A.G.'s Library

Books for Aspiring Writers:

Below, A.G. has listed the books that guided her through the three-year odyssey of writing her first novel and on into the querying process. For your convenience, the titles are separated into three categories and linked to Amazon:

1. Learning the craft—everything you need to know about the art of writing and editing your work.
2. Getting Published—how to craft those irksome query letters and debunk the lingo of novel proposal packages … in essence, understanding what agents and editors respond to and what they abhor.
3. Writers’ Resources—great research and technical aides for your daily writing regime.

Learning the Craft:

• 100 Things Every Writer Needs to Know, Scott Edelstein

• A Writer’s Guide to Fiction, Elizabeth Lyon

• Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint , Nancy Kress

• Novelists Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, Raymond Obstfeld

• Creating Character Emotions, Ann Hood

• Novelists Essential Guide to Creating Plot, J. Madison Davis

• Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting, Ron Rozelle

• The Complete Guide to Editing your fiction, Michael Seidman

• Fiction First Aid: Instant Remedies for Novels, Stories, and Scripts, Raymond Obstfeld

• Scene & Structure, Jack M. Bickham

• So You Want to Write, Marge Piercy & Ira Wood

• The Company of Writers, Hilma Wolitzer

• The Romance Writer’s Handbook, Rebecca Vinyard

• The Writer’s Book Of Wisdom: 101 Rules For Mastering Your Craft, Steven Taylor Goldsberry

• When Good People Write Bad Sentences: 12 Steps to Better Writing Habits, Robert W. Harris

• Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, David Gerrold

• Write Tight: How to Keep Your Prose Sharp, Focused and Concise, William Brohaugh

• The Writer’s Digest Writing Clinic: Expert Help for Improving Your Work, Kelly Nickell

• Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction, Harvey Stanbrough

• On Writing, Stephen King

• Breathing Life Into Your Characters, Rachel Ballon

Getting Published:

• Novel & Short Story Writers Market 2006 (Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market)

• Give ‘Em What They Want, Blythe Camenson & Marshall J. Cook

• Literary Law Guide for Authors, Tonya Marie Evans & Susan Borden Evans

• The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile, Noah Lukeman

• The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Publicity, Lissa Warren

• The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit, Elizabeth Lyon

• Your Novel Proposal from Creation to Contract, Blythe Camenson & Marshall J. Cook

Writers’ Resources:

• Careers for Your Characters: A Writers Guide to 101 Professions from Architect to Zookeeper, Raymond Obstfeld & Frank Neuman

• The Writer’s Digest Character Naming Sourcebook, Sherrilyn Kenyon

• Flip Dictionary, Barbara Ann Kipfer

• Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms, Marvin Terban

• Scholastic Rhyming Dictionary, Sue Young

• The Writer’s Guide to Character Traits, Linda N. Edelstein

A.G.’s Personal Choices for Research or Leisure: 

As a full-time mom and writer, reading for leisure is one of my most decadent pleasures. I love to get lost in a fantasy world far removed, sharing the emotions and adventures of a character so finely crafted I can can feel myself wearing their skin. I also enjoy nonfiction books that will sharpen my story worlds or inspire my muse.

To find time for reading, I put off the dusting and the laundry for an hour (or a week) and curl up on the couch to finish those last two-hundred pages; I take a book with me everywhere I go, so when I have a spare moment at the orthodontist or I’m stuck at a red light, I read a sentence, or two, or a paragraph.
Be sure to visit my Goodread’s rating page to check out the fiction titles which have sat on my bookshelves from as far back as 2005 when I first started writing to present day. Some I’ve read, and some I have yet to read.
And here are the non-fiction titles that beefed up my novels via research:
Non Fiction:

• Ben Franklin’s Almanac of Wit, Wisdom, and Practical Advice – Useful tips and fascinating facts

• How to Hold a Crocodile: Plus Hundreds of Other Practical Tips, Fascinating Facts and Wicked Wisdom

• Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing, David Morrell

• Masterplots: Cyclopedia of Literary Characters, Salem Press

• The Dream Bible, Brenda Mallon

• The Skeptic’s Dictionary, Robert Todd Carroll

• The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference, Writer’s Digest Books