Thread: Do you read books on how to write?

I noticed another thread on favorite books on writing, and I wondered how many people here read these books. I did when I first started, before I had anything published. It seemed like a logical thing to do to learn something about the craft. What I noticed, though (and what I sometimes see in beginning writers I know), is that the books on writing start to become more of a distraction from doing something that will actually teach you more effectively - writing. I've been in writing groups with people who have probably read a dozen how-to books, and always seem to have the next one in hand. They're less productive as writers, though. It isn't necessarily the act of reading these books that seems to make them less productive - there is plenty of time for both reading and writing, after all. It seems to be more of a mindset. While they are reading these how-to books they seem to have placed themselves in a holding pattern, hoping to reach some vaguely-defined level of ability before actually doing much serious writing. At least, that's how it looks to me as an outside observer.

Writing books have their place, of course. But in my opinion, they are last on the list of things that will help new fiction writers. The more useful things include reading fiction (a lot), writing (a lot), and critiquing the work of other writers.

What do the rest of you think?

I've never read a how-to book in my life, for any endeavour. I find I learn best through action. Most of those books are best used as paperweights, in any case. The only book you really need is Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. That, and a dictionary. Beyond that, everything you read contradicts something else you'll read by self-professed experts. The only thing you gain from that is getting bogged down in the minutiae of writing when there's no need for it.

Concentrate on reading actual books. And writing. There is no better teacher.

I have never read such books before, but have recently acquired a couple. Stephen King's semi-autobiographical how-to, On Writing and Dean Koontz's How To Write Popular Fiction.

I haven't read either

I read - a lot. I have, at last count, 13,129 books, including around 250 woodworking technical and reference books, about 150 cooking books and 60-70 car/bike manuals - in electronic form. Then there are about 300-odd physical volumes (I travel light! We have been nomads for the last 12 years or so).

I have probably read 15% of the e-Books and every physical book, more than once... but... as Sam says, "Concentrate on reading actual books. And writing. There is no better teacher." - I have probably learned more in the last week about the techniques of writing than I have picked up in the last 45 years of reading. That isn't really true, of course, because I am the sum of every word I have ever read and would have subconsciously absorbed various styles and manner of writing.

What I have noticed is that since last week, I now am much more critical (not in a negative sense, in the sense of looking AT what I am reading, as well as absorbing the novel) of everything I am reading. Looking at the way sentences are constructed or phrases used and thinking 'that's a neat trick' or 'who edited this?'

I made the mistake of leaving school at 15, to my eternal regret. What has 'saved' me is my love of books, instilled by my parents since before I could walk.

I don't know if I will ever have anything published - I feel I am so far behind the curve both educationally and from the standpoint of the technical aspects of writing, but I am going to have a great time trying.

Thanks be to people like you that make such forums as this available to people like me. You have my eternal gratitude!

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Writing books have their place, of course. But in my opinion, they are last on the list of things that will help new fiction writers. The more useful things include reading fiction (a lot), writing (a lot), and critiquing the work of other writers.

What do the rest of you think?

Personally, I've learned more from how-to books, and in a much shorter period of time, than through any of the other methods you suggest (reading, writing, critiquing), though these methods have also been useful, used in conjunction with the how-to books. One hour spent with a decent how-to book brings far more understanding for me than an hour reading, or writing, or critiquing. So I wouldn't put them last on the list of things that will help new fiction writers at all.

But here's the thing. Some people don't like how-to books at all. And some people will argue that how-to book A is better than how-to book B, while someone else will argue the exact opposite. We all come at this learning-to-write business from different backgrounds, with different reading experiences, different reading preferences, different educational and cultural backgrounds, and different aptitudes. So I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all solution, and what works best for one person isn't guaranteed to work best for another. We should try whatever's out there and use what works best for us as individuals, listening to the advice of others but mindful of the fact that what worked for them may not work for us.

I've read Stephen King's On Writing, but that's pretty much it. Though, I do listen to the Writing Excuses podcasts on a semi-regular basis, if that counts.

