Terrific Writing Books Written By Women

One truism of the writing life is that for us to evolve, we really must have a “lifetime learner” mindset, because no matter what our skills, there’s always more to learn, and more ways to grow. The truly successful writers are those who never stop applying themselves, not when they hit the bestseller lists, or attain record sales. They continue to read, take courses, get a writing coach, or do other things to hone their craft, because they know there’s always room to improve.

I will fully admit that I love writing craft books. Years ago as a green writer I dedicated an entire year to studying them, one after another. And I didn’t go it alone, either—I teamed up with my writing mate, Becca Puglisi. As we lived in different countries, we would each read a book at the same time and then deconstruct the lessons via email. Chances were that if I didn’t understand something, she did, or vice-versa. That year, our growth exploded as so many of the mysteries of writing were demystified. It was easily one of the smartest things I’ve done in my career.

But, this little experiment left me with a book habit! So, as a result, I have amassed quite the collection. Today I thought I’d share four written by women that helped me better understand different aspects of writing craft.

Description (Monica Wood)

Having written five bestselling books on description, some might be surprised to learn that show, don’t tell used to baffle me. It’s true!

Back when I was learning the ropes, I came across the book, Description. It pulled back the veil on show, don’t tell, and showed me how to apply strong, specific description in all areas of storytelling that kept tension high, pace and plot moving, and readers interested. This book is great for anyone wanting an “overall” description help, especially emerging writers.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers (Browne & King)

This book I discovered during my travels to get beyond the crappy first/second/third draft stage. I realized I was wasting a lot of time on revising because I didn’t understand strong story mechanics.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers really helped elevate my writing, allowing me spot and fix common problems with description, plotting, dialogue, point-of-view, introspection, and more. Over the years I have come back to this book time and again, and my writing is so much better for it. It has a great section on Voice, which can be difficult for many to get a handle on. This  book I encourage all writers to own.

Structuring Your Novel (K.M.Weiland)

Some people like to pants, some like to plot, but the reality is that either way, understanding story structure and using it is critical to building a successful novel. Yes, there are always outlier books that do not follow typical story structure, but overall? Ninety-nine percent of novels have a strong structural core, whether done intuitively or deliberately by the author.

Structure is an area I needed help in, and I found Katie’s book to be written in an easy-to-understand style that I was able to grasp quickly. She also has a workbook that goes with this one, making it that much easier to apply what you learn.

Writing The Heart of Your Story (C.S. Lakin)

When our editor for The Emotion Thesaurus told me she was releasing a writing resource book, I was very excited. Susanne (C.S. Lakin) had done a terrific job for us as an editor, so it was a no-brainer for me to grab this book of hers. I was so glad I did. This book teaches writers how to drill down to the story’s beating heart, and how to use it to connect with readers in a very visceral way.

Writing the Heart Of Your Story looks at how to add compelling layers to all aspects of fiction or memoir, and how to see deeply into a protagonist and his or her emotional journey so that writing the character authenticity is so much easier.

(And while I am specifically mentioning this book, I’d like to give a nod to her 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction as well as the other volumes in her Writer’s Toolbox Series. They are all excellent and you can’t go wrong with any of them.)

Have you read any of these books? What other great writing books by women would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments!

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Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, as well as four other bestsellers, including the newly minted Urban Setting Thesaurus and Rural Setting Thesaurus duo. Her books are available in six languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world.

Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site Writers Helping Writers, as well as One Stop for Writers, an innovative online library filled with tools and resources to help writers elevate their storytelling. She would love you to visit sometime, and registration is always free.

Tags: books about writing, featured

Category: How To and Tips