Last Updated on 11 months by Greg Noland
If you wanna be an awesomely successful blogger, then in my opinion you need to be an awesome writer. Ok, not some English Literature aficionado. But you are certain of producing quality content if you put some effort into learning your craft.
If you produce regular content of a high standard, then your prospects are more likely to become your paying clients.
And think of it this way. Perhaps you ignore my advice today, and don’t bother to invest in yourself.
But your competitors find my post and eagerly put an order in with Amazon or the Book Depository. And within a week or two their order has arrived and they are engrossed on the content and advice of every book.
Within a few weeks, their blog posts see a marked improvement, within a few months, their email list has also earned a very healthy growth since they immersed themselves in these master writing books.
Think about it…
Here is a list of books I think will rapidly improve both your storytelling and your writing structure in general.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
This book explores the craft of storytelling to engage readers and keep them coming back for more from the author of more than 50 worldwide bestsellers. Even if you’ve never read any of his thrillers, you should read this one.
King uses stories of his childhood to illustrate the making of a successful writer. His memorable stories aside, you’ll get an insight into structure, key takeaways on mechanics and his opinions on what’s important to writing and writers. You get to peer inside his head and see how his mind formulates those bizarre ideas and crafts his wicked plots. You’ll be inspired to keep an eye out for story elements all around you.
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. If you want to learn how to write properly this book will surely help you immensely. It’s a classic for all professional writers, so you need it in your toolkit. On Writing Well offers you fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sold, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers. Originally published in 1976, Zinsser’s tips on mechanics, structure and thinking have stood the test of time for generations of writers of all kinds. His principles are equally sound for today’s bloggers, fiction and non-fiction writers and any kind of digital publisher.
The Anatomy of Story, by John Truby
John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood’s most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology, offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby’s own unique approach to building an effective, multifaceted narrative.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott
Lamott’s small book may be one of the best-loved on how to structure your writing frame of mind and the writer’s life. She so adeptly and invisibly reflects her thoughts and experiences back on the reader that you feel an intimate part of her personal stories – a rare and long-acquired storytelling skill.
This is another book to read at least once a year. And along with King’s On Writing, to copy by hand on paper to absorb some of the rhythm, cadence and magic of these classics.
Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder
Save the Cat is often on the favourites list for structure. It is basically a formula book, focused on the structure of screenplays. It’s similar to Story Engineering in that it explains the structure and elements of a screenplay, but is more approachable. You could go as far to say it would go down well in any university teaching the structure of writing. You’ll learn the main story archetypes, how to structure a good screenplay, and useful techniques like how to create a character the audience loves almost immediately.
Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing, by Larry Brooks
You must have compelling stories to be a successful blogger and indeed a successful marketer and copywriter. With Story Engineering you’ll have the chance to learn the essential structure of all good stories. Larry goes deeply into the six core competencies of successful storytelling. And he’s adamant you understand their importance before exploring the six competencies. You’ll see why when you read it. This book has propelled scores of successful writers and bloggers to new heights of professional writing. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing blog posts, e-books, or magazine articles, having the skills to tell a well-written story is essential to your success.
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression
Book by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
One of the biggest problem areas you’ll have as a writer / blogger is conveying a character’s emotions to your prospects in unique and compelling ways. This thesaurus will save your ass. It comes with 75 emotions listed with the possible body language cues and thoughts for each. Using its easy-to-navigate list format, you can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment you want to write about. The Emotion Thesaurus also tackles common emotion-related writing problems and provides methods to overcome them. This writing tool will show you how to use emotion with creative effect.
So there you have it. There are of course many wonderful books on writing. But if you only had these 7 in your toolkit you won’t go far wrong.
Always Dedicated to Your Success,
Greg Noland
PS Nothing down here this time, but thank you for stopping by. And I’d really appreciate it if you leave a comment below telling us your favourite books.
Thanks for the recommendation, Greg!
I have Stephen King’s book on writing and it’s a gem!
http://dukeofmarketing.com/
Thanks for stopping by David. Really appreciate it. You are so right about Stephen’s book. Wish I’d found it sooner, but hopefully this blog post will help many more people to find the book sooner.
Best,
Greg
https://www.greg-noland.com/