In the Information Age, with articles flying around cyberspace faster than you can bat your eyelashes, it can be easy to get lost in the sheer abundance of resources made available by virtually anyone.

If you're like me and are sincerely trying to improve your craft as a writer, you'll want to learn from the most credible and accurate sources, the classic, the tried-and-true. The best place to find such things? Nowhere beyond your local library. Still, section 808 can be a daunting place on your first visit. I've been there, come away with arm loads of books, and gone nuts trying to get anything out of them at home. After several years of reading and study, however, I've discovered a few gems that shine above all the rest. I'd like to share these with you in this article. Here are 10 of my favorite resource books, complete with descriptions and links. Hope you find them helpful!

Available at your local public library (or on Amazon if you prefer an ever on-hand arsenal):


The Elements of Style
By William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
From the Publisher: [link]
Or read it online: [link]

Description:

"The only style manual ever to appear on bestseller lists has explained to millions of readers the basic principles of plain English. The book’s mantra—make every word tell—is still on point. Whether seventeen or seventy, this much-loved classic, now in its fourth edition, will forever be the go-to guide when in need of a hint on how to make a turn of phrase clearer, or a reminder on how to enliven prose with the active voice."

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The First Five Pages - A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile
By Noah Lukeman
From the Publisher: simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1& pid=409784&er=9780684857435
Official Web Page: [link]

Description:

"Whether you are a novice writer or a veteran who has already had your work published, rejection is often a frustrating reality. Literary agents and editors receive and reject hundreds of manuscripts each month. While it's the job of these publishing professionals to be discriminating, it's the job of the writer to produce a manuscript that immediately stands out among the vast competition. And those outstanding qualities, says New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, have to be apparent from the first five pages.

"The First Five Pages reveals the necessary elements of good writing, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, journalism, or poetry, and points out errors to be avoided, such as

- A weak opening hook
- Overuse of adjectives and adverbs
- Flat or forced metaphors or similes
- Melodramatic, commonplace or confusing dialogue
- Undeveloped characterizations and lifeless settings
- Uneven pacing and lack of progression

"With exercises at the end of each chapter, this invaluable reference will allow novelists, journalists, poets and screenwriters alike to improve their technique as they learn to eliminate even the most subtle mistakes that are cause for rejection. The First Five Pages will help writers at every stage take their art to a higher--and more successful--level."

Find out more: Read an excerpt
simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1& pid=409784&agid=2

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The Plot Thickens - 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life
By Noah Lukeman
From the Publisher: [link]
Official Web Page: [link]

Description:

"As a literary agent, Noah Lukeman hears thousands of book pitches a year. Often the stories sound great in concept, but never live up to their potential on the page. Lukeman shows beginning and advanced writers how to implement the fundamentals of successful plot development, such as character building and heightened suspense and conflict. Writers will find it impossible to walk away from this invaluable guide---a veritable fiction-writing workshop---without boundless new ideas."

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A Dash of Style - The Art and Mastery of Punctuation
By Noah Lukeman
From the Publisher: [link]
Official Website: [link]

Description:

"The first practical and accessible guide to the art of punctuation for creative writers. Punctuation reveals the writer: haphazard commas, for example, reveal haphazard thinking; clear, lucid breaks reveal clear, lucid thinking. Punctuation can be used to teach the writer how to think and how to write. This short, practical book shows authors the benefits that can be reaped from mastering punctuation: the art of style, sentence length, meaning, and economy of words.

"There are full-length chapters devoted to the period, the comma, the semicolon, the colon, quotation marks, the dash and parentheses, the paragraph and section break, and a cumulative chapter on integrating them all into "The Symphony of Punctuation." Filled with exercises and examples from literary masters (Why did Poe and Melville rely on the semicolon? Why did Hemingway embrace the period?), A Dash of Style is interactive, highly engaging, and a necessity for creative writers as well as for anyone looking to make punctuation their friend instead of their mysterious foe."

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The Chicago Manual of Style - The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers
The University of Chicago Press
From the Publisher: [link]
Online: [link]

Description:

"In the 1890s, a proofreader at the University of Chicago Press prepared a single sheet of typographic fundamentals intended as a guide for the University community. That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and the pamphlet grew into a book—the first edition of the Manual of Style, published in 1906. Now in its fifteenth edition, The Chicago Manual of Style—the essential reference for authors, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers in any field—is more comprehensive and easier to use than ever before."

