When I decided I was going to be a Serious Writer way back in 2004, I read a lot of books on writing. I was a communications major in college — I took like, 2 writing classes — and so books were my only form of education on the matter. And having been homeschooled, I knew firsthand that everything a teacher can teach you can be found in a book. So I read books on writing. A lot of them. And I skimmed a lot of them, too.

(Incidentally, I remember being enormously unimpressed with everyone’s favorite book on writing, On Writing. It was a lot of autobiography and a lot of You Will Never Be Good Because Even I’m Not Good. I should probably visit it again now that I understand Stephen King a little better.)

Without further ado, here are the 3 books on writing I’ve found the most helpful. These are the books I didn’t skim, the books wherein I discovered dozens of useful ideas, the books I’ve reread several times.

- – -

Save the Cat!

You may notice the subtitle of this book, which is “The Last Book On Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need.” Having written 2 feature-length screenplays (in the correct format thank you very much), this is mostly true. However, just because it’s an awesome book on screenwriting does not mean it has nothing to do with writing the novel.

There is loads of great advice in here on crafting your story. For instance, let me explain the main gimmick of the book, the “save the cat” device. I’ve used this countless times because I write shady protagonists. When you have a shady protagonist, you have to make that protagonist do something early on, a selfless act, that will let the audience understand that Deep Down This Is a Good Guy. Like someone might go out of their way to save a cat. In House, we don’t care that House is an angry, cruel person because he saves an innocent patient’s life. In The Catcher in the Rye, we don’t care that Holden Caulfield gets kicked out of school for laziness because we see he isn’t “phony.” Robin Hood gives to the poor. Tony Stark is nice to Pepper Pots. Jack Sparrow is a thief and a murderer, but a funny one.

There’s loads of great advice in the “save the cat” vein. I don’t consult this book immediately in my outlining process, but you bet it’s the first thing I go to when something isn’t working.

I’d recommend this if: You’re stuck on plotting or characterization, or you want to make sure that your plot and characters are the strongest they can be, that you’ve explored all your options.

- – -

Bird by Bird

I am a pessimist. Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird was the first book on writing I read that embraced the pessimistic, realist side of the craft. A close second is Norman Mailer’s The Spooky Art, but that was ridiculously hard to get through and I can’t recommend it. (Sorry, Norman.)

This book taught me stuff like the notecard method, which is the most pain-free way I’ve ever encountered of outlining and troubleshooting your story. It told me it was okay to write “Shitty First Drafts” and be jealous of successful, snobby writing friends, and even that ending relationships with said successful, snobby writing friends might be better for me than bad. It showed me it might be okay to write 500 words a day as opposed to 1,000, if that’s all I can handle. The important part is writing every day.

Lots of good stuff here. But don’t take my word for it. *ba dah dah!*

I’d recommend this if: Books and blogs about writing are usually too cheery for your taste.

- – -

The War of Art

I’ve read this book about once a year since I discovered it. This is my war manual. It tells me, in no uncertain terms, that yes, a lot of writing sucks, and yes, it’s supposed to. “Anything easy is not worth doing,” and what’s worse, “Anything easy means you’re probably doing it wrong and sucking at it and art should be a struggle, dammit.”

This book also addresses criticism. I know I’ve gotten criticism that makes me wish I’d stuck it out in front of the TV and never started writing, but this book helped me through those times.

It’s hard to sum up what exactly the advice in this book says. You just have to read it. It’s the best writing pep-talk you’ll ever get.

I’d recommend this if: You sit down to write and you find yourself procrastinating, or you’re having a hard time taking critique.

Don’t let any writer ever tell you that the process of writing is a simple one. They’re deluding themselves if they believe that is at all true.

Writing, writing well, I should say, takes effort.  I’d love to tell you that sitting down and pounding out page after well-written page is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.  I’d love to tell you that the greatest thrill in my life is feeling my butt going numb because I’ve been writing for eight hours at a time.  I’d love to, but I’m not going to lie.  Writing is hard work. It takes determination and more discipline than you could probably fathom.

Mostly, though, it takes heart.  I don’t mean some sweet little saccharine ideal of creative images crafted into reality on a white page.  What I mean is that it takes a willingness to be metaphorically naked to the world.

Ask a hundred writers and you’ll get a hundred different answers to the “what’s your writing process” question.  But each one of those hundreds, if they’re honest, will tell you the same thing: writing is a means of exorcising demons or putting on display all those dark skeletons we all keep well hidden.

It is also, very real, very difficult and very, very worth it in the end.

But I believe what is required as a writer is that determined willingness to be exposed, to demonstrate the cluster of universes that lay hidden in our minds.  It isn’t ever easy.  There are moments, many times actually, when the writer fails…when what she envisions in her mind simply refuses to present itself on the page…when what should be said, refuses to make itself known.

Like therapy, writing is a process.

It is an arduous journey not for the faint of heart or the lazy.

Writing, for a true writer, (not a hobbyist), is the instinctual necessity to release those voices and people and their stories from the mind.  It is a way to show the world how limitless your creativity can be.  It’s all parts compulsion and obsession, desire and need.

Writing can be the most difficult activity one will undertake while at the same time being the most fulfilling. What it mustn’t ever be, however, is dishonest or flippant or something you dread doing.