I am reading Stephen Kings book "on writing" at the moment and i find it interesting that for the most part he suggest that like Sam reading reading and more reading is what you need to do. So far in the book he has come up with some good stuff and as a book he explains how he wrote some of his books. I get the impression though that you just need to get stuck in and learn your own way and style of writing. Most of all is that you enjoy what you do and write about what you know about ?

To quote Sam
"Concentrate on reading actual books. And writing. There is no better teacher".

Nope. Those books are either filled with common sense or conflicting information. I just write and let other people tell me what they think. More often than not, they like it.

I've never read a how-to book in my life, for any endeavour. I find I learn best through action. Most of those books are best used as paperweights, in any case.

You are probably right Sam, but how can you tell if you have never read any?
I pick up such books in second hand shops, mostly by about page four I am thinking "I could write something better than this" and turn out another article for the newsletter, however last weekend the Guardian put out a supplement which actually seemed worth reading, typically I have left it on the train.

Good point, Olly. It's mostly to do with the fact that there's no such thing as 'How to Write a Best-seller'. If there was, there would be no need for this forum.

That's my ultimate goal: Write a best seller. And then write another book called, "How to Write a Best Seller," which will also probably be a best seller.

I used to get (and enjoyed reading) Writer's Digest and I might still if magazine subscriptions didn't tend to stack up in my house. I have a hard time throwing things out when they contain ideas and info (so, yes, now you know I have a cluttered house).

My parents gave me a copy of Writing for the Soul by Jerry B. Jenkins. It's a book that explains his writing background and his writing process in a way that invites you to use the method if you like it. In some ways it's more of a philosophy of writing than a 'how-to' and I am in the midst of re-reading it.

My aunt found Some Writers Deserve to Starve in a bargain bin for a buck and gave me a copy. I didn't expect much (hey, it landed in the bargain bin for a buck...Ironic yet the cold realities of life tell me anyone's book can land there) but it's got short pithy chapters that seem pretty plausible. Only time will tell me if all of it is true or not.

I picked up a Writer's Digest book called Writing Clinic (I think) at a library sale (probably paid a dime or something) and never really have read it. I should probably take a better look through it and see what there is to glean.

I tend to read anything regarding 'how to write' (or how to do anything else) with a degree of skepticism.

On one hand there are a lot of ideas that if you can grasp them from a book like this they can keep you from having to re-invent the wheel. When I was starting into writing and didn't understand POV, someone on the writing forum I frequented at the time pointed me firmly to the bookstore. I went, I leafed through a few books on POV, I said 'Oooooh I see' a lot, and I learned how not to screw it up royally.

On the other hand, of course, you can find bad advice, too. It's probably best to take any advice and instruction you read and decide for yourself whether you think it'll work. Give it a try, experiment, and if you need to get rid of it, do it.

Books and how-to articles all have their place but if you don't move on from them and write something it's no good anyway.

Since this thread I have picked up a bunch of how-to's and read one, Plotting Simplified. It's been of use. I also gave Ambrose Bierce's Write it Right a look over - some very helpful stuff there.

So maybe I will take a day off writing and spend that day reading and making notes

Sam W - Much of what you say fits my own ideas, except for Strunk and White. Everything that's in there a person should have learnt in first form, except their ideas on the inverted comma, with which I take exception. My supplement to the dictionary - in my case Oxford Concise - is Fowler.

One how-to book I found quite useful in my bike riding days was Chilton's Small Engine Repair, along with, of course, Bob Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which contains ideas useful for maintaining anything.

I think my best personal improvement has come from reading fiction and writing... all the time. They are a perfect combination, like peanut butter and jelly.

I hesitate to call the books in my collection "How-to", because that is generally not their purpose. Many of them clarify concepts, such as point of view, that are not so easily understood by just reading your favorite fiction. For me, these instructional books acted as a guidepost. They give me things to look for when I read my favorite books and analyzed them. So, like Rob, I feel like I've learned more, and faster, with these resources than by simply reading. And that is important for me because, first of all, I don't read very fast, and second, having grown up around TVs and computers, I started late and did not begin reading for pleasure until around the same time as I started writing seriously.

There are good and bad writing-instructional books. I don't think it is fair to put, for example, On Becoming A Novelist, a thoughtful analysis of the craft, on the same level as something like Writing Fiction for Dummies. There are some genuinely good writing books out there.