5 Books To Read About Writing and Creativity

How do you feel about books on writing? I’ve never been the type of student who can retain information from textbooks, but I found these five titles helpful to read (and highlight and notate!) as I’ve worked on my writing practice.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Part-memoir and part observation of the craft of writing. I’ve never read any of Stephen King’s work other than this memoir, but I appreciate his perspective as a writer AND I thoroughly enjoyed reading about how he got his start to where he is now.

Save The Cat! Writes a Novel:The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need by Jessica Brody

I’m currently reading this as I work through my second draft of my novel! As someone who is not an outliner or planner by nature, this book is immensely helpful in storymapping and storytelling. For a (successful) fiction novel, you need to be a good writer AND a good storyteller, and that can be hard to hone in on.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

This is one of the first books I read on writing...way back in 2012! Anne Lamott tackles every writer’s burning question: how do I start? And the answer is to just take it one word and one step at a time.

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

If you have trouble writing (or creating!) consistently, this is a good read for you. Twyla Tharp is a world-renowned dancer and choreographer, and she shares her wisdom of what it takes to create and be creative.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

If you believe in any sort of magic, or even just the magic of storytelling, you should read this. It’s also great for if you’ve started a story you want to let go of but feel too guilty to put it down.

Have you read any of these?