After reading an article on Hypable a few weeks ago, I was inspired to write a list of great books for all of you struggling authors out there.

I teach Creative Writing at our local high school and am very involved with several writing groups. Plus, I am putting the finishing touches on the first of my own young adult series The Heroes of Legend.

The point to all of this is, over the years I have struggled for guidance. Sure, there’s a lot of great books out today for potential authors like Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing or Stephen King’s On Writing. However, in my quest to accumulate as many writer’s self-help books as possible, I keep coming back to eight that I have found vital to making my work the best it can be. These are them:

1. Random House Word Menu – Sort of like a thesaurus, this book is voted one of the most essential writers to have at their ready disposal. Instead of offering synonyms, though, it offers a list of descriptions, objects, or terminology for thousands of categories. Need an OCD disorder? Look it up in the medical section. How about an airplane or car part? You can find it in the section labeled “Transportation.” Plus, this book that is thicker than a dictionary only costs one cent if you buy it used on Amazon. Skip the ebook version, however, and opt for the paperback for ease of use.

2. Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seger – Ms. Seger has several fantastic books, but this one was my favorite. It was the best book on character building that I have read. And for both scriptwriters and novelists alike, it teaches how to balance protagonists with minor characters that highlight everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, Seger’s examples from popular films makes this a quick, understandable, and interesting read.

3. The Writer’s Digest Guide to Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card – Even if you don’t delve into the madness of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy realm, this book is a must buy. In the first half of the book, Card instructs writers on how to build the perfect first paragraph and EXACTLY where to begin your story (based upon one of four story types). Plus, he offers a lot of uplifting advice on breaking into the publishing world. The second half deals more with sci-fi/fantasy specifics, world building, and quick facts on weaponry, ranks, religion, and dress from various ancient cultures.

4. Plotto: The Master Book of All Plots by William Wallace Cook – Granted it took me a day to figure all the abbreviations and how this book worked, but once I did, I was addicted. If you are stuck on a plot, just consult this book and the possibilities are endless. To start out, pick the number and gender of your protagonists, turn to the list of main plots, and work forward and backward to flesh out both your main conflict and all of your minor ones.

5. The Writer’s Book of Matches by the staff of Fresh Boiled Peanuts and Phillip Sexton – I’m not typically a fan of writing prompt books. After a while, they all seem the same. However, the 1,001 prompts in this book are fresh and creative. The book offers three types of prompts: character conflicts, unusual scenarios, and first lines of dialogue. My favorite? “You’ve burnt my waffles for the last time!” I’ve bought several copies of this book, and each one keeps disappearing off the shelf in my Creative Writing classroom.

6. HowDunit – The Book of Poisons by Serita Stevens and Anne Bannon – Need a way to creatively kill a character? Or how about just make one hallucinate from some simple household ingredients? Then this is the book for you. I purchased this book because I had a group of characters stuck in the woods, and I needed a way for my protagonist to knock the others out so that he could keep them safe while he went off to defeat the bad guy on his own. The book also offered me reaction times, side effects, toxicology levels, and interesting case histories.

7. The Writer’s Digest Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon – Ditch the baby book and opt for this one instead when your searching for the perfect name. You can look up names by countries and cultures (both current and ancient) or do a reverse look-up by name meaning. Plus, you will learn quite a bit about naming traditions in diverse areas of the world. Did you know in the Middle East that it is common to have up to seven names? Two should relate to ancestors and one should relate to God. Most of the rest depend on a character’s personality and his birthplace.

8. Fiction Writer’s Brainstormer by James V. Smith – This book is most valuable for its charts on characters and plot building. There are sections in the back of reproducables, and the character worksheet is the best I have ever used. I particularly like the section on a protagonist’s four goals and his “saving grace” and “fatal flaw.” Furthermore, the examples of good versus poor writing are highly instructional and the list of puzzles helped me to diagnosis what kind of writer I am and where I would need the most help.

I hope you enjoyed this list of the basic tools in my writer’s toolbox. I always carry them with me in an overstuffed bag, and I think you will, too. If, like me, you want to expand your collection, my best advice is to always search “Writer’s Digest” on the Amazon page and check out all the books by that publishing company. Most all of their publications are self-help books for aspiring writers, and I thank them for teaching me more than those four years I spent minoring in Creative Writing. Happy reading, you all!

If you would like to know more about any of these books, feel free to contact Erin Atchley at theheroesoflegend@yahoo.com.