August IWSG

OPTIONAL QUESTION FOR AUGUST: What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time your read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. 

This is a tough one. I have favorites upon favorites.

The Books I pull off the shelf the most often to use are:

Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder

And Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

I also really like: 

On Writing by Stephen King for both the memoir and the advice, even if I break his rules pretty often.

Chapter after Chapter by Heather Sellers is a good writing life book.

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert was a really good life-writing balance read. I really appreciated her authenticity. 

Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Wielend

Steal Like an Artist : 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon - Despite the title, this book is NOT about plagiarism. 

Steering the Craft: A 21st Century Guide to Sealing the Sea of Story by Ursula K. LeGuin has excellent exercises.

A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves has great writing prompts and bits of motivation.

Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life - an anthology of advice from writers who loved Snoopy's writing efforts.

How to Publish & Promote Your Book Now by L. Diane Wolfe

Writing Secrets of the World's Most Prolific Authors by Sean McLachlan

Other books I like: 

Conflict & Suspense by James Scott Bell

Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink by Gail Carson Levine

Seize the Day: A Handbook for Teens Who Like to Write by Victoria Hanley

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter

Kids Write! by Michael Olien - a fun book for elementary through middle grade writers.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lammot

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

The Elements of Style by Strunk & White

Eats Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss

Grammar Girl Presents The Ultimate Writing Guide for Students by Mignon Fogarty - I use this book with all of my HS and MS writing students and students I tutor.

Writing with Emotion, Tension, & Conflict by Cheryl St. John

Craft books I am currently reading or rereading:

Turning Life Into Fiction by Robin Hemley - I read this 25 years ago, so it's a reread.

The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogel - I read this about 20 years ago, so again, a reread. It utilizes Joseph Campbell's work and puts into a format for writers to follow the hero's journey.

Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff Vandemeer with several articles by various authors. - a new and current read

And there are more books than these that I've read, but these are the ones which were closest to me when I wrote this post, and ones I wanted to mention. 

NEWS FOR IWSG

This contest ends soon, and we need more HEA SWEET ROMANCE STORIES!

HEA - HAPPILY EVER AFTER

SWEET - NO SEX

ROMANCE - TWO PEOPLE FALLING IN LOVE

OFFICIAL GUIDELINES:

Word count: 5000-6000

Genre: Sweet Romance

Overall, your story should be clean of offensive material, including profanity, vulgarity, excessive violence, or sexually explicit or suggestive scenes.

Elements in your story should focus on romance, not on sex, which should be kept “behind closed doors.”

The overall plot should lead to a positive and uplifting outcome, also known as "happily ever after."

Absolutely no erotica or pornography.

And please note RWA's definition of romance:

Definition: Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel. An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.

Theme: First Love

GO HERE FOR THE REST OF THE GUIDELINES 

News for me:

The Nexus pre-order is live here for Kindle readers!

Amaya is supposed to bring peace to the galaxy. Which is tough when she’s being held for crimes against the Neutral Zone. Her imprisonment is on her own ship with her own crew. But close quarters create tension.

Honestly, her role as Rayatana is a mess.

She may never get to use her powers for anything good. Not if her teacher continues to keep secrets, and not if her powers keep harming others. Putting her mother in a coma should put her in prison, but she has a mission. She wants to bring peace to her people. She needs to become the Rayatana.

Nexus is YA Science Fiction and Action Adventure with a hint of Romance.

And, Dark Blade: Forged is dropping episodes every week or two for Kindle Vella Readers. The first three episodes are free HERE.

Dan Torren enters the Watch Guard for training, hoping to break away from his father's expectations. Instead of freedom from politics, he gets saddled with Prince Alex who blames Dan for his "punishment." With recruits from all over Aramatir, the Watch Guard has its own troubles, especially after Dan is claimed by the Dark Blade, an artifact and sword of power unlike any other in the history of Aramatir. Readers may recognize Dan as Dantor from The Champion Trilogy.

I've also dipped into writing books. They are:

A Pocket-Sized Jumble of 500+ Writing Prompts received an upgrade, and may be a bit beyond pocket-sized, but I think it's a decent addition into the writing prompt book genre. You can find it HERE.

5...4...3...2...1...Write! 25 Speculative Fiction Writing Prompts is tiny, but packed with different starts for speculative fiction writers. It can be found HERE.

What's your favorite writing book? Have you written one?

Any news for you? Are you submitting an HEA story to the IWSG Romance Anthology?