses an uncanny ability to excavate vast and complex topics with such natural and original lucidity that it makes you feel as if you’ve gained a whole new perspective in just a few pages. themes range from sentimentality in poetry to fear, beginnings, and, a theme she returns to throughout the book, wonder. “A poem is a finished work of the mind, it is not the work of a finished mind.”
5. Feel Free by Zadie SmithThese astute and current essays dating from 2010 to 2017 demonstrate Smith’s forensic ability to navigate and unpack everything from Brexit to Justin Bieber. Dissecting lofty philosophical works and then refocusing attention on her own practice as a fiction writer, her essay The I Who Is Not Me sees Smith extrapolate on how autobiography shapes novel writing, and clarifies her approach to thinking. around the tenuous and often binary British society. perspectives on race, class, and ethnicity.
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6. threads by sandeep parmar, nisha ramayya and bhanu kapilwho occupies the “i” in poetry? When poets write, are they personally embodying their speakers, or are they intended to be emblematic of something larger and more complex? Is the “I” supposed to be immutable or is it more porous? These are the questions posed in threads, illuminating the function of the lyrical “i” in relation to whiteness, masculinity, and Britishness. his short but poignant essays interrogate white hegemony in literature and language, revealing how writers who do not belong to the dominant paradigm are often forced to reckon with the positions and perspectives from which they write.
7. Mouth Full of Blood by Toni Morrison An urgent collection of essays and lectures by the late Nobel Prize winner, compiling her most demanding reflections on citizenship, race and art, as well as offering invaluable insight into the craft of writing. She reflects on the revisions made to her most famous novel, Beloved of Her, while pondering the ways in which vernaculars can shape new stories. One of my favorite aphorisms written by Morrison sits at my desk and states: “As writers, what we do is remember. and to remember this world is to create it.”
8. on the poetry of jonathan davidson poetry can be thought of as an arduous or analytical exercise, existing either within small artistic enclaves or in high school classrooms. One of the many strengths of Davidson’s writing is how he makes poetry feel intimate and personal, neither dry nor remote. his approach to thinking about the ways certain poems affect us is well measured without being exclusive. a timely and witty book for writers interested in how poems live with us throughout our lives.
9. essays by lydia davisfrom flash fiction to short stories, davis is recognized as one of the preeminent writers of short fiction. In these essays, which span several decades, he traces much of his writing process and his relationship to experimentalism, the way and ways language can work when pushed to its outer limits. how we read lines is something davis returns to, as does the idea of risk and brevity within microfiction.
10. essay by brian dillondillon sums up the essay as an “attention experiment”. This dynamic and robust consideration of form sheds light on how and why certain essays have changed the cultural and political landscape, from the late Middle Ages to the present day. a sharp and curious disquisition on one of the most popular yet challenging writing ventures.
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how to write it by anthony anaxagorou is published by merky books. To order a copy, go to guardianbookshop.com.
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