Books I recommend on fiction writing
These are some of the books I recently read. In each book listed below, I learnt something new and invaluable about fiction writing. I borrowed them from the British Council Library so they are not a part of my bookshelf. I did not photograph any of the earlier books so those photos are borrowed from the net. Will make it a habit to click from now on.
The links for all these books direct you to amazon where you can look at the description of the book, its contents, customer reviews and ‘look inside’. I have only included the summary of two books because those are with me right now. Others I have conveniently forgotten (but I do copy the important pages for future reference, which I can’t share with you because of plagiarism).
The Writer’s Voice by Al Alvarez
The Practice of Reading: Interpreting the novel by Derek Alsop and Chris Walsh
Stylistics by Richard Bradford
Research for Writers (sixth edition) by Ann Hoffmann
This book is a must for every beginning writer. It includes information on how and from where to get the material for the background research of your novel. Ann Hoffmann directs you in your research step-by-step, giving you valuable advise on what to keep with you before going out to research, how to manage your research material, details (with addresses and phone numbers) of libraries, archives, publishers etc. It was a real pleasure reading this book.
I must also let you know that most of the addresses and phone numbers of libraries, publications, record offices etc. are located in the U.K.
Contents of this book run like this: (I have not included the sub-chapters and sub-sub-chapters, otherwise the list would run for pages.)
- The Writer as Researcher
- Organisation and Method
- Basic Sources of Information and their Location
- Factual and Historical Research
- Research for Fiction Writers and Dramatists
- Biography and Autobiography
- Family and Local History
- Specialist Research
- Information from and about Foreign Countries
- Preparation for the Press
Creative Novel Writing by Roselle Angwin
Metre, Rhythm and Verse by Philip Hobsbaum
Intertexuality by Graham Allen
This book is an excellent book for people like me who do not know anything about intertextuality, deconstruction, Bakhtin, Kristeva and others. Intertextuality offered me an insight into the world of words and how people have been trying to, since centuries, make a connection between texts (I read, literary works).
Intertextuality is a term coined by Julia Kristeva, according to whom, all texts (writing) are borrowed from other texts and you cannot see a text as being whole in itself. The theory of intertexuality negates the idea of uniqueness, genius and novelty, and celebrates the ‘death of the author’.
If you are writing or have written a book, the theory of intertextuality will give you another perspective on your work and yourself as a writer.
Here, I am not including the contents of the book because you have it there on amazon. You can read the contents and the first eleven pages of the book, which will give you a fair idea of the remaining pages.
The Structure of the Novel by Edwin Muir
