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We’re all avid readers here aren’t we but how many of us harbour the dream of writing our own novel? How many of us have a best seller trapped inside our head that just needs a little push, a little guidance for it to blossom into a beautiful book?
Here are some How To guides. You never know, one of them might just give you that nudge and turn you into the next J.K Rowling.

How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights ~ Ariel Gore

This may come as a shock, but brilliant writing and clever wordplay do not a published author make. True, you’ll actually have to write if you want to be a writer, but ultimately literary success is about much more than putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys). Before you snap your pencil in half with frustration, please consider the advice writer, teacher, and self-made lit star Ariel Gore offers in this useful guide to realizing your literary dreams.

How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead US
How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead UK

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft ~ Janet Burroway

A bestseller through eight editions, Writing Fiction explores the elements of fiction, providing practical writing techniques and concrete examples. Written in a tone that is personal and non-prescriptive, the text encourages students to develop proficiency through each step of the writing process, offering an abundance of exercises designed to spur writing and creativity.  The text also integrates diverse, contemporary short stories in the belief that the reading of inspiring fiction goes hand-in-hand with the writing of fresh and exciting stories

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft US
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft UK

On Writing ~ Stephen King

Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in the vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999 – and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.

There is a reason why Stephen King is one of the bestselling writers in the world, ever. Described in the Guardian as ‘the most remarkable storyteller in modern American literature’, Stephen King writes books that draw you in and are impossible to put down.

On Writing US
On Writing UK

Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and LifeAnne Lamot

“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our  family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'”
Read our review

Bird by Bird US
Bird by Bird UK

Writing Fiction For Dummies  ~ Peter Economy

A complete guide to writing and selling your novel
So you want to write a novel? Great! That’s a worthy goal, no matter what your reason. But don’t settle for just writing a novel. Aim high. Write a novel that you intend to sell to a publisher. Writing Fiction for Dummies is a complete guide designed to coach you every step along the path from beginning writer to royalty-earning author. Here are some things you’ll learn in Writing Fiction for Dummies:

Writing Fiction For Dummies US
Writing Fiction For Dummies UK

Child Writes: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing And Illustrating A Children’s Picture Book ~ Emma Mactaggart

How long have you held the dream of creating your own children’s picture book?

Whether you intended to give the gift of words and images in book form to your loved ones, write the next children’s bestseller, or help others to bring their ideas to life… Child Writes is the book for you!

Be guided, step-by-step, through the entire process of creating a picture book, from conceiving the original idea, writing and illustrating, to book launch and beyond.

The reward you will experience when you hold your published children’s picture book in your hands cannot be easily surpassed. Don’t dream about it any longer. The time to start is right now!

Emma Mactaggart started from where you possibly stand today – with a passionate need to create, but not a clue how to do it! After 12 years of experiences and thousands of hours of researching, testing, painting, writing and more research again… Emma has devised a hand holding guide. She is the founder of the Child Writes program, guiding primary school aged children through exactly the same process, so she knows if a child can do it – so can you!

Child Writes US
Child Writes UK

Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative FictionJeff VanderMeer

This all-new definitive guide to writing imaginative fiction takes a completely novel approach and fully exploits the visual nature of fantasy through original drawings, maps, renderings, and exercises to create a spectacularly beautiful and inspiring object. Employing an accessible, example-rich approach, Wonderbook energizes and motivates while also providing practical, nuts-and-bolts information needed to improve as a writer. Aimed at aspiring and intermediate-level writers, Wonderbook includes helpful sidebars and essays from some of the biggest names in fantasy today, such as George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, Catherynne M. Valente, and Karen Joy Fowler, to name a few.

Wonderbook US
Wonderbook UK

Ultimately, the one thing you’re going to have to do to become a writer, is sit down and write, there’s no substitute for hard graft and determination. However if you hit a wall, or need information on the finer details of how to write a book worthy of publication from people who have a little insider information, then hopefully these guides will be just what you’re looking for.

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