So if you’ve got the heart, if you’ve got the willingness to be naked in a crowded room (so to speak) then don’t make excuses.  Don’t accept your own limitations.  If writing is your compulsion, if it is as intrinsic to you as the swagger in your step or the timber in your voice, then do it.  Be willing to endure that nakedness and unafraid of how others may respond to it.

It starts, like most things, at the beginning.

So? What are you waiting for?  Get writing.

2010 was the year I finished my first manuscript, queried my first manuscript, received my first rejection (followed by more, so many more), received my first offer of representation, and declined my first offer of representation (that’s a story for another time).

2010 was also the year that I met the rest of the Interrobangs. They’ve been vital to my progress as a writer and I look forward to big things from each and every one of us in 2011. Here’s a look at what we’ve got planned.

Jaimie

• Read more – I got a Kindle for Christmas, and I’m already finding this one workable. It’s much easier to read longer books when I don’t have the size of them staring me in the face.
• Write 700 words a day – Last year I tried 1,000 words a day, and while I get a lot of words down that way, the quality sucks. It sucks slaving your butt off to put down words you suspect are bad, and it sucks throwing those words out later.
• Write what makes sense over what sounds cool. I blogged about this recently.
• Don’t take anything too seriously.
• Have a draft of GRANTED. Even a rough draft, I would be thrilled with. My first novel (now trunked) took 5 years to finish.

Phoebe

Because I fancy myself a rebel, I’m going to break the rules. Well, it’s not *really* because of that–it’s mostly because I only have one resolution:

Complain less about rejection – I’ve been pretty solid about being tenacious with my writing and submitting for the past year, habits I plan on continuing for 2011 (honestly, I can’t imagine not doing either, which is why “Keeping it up!” isn’t something I’m resolving to do). But 2010 was a beast full of close calls and personal rejections. I’ve found a great support system with the Interrobangs, and also vented plenty to close friends about it. But, in the same way that talk therapy was never great for me because I’m a natural kvetcher, I’m not sure that discussing these rejections has actually helped. Just as each rejection, no matter how nicely worded, can feel like a punch in the gut, every email I write complaining about it began to feel like I was poking myself repeatedly in the bruise.

So this year, I’m going to try to work on my elephant-thick writerly hide. I’m going to work on letting the pain of rejection slide right off me (and other mixed metaphors) while still taking constructive criticism in stride. I’m going to do my best to shut up about it, working hard at moving onward, and upward, in a more positive way.

Shannon

• Finish my WIP. I love my concept, I love the outline of the story I’ve got all plotted in my head. All I’ve got to do is put my butt in chair, hands on keyboard, and finish the damn thing.
• Reread some old favorites. It’s easy to get so caught up in reading what’s current, staying on trend, knowing the market, that I sometimes neglect reading for the sake of reading. I want to take time this year to return to the books and authors who inspired me before the thought of writing a book was even on my radar.
• When the time comes to query, don’t stress out about it so much. Easier said now that I’ve been through the ringer once. Knowing what to expect for this manuscript should make the process less intimidating.
• Don’t procrastinate. Ugh, this is my biggest hurdle. I’ve dealt with it all through school and I continue to deal with it.
• Don’t neglect my partner. Matt is an understanding and patient fiance, and I know he wants me to succeed as a writer, but sometimes he also wants to sit on the couch and watch a movie or a mindless tv show. I need to be better about sticking to my writing schedule (no procrastinating!) so that when the time comes, I can completely unplug and be a great fiancee to my great fiance.

Sean

• Finish Castor – the obvious one! By January 1st 2012 I want to be finished Castor. Preferably I’d like to be finished-finished, but I’ll settle for being ready for a second pass over the draft. I’d say my chances of this are pretty good as long as nothing disastrous happens. (Particularly because the other Interrobangs will kick my ass if I drop another project without finishing it. Yes, these critique group things really do help!)
• Find a better college-writing balance. At the moment I tend to stop writing entirely sometime around the end of the first third of the college semester, which is obviously bad if I want to stick with resolution #1 up there.I’d like to find a way to write throughout the year without slacking off on studying.
• This isn’t directly related to writing, but I’d also like to read more YA and adult genre fiction while studying. I’m one of those people who can end up accidentally trying to copy the writing style of whatever I’m reading, which can be problematic if I’m reading Derrida or Joyce (or Baudrillard or Foucault or…). As much as I enjoy super-literary writing, it’s probably not what YA agents are looking for at the moment. I’d like to keep up to date on the less heavy side of literature throughout 2011.
• Write a short story. Yes, just one. I’m really bad at writing short stories.
• Get published. You knew this had to be on there somewhere, right? Okay, so the chances of me actually finishing a book and editing it AND getting published in 2011 are slim (should be read so that it rhymes with ‘hahaha’), it still goes on here because it’s my ultimate writing goal. And really, who doesn’t hold out some hope every year that this will happen?

Tee

My writing resolutions for the new year are to:

• Stop being a slacker and do some real writing.
• Finish the edits/rewrites to the three short stories that have been lingering in the ‘Fix Me’ files on my laptop.
• Get the first draft of my creepy New Orleans/Cirque Freak/Steampunk manuscript finished.
• Finish first draft of my magnum opus/Steampunk Fairy manuscript.
• Actually submit my shorts and KEEP submitting until I get at least ONE story published.

Are you making any writing resolutions this year? If so, post them in the comments!