You're not supposed to have favorites!

Oh, that's for children, for books it's okay.

I have books on the writing craft that I go back to again and again. I’m sure you do, too, and I’m hoping you’ll share your recommendations in the comment section.

Here are my favorites. They are not in any specific order:

1. The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression (2nd edition), Angela Ackerman. This book gives you body movements and facial expressions to assist you in describing a character's emotion throughout your story. How many times can a character nod and smile? The answer is too many if you're not careful. This book is a time saver; you can use the table of contents to find the emotion you want to describe. The book provides physical signals and behavior cues, internal sensations, and mental responses. It also includes behavior tell's if the character suppressed their emotions and a list of power verbs at the end of each emotion. I use this one daily when I'm writing or editing. I purchased the Kindle (digital) version of this title and have it on all my devices.

2. Write Your Novel from the Middle, James Scott Bell. I like all of Bell's books on writing. He has a no-nonsense and no-pretense approach to writing, but this one, hands-down, is my favorite. According to the author, the middle of your story is where you should find your story's "heat and heart." He calls the midpoint a moment in a scene in the middle of the book where you discover what the story is really about. The character should look at themselves (the mirror moment) and take stock, asking who they are and where they're going. If your book's more plot-driven, the character looks at herself and considers the odds against her. The forces against her should be so great she faces death (psychological, physical, or professional.) I usually pull this book out when I'm in the editing phase to check the middle of my book, ensure it contains this moment, and beef up the transformation and inciting incident accordingly.

3. The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler. This one’s a classic. I’ve read this book several times, and I confess I’m a sucker for The Hero’s Journey. The author didn’t invent it, but he definitely refined it. I get something new out of this book every time I read it, and it inspires my storytelling.

4. The Structure of Story, Ross Hartmann. The author of this book details specific writing tools to help you recognize patterns in superb storytelling so that you can apply them to your work and “keep the reader on the edge of their seat while delivering an emotional and meaningful story.” He has everything in here, from creating multi-dimensional characters, to what makes a good opening, middle, and climax, how to pace your story correctly, and suggestions on how to show rather than tell. Even though I’ve had this book for less than a year, I’ve read it twice, and I’m sure I’ll return to it again. He uses popular movies as examples to make his points, making this book accessible regardless of where you are on your writer’s journey.

5.  45 Master Characters, Victoria Lynn Schmidt. When I’m in the beginning phase of creating characters, I use this book to provide a basic profile for each one. It contains various character profiles, including heroes, villains, and supporting characters drawn from mythic archetypes. It also provides ideas about their flaws and the lessons they might need to learn. Having this book at my side gives me more ideas when I’m creating characters.

I could put a few more on here, but I’m interested in what books you’ve found helpful.

Within the next couple of weeks, I'd like to offer article topics on marketing programs for writers and magnet ideas for building your mailing list. I would love to hear from others who've used programs, taken courses, and found particular websites helpful in marketing themselves and their books. You can email or leave a comment.

Have a productive week!