A writer writes.

Publishing is nice, but it’s not what makes anyone a writer.

November is National Novel Writing Month. It’s a challenge for writers all over the globe to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. The focus is quantity over quality; to create a first draft quickly, averaging about 1700 words a day. It sounds crazy and appealing. Part of the reluctance to write a book has to be the long time it takes. But a month doesn’t sound so long! There’s an official website and a few particular rules, but I’m not really interested in them.

I’d like to write a book in November. Or as William Zinsser says, I’d like to have written one. But I probably won’t. That doesn’t mean I can’t use National Novel Writing Month as inspiration for my own challenges.

If you like to dabble with writing anything – thoughts, journals, poetry, stories, letters or lists – I’ll tell you about the books that have helped me. These are not the best books on writing. Most of them I do not even own. But they have all shaped how I write and how I see myself as a writer.

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser. On Writing Well grew out of a course Mr. Zinsser taught at Yale college. It is praised for its sound advice, clarity and warm style. It is a book for anyone who wants to learn to write or for those that need to do some writing to get through their day. This volume has stood the test of time.

On Writing by Stephen King. This book is part memoir and part instruction. This million copy best seller, On Writing is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft. What I remember now of this book is his story of how he made a writing room in his house where no one could bother him, and all his inspiration dried up. He concluded a writer first has to live a life, so he has something to write about. I’m too scared to read anything else by Stephen King. I like to sleep at night!

Writing the Natural Way by Gabriele Rico. This book claims to make writing as easy as telling a story to a friend, as natural as daydreaming. I learned about clustering from this book and have used it a lot. I wrote some unique poems while doing the exercises included.

Write: 10 days to Break Writer’s Block by Karen E. Peterson. This is a playful book. It proposes that the two halves of your brain have different goals when it comes to writing. It’s best to be operating from the correct half that aligns with the part of writing you are doing. It gives you permission to write in spite of the things that hold you back. This book taught me that I like writing with a pen on yellow legal pads. And I realize now I’ve gotten away from that. I’m glad for the reminder!

It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again by Julie Cameron. This book was suggested to me by a childhood friend and I’m so grateful. I borrowed it from the library and while reading it I created an interesting (to me, at least) account of my life. The premise of the book is an examination of your life around retirement, when there’s time to reflect and write. There’s lots of prompts and writing exercises, and when you are done, you will have a lovely memoir of your own life including memories, processing questions and clear on hopes and dreams for the rest of your life. Miss Cameron likes Morning Pages and Artists Dates. She recommends keeping the Drama on the Page instead of acting it out in life. I recommend this book if you are of a certain age.

Accidental Genius by Mark Levy. This book has so many tactics for journaling, problem solving on paper, brain dumps and gold extraction, focus changers and so many great questions to help you sort your life out. It’s not a thick book, it’s not about writing well or correctly or for anyone to read but yourself. A great book!

How to be an Imperfectionist by Stephen Guise. This book is not specifically about writing, but many of us don’t write because we want to get it perfect. Addressing our unrealistic expectations, need for approval, and concern over mistakes, it encourages you to start and see what happens. It explains how perfectionism ties us in knots and keeps us from doing the things that are truly important to us. My favorite take-away is: Imperfect ideas will lead to imperfect decisions. Then we take imperfect action, making imperfect adaptations along the way. This leads to imperfect but successful results.

And lastly, some favorite quotes for writers:

Beware of advice — even this. — Carl Sandburg

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. — Mark Twain

Easy reading is hard writing. — Nathaniel Hawthorne

I only write when I’m inspired. Luckily, I’m inspired at 9:00 every morning. — Ray Bradbury

In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen and write. –Pearl Buck

I can shake everything off as I write; sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. — Anne Frank

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. –Louis L’Amour

If you are a writer of any kind, please share the books about writing that have helped you. Also, are you doing a writing project of any kind in November? You are in good company!

–Liz

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