Resources For Writers

We will continue adding to this page. If you're looking for quick writing inspiration, I think these two books are the biggest gifts you can give yourself. 

One of the worst traps a writer can fall into is thinking that you're writing when words aren't actually appearing on the page. I think I read a million books about writing before I ever decided to actually write. "Just one more," I'd tell myself, "Then I'll know enough to get started."

If you write one page a day for a year, you'll learn more about writing than any book can teach you. Now, if you're already producing consistently, there are some wonderful books about writing that have given us both much needed kicks and pokes and inspiration over the years.

But don't just read! Keep writing while you read!

The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standard Text For Writing And Life by Marion Roach Smith.

I teach memoir classes, and I tell my students that if they have to choose one book to read about memoir, that this is it.

It's short, it's brilliant, it's impossible to misunderstand, and Marion's approach will get you writing and keep you writing.

On Writing by Stephen King 

If you struggle with productivity and/or discipline, this is the book for you. King has written a mountain of books, and On Writing is the story of how he does it, how he became a writer, why he believes writers should be generous with each other, and so much more.

This is the one I return to over and over. You could not have a better guide to the business of simply putting the words down on paper.