Favorite Writing Books?

plus recommended books by Melissa Lozada-Oliva & Laura Picklesimer, recommended music by Palehound, and a 34-song playlist of new music

This week

Kate McKean

asked for writing book recommendations on Twitter, then listed her findings at

Agents and Books

. This made me think of the writing books I have found useful, as well as those I haven’t.

Books that offer writing advice can often be loosely sorted into two categories: cheerleaders and tacticians. Cheerleaders offer support and guidance about the writing life, while tacticians share technical tips.

I prefer tactical books, my writer friends and colleagues are quick to fill in with support, and I often find something new and thought-provoking in the books that specialize in craft advice.

A few of my favorite recent writing books include Matt Bell’s Refuse To Be Done, which offers thoughtful and concise tips on writing a novel in three drafts and

Matthew Salesses stacks subs

’s Craft in the Real World, which examines the state of craft and workshopping (a topic I often think about as I head back to school this fall for the second year of my MFA).

I frequently return to the books in Graywolf’s “The Art of” series for guidance, specifically Stacey D’Erasmo’s The Art of Intimacy and Peter Ho Davies’ The Art of Revision.

What are your favorite writing books?

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This week’s playlist of new music:

This week’s subscriber playlist includes 34 tracks and 2 hours and 3 minutes of new music from the Mountain Goats, Madeline Kenney, Molly Burch, Juliana Hatfield, Squirrel Flower, beabadobee, and much more.