Two books about writing that I come back to over and over are The Writer's Portable Mentor by Priscilla Long and John McPhee's Draft No. 4. Also Verlyn Klinkenborg's Several Short Sentences About Writing is not exactly a craft book, but it's so beautifully written that I think it made me a better writer just spending time in its pages.
I recently read the autobiography of Agatha Christie. I re-read it taking notes each time she speaks about her difficulties about writing and when she finally realised that writing was a job. It’s a very enjoyable book. But when I was 17, I was given a collection of essays by Raymond Carver, compiled in Italian by two excellent editors from Einaudi in a book titled “The job of writing”, in the original “Il mestiere di scrivere”. They took texts from Fires - Essays, Poems, Stories and also from No Heroics, Please - Uncollected writings. They also included a transcription of a lesson on creative writing by Carver. At the end of the book there were exercises based on the way Carver writes.
PS : I was born in Rome from a French father and an Italian mother and I studied English at university in France where I live)
Thank you for sharing this, Elena! I’ve always loved this quote from Agatha Christie: “The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.” I share it with my students as a reminder that thinking about your writing (or “rehearsing,” as it’s sometimes called) is an important part of the process and can happen anywhere.
Two books about writing that I come back to over and over are The Writer's Portable Mentor by Priscilla Long and John McPhee's Draft No. 4. Also Verlyn Klinkenborg's Several Short Sentences About Writing is not exactly a craft book, but it's so beautifully written that I think it made me a better writer just spending time in its pages.
I love Draft No. 4! It helped me think through the structure of my book. I haven’t heard of the other one; I’ll check it out!
I just forgot to say I really want to read the books you advise !
I recently read the autobiography of Agatha Christie. I re-read it taking notes each time she speaks about her difficulties about writing and when she finally realised that writing was a job. It’s a very enjoyable book. But when I was 17, I was given a collection of essays by Raymond Carver, compiled in Italian by two excellent editors from Einaudi in a book titled “The job of writing”, in the original “Il mestiere di scrivere”. They took texts from Fires - Essays, Poems, Stories and also from No Heroics, Please - Uncollected writings. They also included a transcription of a lesson on creative writing by Carver. At the end of the book there were exercises based on the way Carver writes.
PS : I was born in Rome from a French father and an Italian mother and I studied English at university in France where I live)
Thank you for sharing this, Elena! I’ve always loved this quote from Agatha Christie: “The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.” I share it with my students as a reminder that thinking about your writing (or “rehearsing,” as it’s sometimes called) is an important part of the process and can happen anywhere.