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2008 Writer's Market
By Robert Brewer
On Amazon: [link]
Website: [link]

Description:

- Features more than 3,500 completely updated listings.
- Includes five new sections (Newspapers, Syndicates, Screenwriting, Playwriting, Greeting Cards).
- Features exclusive articles and interviews with successful writers.

"The 2008 Writer's Market features all the great information writers have to come to expect for more than 80 years and then some. This edition takes Writer's Market to a new level of excellence with high profile author interviews and five new market sections. Of course, it's still packed with all the information writers rely on year after year including the keys to successful query letters, advice on how much to charge, articles from successful writers, as well as listings for book publishers, magazines, lierary agents and more!"

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How to Publish Your Novel - A Complete Guide to Making the Right Publisher Say Yes (Square 1 Writers Guides)
By Kenneth John Atchity with Julie Mooney and Andrea McKeow
From the Publisher: [link]
On Amazon: [link]

Description:

"John Grisham, Toni Morrison, Danielle Steele, Stephen King, and Anne Rice--all successful novelists whose new books immediately rise to the top of the bestsellers list. Yet there was a time when even they were struggling to sell their first stories. The truth is that getting a first novel in print is no easy task. The roadblocks that face a novice writer are immense, but these obstacles can be surmounted. To help all those budding authors negotiate the difficult road that lies ahead, literary manager Ken Atchity has written How to Publish Your Novel--a guide that provides the knowledge and strategies needed to get a work of fiction into print.

"How to Publish Your Novel is like having a friend in the business. Here are all the rules and tools you need to make your dreams of being published come true."

Read first chapter: amazon.com/gp/reader/0757000495/ref=sib_fs_top?ie=UTF8& p=S009&checkSum=dNnZboR4Qlk3sd%2FSsg92DB9ap9nwF89k3zgjitNrwbo%3D#reader-link

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The New Birth Order Book - Why You Are the Way You Are
By Dr. Kevin Leman
On Amazon: [link]

Description:

"If you ever wondered why your older sister screamed at you for misplacing her nail polish or why your bratty little brother couldn't sit still at the dinner table, the two of you would do well to read this book. Author and psychologist Kevin Leman, a last born child, investigates the psychology of birth order, which deems that our sex and where we fall among our siblings can have profound affects on our attitudes and behavior. He provides plenty of examples from his own family and ensures that you aren't the only one who thinks your siblings need straightening out.

"The whys of each 'birth order,' i.e. first born, middle child, last born, only child, are examined. First borns and only children, for example, can be pressured from a young age to act as little adults because they don't have the benefit of interaction with siblings. Hence, they often fill leadership positions. Middle children prove to be great mediators because they have learned to juggle the extremes of older and younger siblings, while last borns capitalize on the mistakes of their older brothers and sisters.

"This book is an amusing yet insightful read. In addition to explaining 'why you are the way you are,' Leman suggests how we can adopt the positive qualities of other birth orders to make our lives more enjoyable and fulfilling. As he carefully points out, birth order psychology is not a sure bet on everyone you encounter in life, but what you pick up from his book will leave you with some pretty good guesses."

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Body Trauma- A Writer's Guide to Wounds and Injuries
By David W. Page MD, FACS
From the Publisher: [link]

Description:

"From murder/mystery to medical fiction--from trauma, mass casualties, or blunt trauma, surgeon and trauma expert Dr. David W. Page is a writer’s best friend.

"Whether your fictional character is a detective investigating a crime or a doctor racing down the hallways toward an emergency, it’s a given that someone is hurt. Credible storytelling is the key to plausibility and Dr. Page offers the perfect prescription.

"Body Trauma explains what happens to body organs and bones maimed by accident or intent and the small window of opportunity for emergency treatment. You'll learn about what goes on in a hospital operating room and the personnel who initiate treatment. Use these facts and bring a new realism to your stories and novels.

"Here you'll find graphic explorations of serious bodily damage. You'll be able to work backward, deciding how severe a character's wounds should be and then writing the action that causes the pain. You'll put your characters in harm's way and mistreat them-believability-to within an inch of their fictional lives."

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The Writer magazine
On Amazon: [link]
Website: [link]

Description:

"Today's best-selling writers discuss dialogue, plotting, characterization, suspense, romantic fiction; non-fiction writers cover interviewing, research, finding good subjects, how and when to query, turning personal experience into salable articles and books."

In the current issue:

Top experts offer their best advice on writing, submitting and marketing children's stories. Get a glimpse inside the writing life of Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Albert Urrea. Find out how to make money by writing business plans. Your nose knows: Use the connection between scent and emotion to spice up your writing. Plus, 10 important tips for self-publishing authors.