The way I see it, there are three basic types of writing books.  You have books on craft, books of writing exercises and prompts, and books about the writing life.  A well-balanced writing library should probably represent all three types.  Yet, not all writing books are created equal and as someone with limited shelf-space at my disposal, I’ve had to pick and choose which writing books I add to my collection.  That’s when I came up with this list of The Essentials.  If I had to pick only one or two books in each category, these are the books I would choose.

Craft

 If you must own only one book on the craft of fiction, I would recommend Gotham Writers’ Workshop Writing Fiction.  This book gives you the basics on character, plot, dialogue and description.  There are many books on craft that are similar, but I’m partial to this one because each chapter is written by a different author.  This means that as a reader you gain a variety of perspectives and approaches to writing, rather than just one author’s view.

Similarly, if poetry is your preference, the book on craft that I would  recommend is Kim Addonizio’s Ordinary Genius which I reviewed previously on this site.  This book explains the craft of poetry without losing the beauty of it as well.  In addition, the writing is so fluid and engaging that we don’t even realize we’re learning about craft.  This is the sort of book you could read cover-to-cover, like a novel.

Writing Exercises

There are lots of great books with writing exercises and prompts, some of which I’ve already reviewed on this blog.  I find, though that if I were forced to choose only one, it would be The 3am Epiphany by Brian Kiteley.  While there are many other books that offer interesting exercises, this one is my favorite because the prompts not only get you writing, but they force you to consider elements of craft as well.  In fact, you could learn as much about craft from this book as you would from the craft books listed above.  There is also a sequel to this book called The 4am Breakthrough, but considering that there are 201 exercises in The 3am Epiphany, I suspect this book alone could keep a writer busy for a very long time.

Writing Life

This category was the most difficult one for me to limit my choices, but I have managed to trim down my selections to two books.  The first, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, is one of my favorite books ever.  This book gives a warm and honest view of the writing life as experienced by Lamott.   

 
Writing down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg is my other favorite in this category.  Though a little more didactic than Bird by Bird at times, this book guides writers through all aspects of their writing life.  Topics range from writing in restaurants to writing marathons to fighting tofu.

In the end, The Essentials may vary from one writer to another.  If I had to limit my writing library to five books, these would be the ones I would choose.  What books do you consider your Essentials?

Ah, the ever elusive sense of smell.  While this may be the most difficult of the senses for writers to incorporate in their work, it is no less important than the others.

Fun Fact: did you know that while receptors for all the other senses connect to the main part of the brain (the cortext), the olfactory receptors are different?  In fact, one part of the olfactory system connects via the amygdala, which is one of the parts of the brain that deals with memory.

My theory is that this is why smells hold such powerful, vivid memories for us.  Who can mistake the smell of birthday candles as they’re being blown out.  Or what about that crisp smell the air gets right before a big snow?

Haven’t you ever been somewhere and smelled something that transported you to a whole other time and place?  The other day I was walking down the street and something smelled dry and still, like airport air that has that musty travel smell to it.  In instantly got this pang of memory of a time when I was stranded in an airport in Brazil for an entire day, not knowing whether or not my flight would be allowed to leave.

The truth is, part of the reason why scents are so difficult for writers is that there are very few “smell words” in our vocabulary.  We have lots of words for sounds: loud, soft, brassy, whisper.  There are also plenty of words for touch (soft, smooth, rough) and taste (sweet, salty, bitter, sour).  And don’t even get me started on sight; aside from a plethora of adjectives, we also have the vocabulary of colors at our disposal.

But for smell there’s hardly any.  Instead, we’ll use similes and metaphors to say “that smells like movie theater popcorn” or “that smell is suffocating.”  The only smell word I can think of is “pungent” and even then, it can refer to taste as well as smell.  In fact, most words we use for smells have been appropriated from one of the other senses (like saying something smells sweet or sharp).

Because smells are linked so strongly to objects or places, it is no surprise that smell should be so closely tied to memory as well.  That’s where this week’s exercise comes in.

Writing Exercise: Scent of a Memory
Follow each of the steps and don’t proceed to the next one until you have finished the current step.

1. Think of a scent you love.  Write it down (3 words or fewer).
2. Describe this scent.
3. Is there a place you associate with this scent?  What is the significance of this place?
4. Is there a person associated with this scent?  What is this person’s relationship to you?
5. Why does this scent remind you of this person or place?
6. Write down a memory of this person/place.
7. Last question: what color is this scent?

Now write a short poem or prose piece about this scent and the memory it evokes.

Here ends our foray into Writing Through the Senses.  It’s not to late too late to join the challenge so sign up by clicking on the above link and read all the Writing Through the Senses posts.  I’ll be drawing the winner and announcing the results next week!

…and we’re back.  Today we’re still talking about taste but instead of using eating as a metaphor, we’ll be focusing on having fun with words.

Taste Part 2: Playing With Our Food… I mean, Words

One of my favorite genres is parody.  I find it so much fun to read and a great challenge to write.  I’m sure you all know what parody is, but here’s a quick definition.

parody: n.  An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.  Parody mercilessly exposes the tricks of manner and thought of its victim and therefore cannot be written without a thorough appreciation of the work it ridicules.

An example of a poetic parody is Lewis Carroll’s The Crocodile, which is a parody of Isaac Watts’ How Doth the Little Busy Bee.  The Carroll poem appears in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, when Alice tries to recite the Watts poem but “The Crocodile” comes out instead.

Jack & Jill Writing Exercise:  Today the writing exercise involves “playing with our food” by writing parody.  Write a short scene or collection of scenes in which you recount the events of the nursery rhyme Jack & Jill in the style of a famous author.  After you’ve written your piece, you can check out a piece I wrote with this exercise by going here.

Hello everyone!  Today’s topic is taste and we’ll be adding some playfulness to our writing.  Because this is such a fun topic, I’ve decided to split it into two parts.  I’ll post Part 1 now and Part 2 on Friday (because I have something else planned for tomorrow).

Taste Part 1: Food as Metaphor

First we’ll start with a feast of words:
How to Eat a Poem by Eve Merriam
Eating Poetry by Mark Strand.

I love reading these poems back-to-back because while they are dramatically different, they both use eating as a metaphor for reading poetry.  The Merriam poem is very visual and almost literal in its description of eating poetry, while the Strand poem is a bit more abstract, but fascinating nonetheless.  In the latter, we see the contrast between the visceral relationship the speaker has with the poems and the librarian’s reaction as she tries to maintain order.  I read this poem almost as a manifesto for enjoyment of poetry and not letting conventions and rules get in the way.

What do you think about these poems?  Did one of them speak to you more than the other?

Writing Exercise: Write a short piece (prose or poetry, either is fine) using one of the following titles:

1. How to Eat a _______________
2. Eating ____________________
3. Recipe for _________________

You can fill in the blank with anything you wish, though I encourage you to try using something that is not normally edible.  Have fun with this!