Dale T. Phillips

 

Dale T. Phillips - Writer

Dale Phillips writer - Writing Info and resources

Writing Bookshelf

To be a writer, you have to understand the craft. It takes years of sweat and solid effort. It also takes studying the words of other writers. You need to have a love for the language, and a good comprehension. So you should be familiar with a dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus, for starters, along with The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. For the nuts and bolts, read Eats Shoots and Leaves, by Lynne Truss.

You should be familiar with the works of Shakespeare, The Odyssey, Bulfinch’s Mythology, and The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell.

For Fiction, check out two classics, Youngblood Hawke, by Herman Wouk (A fictionalized account of Thomas Wolfe- the older one) and Martin Eden, By Jack London.

You should read what other writers say about writing. Here’s a list of some of the writing/publishing books I’ve read in the last 15 years. Yeah, it’s a long list, and it’s not complete. But I take writing seriously, and am always trying to do it better.

Oh, and you should also understand the modern business of writing, which is now changing every day. A few of these books look at what you should know.

Modern Library Writer’s Workshop– Stephen Koch

Indie Author Survival GuideSusan Kaye Quinn

Motivate Your WritingStephen Kelner

The Productive Writer Sage Cohen

The Newbie’s Guide to PublishingJ.A. Konrath

Think Like A PublisherDean Wesley Smith

Killing the Sacred Cows of PublishingDean Wesley Smith

New World of PublishingDean Wesley Smith

The Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 1Dan Poynter

The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success Mark Coker

Let’s Get Digital- David Gaughran

Thanks, But This Isn’t For UsJessica Page Morrell

On WritingStephen King

Zen in the Art of WritingRay Bradbury

Bird By BirdAnnie Lamott

The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For WritersChristopher Vogler

StoryRobert McKee

Writing Down the BonesNatalie Goldberg

Stein on Writing, and How to Grow a NovelSol Stein

How to Be Your Own Literary AgentRichard Curtis

Lessons From a Lifetime of Writing: A Novelist Looks at His Craft- David Morrell

The Handbook of Short Story Writing, Volumes I and II, Frank Dickson and Sandra Smythe, Vol II edited by Jean Fredette

Steering the CraftUrsula LeGuin

Writing the Novel, and Telling Lies for Fun and ProfitLawrence Block.

Creating Short FictionDamon Knight

Adventures in The Screen Trade, and Which Lie Did I Tell: More Adventures in The Screen Trade- William Goldman

On WritingGeorge V. Higgins

Reading & WritingRobertson Davies

The Craft of Fiction William Knott

The Complete Guide to Writing Fiction, edited by Barnaby Conrad

Learning to Write Fiction From the MastersBarnaby Conrad

The Uses of EnchantmentBruno Bettelhein

The Mystery Writer’s Handbook, edited by Writer’s Digest

Aspects of the NovelE.M. Forster

The Writer’s CraftJohn Hersey

How To Write Your NovelMargaret Chittenden

The Art of Creative WritingLajos Egri

This Year You Write Your NovelWalter Mosley

The Craft of Writing William Sloane

Readings For Writers, edited by Jo Ray McCuen and Anthony Winkler

The Sounds of PoetryRobert Pinsky

Ex Libris: Confessions of an Common ReaderAnne Fadiman

Write it Down– Henriette Klausen

100 Things Every Writer Should KnowScott Edelstein

Becoming a WriterDorothea Brande


Writer Tells All
Robert Massello

Writing Mysteries, edited by Sue Grafton

I’d Rather Be WritingMarcia Golub

Honk If You’re a WriterArthur Plotnik

Fiction First AidRaymond Ohstfeld

The Plot Thickens, and The First Five PagesNoah Lukeman

Writing the Modern Mystery Barbara Norville

Making a Literary LifeCarolyn See

Writing the Blockbuster Novel– Albert Zuckerman

On Teaching and Writing FictionWallace Stegner

How to Write a Damn Good MysteryJames Frey

How to Publish Your NovelKen Atchity

The Writer’s Idea WorkshopJack Heffron

Reading Like a WriterFrancine Prose

How to Become A Famous Writer Before You’re DeadAriel Gore

How to Write a MysteryLarry Beinhart

Writer’s Workshop in a Book, edited by Cheuse and Alvarez

Writing FictionJanet Burroway

The Elements of Mystery Fiction– William Tappley

Writing the Popular NovelLoren Estleman

Novelist Boot Camp– Todd Stone

Fiction Writer’s WorkshopJosip Nonakovich

How Fiction Works– James Woods

How to Write Mysteries– Shannon O’Cork

Your Novel Proposal Blythe Cameron and Marshall Cook

Talking About Detective FictionP.D. James