I’ve been writing a long time. The most important tool that any writer can have is to be widely read. Not only will you pick up useful tips on the craft itself, but you will see what is out there in your particular genre. Seeing the way that writers handle plot twists, character development, and world building will help you to make decisions about which way you want your own work to go. Writing inspires more than just readers. It gives guidance to the next generation of writers on what is possible to achieve. I’ve enjoyed these books, and found so much in them that gave me ideas to continue with my own work. I hope that you will enjoy them, too.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

There are a million books out there on writing, but none of them can really teach you how to be a writer. King’s book is really a story of his own writing journey. He outlines the parts of writing, and makes you think about why you are using certain elements. Not enough people understand writing as a day job, and that’s the first thing King covers. Through the first part of the book, you’ll feel as if you spent an afternoon with a good friend regaling you with stories of his childhood. Then, he gets down to business and offers solid writing advice. So much of it will stick with you long after you put the book down, and some of it will bubble up in your mind while you are writing. He’s known as one of the best in the business for good reason. (By the way, he recommends Strunck and White’s The Elements of Style as a staple for your reference bookshelf, and so do I.)

Read On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Nine Tomorrows by Isaac Asimov

This was the first book I read that made me know I was reading science fiction. The concluding story, “The Ugly Little Boy,” is such an important story in science fiction that another great writer, Robert Silverberg, expanded it into a novel in 1991. Asimov had a gift for placing his ideas into the reader’s mind without seeming to pass through the printed word. As a stylist, it’s hard to beat him. He is still (as far as I know) the most prolific writer in the speculative fiction genre, ranging from science fiction books and short stories, young adult books, mysteries (both science fiction and mainstream), epics (The Foundation series in particular), non-fiction books and articles about every branch of science in existence in his lifetime, and joke collections. But I’ve always remembered how awestruck I felt when I read Nine Tomorrows.

Read Nine Tomorrows here on Amazon.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Part of Ms. Le Guin’s Hainish universe, The Left Hand of Darkness explores a culture in which gender doesn’t matter. The people of Gethen only exhibit sexual characteristics once a month, but are otherwise androgynous. Published in 1969, this book was groundbreaking literature, making readers consider how behavioral expectations are so often based upon gender stereotypes. Le Guin wrote a good deal about the psychology and sociology of her worlds more than the technology, but is also responsible for having invented the ansible, a device which allowed real-time communication across galactic distances.

Read The Left Hand of Darkness here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Like what you're reading?

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

This is the newest novel in my list, but I include it instead of Mr. Weir’s more famous book, The Martian, because it is more multi-layered in its approach to character and story development. It takes reveal after reveal for the reader to understand the main character, Ryland Grace, and his situation. Throughout the book, Weir loads a ton of science onto the reader. It feels overwhelming while you read it, but all of it is necessary to understand the crisis Grace left Earth to solve, how Grace survived, and how he sets about dealing with the problems that he faces – and you do understand it when you need to. Like in The Martian, he adds touches of humor on top of the harrowing circumstances. It has four successive “endings,” each of which a lesser writer might have used as the conclusion to their story, but only adds to the satisfaction of reading it. If you plan to write hard science fiction, read this to see how a master informs his reader without losing them in the process.

Grab Project Hail Mary here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland: The Essential Guide to Fantasy Travel by Diana Wynne Jones

And I don’t want to forget fantasy fans and aspiring writers thereof. This book made me laugh sheepishly all the way through. It appears to be a gazetteer for traveling through the world of fantasy literature – all fantasy books are set in the same place, don’t you know? – but it’s a useful writing guide as well. It makes shameless fun of the tropes that have become common in those books. Nearly all writers will find something in here that they have added to their epics without thinking about it (i.e. stew.) Laughter makes it easy to absorb and accept the faults in our writing. This book had been unavailable for a long while, but it’s back in a new edition. I advise you to check it out.

Grab The Tough Guide to Fantasyland here on Amazon.

Bonus reads: L. Ron Hubbard Presents the Writers of the Future

I have been the coordinating judge of the Writers of the Future Contest since 2022, and I am very proud of the anthologies the contest has produced. In each of these books, you will find excellent stories by twelve writers who may not be famous yet, but deserve to be. The contest has been running for over forty years now, and has given their first major publication to a number of notable authors, including the last man in my job, fantasy writer David Farland, as well as Patrick Rothfuss, Nnedi Okorafor, Eric Flint, K.D. Wentworth, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Susan Kroupa, and Dean Wesley Smith. These are the best of the best of thousands of entries, featuring space exploration, fantasy epics, romance, humor, dystopia, artificial intelligence, and first contact stories. Pick up any one of the forty volumes, and I am sure you will find plenty to enjoy.

Grab Writers of the Future here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.