Art & Craft: Reviewing Books on How to Write Books
How do you learn or teach the world's most suggestive art?
As an author and human I am a bit scrappy. I'll get it done, arrive on time, and figure it out, but I'll use only the things we have, the routes I know, and the skills I can teach myself.
That's why I decided I wasn't a good fit for an MFA program. I'm too cheap, and too certain I can do it myself. But I nonetheless want to be intentional about studying storytelling and revising my ideas into compelling, marketable manuscripts.
Of course, there is no substitute for voracious reading, which is how you feed your imagination, recognize patterns, and intuit what your story needs. But I've found that craft books give you a vocabulary and tools for problem-solving when your artistic brain is in a rut. Therefore, I’ve bought and placed library holds on a stack of craft books. Non-authors might assume these are books on needlepoint or decoupage, but to writers this term refers to a book about writing books.
But quantitative goals have a fatal flaw. Goodhart's law states, “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." If I commit to reading 10 craft books, in the name of achieving my goal, I will burn through them without processing and internalizing the insights into my creative psyche. I’ll move especially fast if I encounter material and advice I don’t find insightful or compelling.
Therefore, I've decided to write a critical review to assess each craft book as a member of its target audience–an author who wants to build a professional career by learning from the experts.
In the least, I can build up a resource to help everyone else decide if a certain book would be helpful. “I read Save the Cat so you don’t have to.”
But I also love discourse. Did you think it was worth the hype? Did you have a breakthrough I somehow missed? Formula or no formula??
Each review will contain:
A quick explanation of why I chose to read it
My overall reactions to the craft advice and the value of the book
A summary of the most valuable insights and takeaways (and what was cringy)
My rating, based on the three criteria below
Three-star rating system
How useful is this craft book?
I’m neither widely published nor new to this game. I want to break past cliche advice, obvious observations, and the 101-level. We’re not here to debate show-don’t-tell, I can recognize excessive exposition, and I’m familiar with three and five act structures. This criterion measures whether each book rehashes basic information or offers new (or at least advanced) insight.
★★★ Three stars: The perspective and expertise in this book challenged my skills and imagination
★★☆ Two stars: There are a few gems, ideas, and techniques I haven’t seen before
★☆☆ One star: The insights could intuitively be gleaned by any well-read writer
How humble is this craft book?
I want to explore new techniques, ideas, strategies, and structures, but I don’t want to be told that I must do something in a specific way to be successful. Asserting that your advice will turn someone into a best-selling author is back-cover marketing hyperbole, and no one wants to be bullied. This criterion measures whether each book is prescriptive, or if it lays out options.
★★★ Three stars: This book lets you decide what fits best in your toolkit
★★☆ Two stars: A hint of arrogance can be detected between the pages
★☆☆ One star: This book degrades approaches other than their own and/or proclaims you’ll always be an amateur if you don’t follow their advice
How concise is the craft book?
I expect to see a correlation between the prescriptive and bloviating craft books–writers do love to expound upon what’s already been well pounded upon. But we have so much time in our lives. This criterion will rate whether each book could have been a blog post, or if it contains mostly relevant, valuable content.
★★★ Three stars: Every section offers something valuable and/or applicable
★★☆ Two stars: Some chapters are strong but some chapters are fluffy
★☆☆ One star: This book sags with filler, repetition, and/or anecdotes
My Craft Book Reading List
An incomplete list in no particular order:
The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
On Writing by Stephen King
Writing to Sell by Scott Meredith
Story Genius and Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maas
The Craft of Writing Science Fiction that Sells by Ben Bova
I’d love to see this list grow. Please suggest craft books you love, or hate, or just want my take on. Here's how to reach me.