5 Writing Craft Books that Make Great Gifts

It’s that time of the year again . . . gifting season! If you happen to have a writer friend on your gift list, you’ll want to check out this list of writing craft books. IMHO books always make great gifts. I definitely had a hard time choosing my top 5, and so you can rest assured knowing that any writer will enjoy one of these picks.

On Writing, by Stephen King

Topping my. list of writing craft books is the On Writing, written by master of horror himself, Stephen King. But don’t worry, there’s nothing scary about this read. And his advice is meant for writers of all genres, not just wannabe horror authors.

This book is part memoir, part how-to. And it’s chock-full of helpful nuggets for writers, including how to establish a writing habit. But he also offers deeper thoughts like: “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” 

And there’s a reason that Stephen King is a best-selling author thirty times over. This man know how to write. So even his writing advice is delivered in an entertaining and approachable way.

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, by Jessica Brody

This writing craft book is one of my most recent reads. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need sat on my bookshelf for a long while, but for some reason I just didn’t get around to reading it. Big mistake. While I might not be the last or only book you need on novel writing, it offers excellent, applicable insight and is fun to read.

The author use the famous screenwriting Save the Cat process to break down the story structure of a novel. She explains the fifteen plot points, from the opening scene to the denouement, necessary for a successful story. And she provides tons of examples from both books and movies to illustrate her points. She even prefaces each chapter with a spoiler alert, highlighting which books she’ll be using in her analysis, so as not to ruin any endings.

This book is fun to read and chock full of practical advice. It makes a great gift.

Story Genius, by Lisa Crohn

This book is one of the first writing craft books I ever read. Several summers ago I signed up for my first writing challenge. I started with a 100 day book project (and only later graduated to NaNoWriMo). I had a blast writing my book, but when I was finished I realized I had 100,000 plus words and no real story. Insert sad face.

So, before I started my rewrites I decided I needed to brush up on my craft. And Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) was the first book I ordered. Although, based on the subtitle I should have ordered it four months earlier.

In Story Genius Cron walks you step-by-step, through the novel writing process. She begins with what to do with that first hint of an idea and how to progress to a complete multilayered blueprint. Her method includes fully developed scenes that evolve into a first draft with the structure, logic, and completeness typical of of much later draft. I love how she uses brain science to understand what readers want and how to write in a way that meets those expectations.

Plot Gardening: Write Faster, Write Smarts, by Chris Fox

In this practical writing craft book, Chris Fox teaches the fundamentals of storytelling. Plot Gardening delivers on its promise to help writers write both faster and smarter by including exercises at the end of each chapter to practice new techniques. Through these exercises, you’ll build your own living outline that makes the writing process so much easier. And although his process is formulaic, his method allows you to exercise your creative muscle and create your own memorable story.

Readers will learn the basics of story structure and how to use to create compelling read; how to create realistic characters that comes to life, and how to use world building to enhance your story. And all that clocks in at just 168 pages making this a quick and easy read like all of Chris Fox’s tutorials.

Understanding Show, Don’t Tell: And Really Getting It, by Janice Hardy

This is one of my favorite writing craft books. Understanding Show, Don’t Tell: And Really Getting It is a little more sophisticated than some of others as the entire book focuses helping writers master the concept of show don’t tell. But this is a topic that is deserving of its own book.

Show don’t tell is one of the trickiest concepts to master.

I hope this list of 5 writing craft books gives you some great gift ideas for all the writers in your life. Or, if you are the writer, why not go ahead and forward this to the people buying for you? Or you can always treat yourself to a new writing craft book. It is the season of gifting.

And if you want more help than a writing craft book can provide, book a FREE 30-minute call with me to flush out your ideas.

Happy Writing!