I've just opened a
'store' on Amazon so that I have somewhere to point people for all the writing and inspiration books I love and use for my own writing and teaching. It's got five parts:
THE CLASSICSThese are the
books I pull down from my shelves the most often. Examples are
Bonnie Friedman's Writing Past Dark which addresses many of the issues - jealousy, fear, self-belief - that writers don't often admit to, even amongst themselves, and
Stephen King's On Writing - forget the autobiographical bit, his insights into the writing process are predictably brilliant!
INSPIRATION KICK-STARTSI think this is going to end up being the biggest category. Even seeing these books together like this makes me smile.
Here are the books I've scribbled over, adapted for my writing and teaching exercises, and most of all - and probably most important for me - sat back and just admired the writing and the writer. The best books let us look inside someone else's brain, and I like what I see in here!
GRIPPING DOCUMENTARIESA relatively new passion for me, but
here are the DVDs I've watched open-mouthed and open-journaled. Partly the subject matter, but also the discipline, new ways of thinking, and connections made in these films make me want to do better, write better, think better.
What I Want My Words To Do To You is American format only but is an inside look at how teaching writing in a prison setting can bring people back to life again. It's moving and most of all, human. All writers should watch
Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth at least once, if only to see how Star Wars was structured!
HOW TO READ AND WRITE POETRYThe shortest category so far, but
these particular books are already dog eared and much much used.
WRITING MEMOIR AND ESSAYSThis is definitely in progress because it's the area I'm working in most at the moment. Watch this space!
