4 Must-Read Books for Writers
In the bibisco blog, we have provided many tips on how to write a novel, what narrative techniques to use, and how to build characters. However, there are indispensable readings in a future writer’s library, without which they would lack a righteous source of inspiration. For this reason, in this article, we propose four books you should read.
Why Recommend 4 Books You Should Read?
Narrative techniques are important; it forms the basis of the writer’s craft. But it also takes practice.
It is a bit like learning a foreign language. You start with grammar and then move on to conversation, without which you could not express yourself.
The books we recommend are excellent insights from various genres, showing how narrative techniques, dialogue, characters, and stories develop. Let’s see together what they are.
4 Must-Read Books for Writers: #1 The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
In a parallel universe dominated by a powerful organization, the Magisterium, each person has at their side a dæmon, their soul in animal form, with which the person communicates and which stays nearby, unlike witches who have bird-shaped dæmons and who can also move away from the human.
Lyra Belacqua is an orphan and lives in Jordan College in Oxford with her uncle, Lord Asriel, a wealthy scientist. Together with her dæmon Pantalaimon, she comes to discover the existence of Dust, a bizarre natural particle whose power the organization holds.
Philip Pullman‘s novel can teach a lot about how to master a science fiction screenplay but also about the surprise effect.
Indeed, there are many twists and turns in this interesting read, and despite the variety and complexity of the characters, the reader never feels any sense of confusion. Everything is clearly detailed.
No less important, it is a novel that bases its entire narrative on an enchanted object: a compass.
We have already discussed this and the importance of telling about a magical object in a previous article on our blog. This book can be a great example of that.
4 Must-Read Books for Writers: #2 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
A second, very interesting but more technical read is definitely Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.
For a writer who wants to approach this fabulous craft in the right way, it is essential to get some advice from one of the most important and accomplished authors of our time: Stephen King. On writing, is an essay, part autobiography, and part writing manual.
In the text, Stephen King invents the concept of a “toolbox.” This is the image that every writer must possess and the tools in it that they must know how to use. The most common is vocabulary.
The writer says not to be ashamed of one’s vocabulary, not to try to force it or enrich it at all costs, as even the most “meager” vocabulary can still make for a very good read.
4 Must-Read Books for Writers: #3 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Among the 4 books you should read, we recommend And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
Ten guests are invited to spend time on a desert island by a stranger. One by one, however, they pay for their alleged sins with their lives. As the circle tightens, the suspense grows.
Great mystery novels teach how to master the plot and mislead the reader’s suspicions to hide the real culprit until the end of the narrative. This is something that is by no means easy to do. There are many aspects to remember, such as character building, motive, and the final twist.
In fact, Agatha Christie herself recounted how this was the most difficult novel to write in her entire career. But one of the undisputed queens of the thriller genre is Agatha Christie, who never bored or disappointed readers in her seemingly simple novels.
4 Must-Read Books for Writers: #4 Harry Potter series by J.K.Rowling
To conclude the recommendations on the 4 books you should read, among the masterpieces of fiction, we cannot fail to mention the entire Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling, a British writer, was able to think and create a world parallel to the human one for young and old alike.
The special feature of her novels is that they grow together with their readers. The early novels are more lighthearted, more childlike, and fun. Moving on to the later ones, however, we notice darker and darker elements that are part of the human soul, revealing aspects such as betrayals, jealousy, and fear.
Similarly and in keeping with the same philosophy of the fictional series, Warner Bros. also decided to darken the initial logo seen at the beginning of the Harry Potter movies, going from a bright gold in the first film to black in the last.
The series is about a young boy, Harry Potter, who lives in a small town near London with his aunt and uncle. On his fourteenth birthday, he discovers that he is a little wizard and that the wizarding school of Hogwarts is waiting to welcome him to its desks.
There he will meet Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who will become his best friends and with whom he will share many adventures as he searches for the truth about his past and Lord Voldemort, an evil figure in the wizarding world.
If you want to be a writer, there are two basic exercises: read a lot and write a lot
Stephen King
Can’t wait to start writing? bibisco is by your side!
With these 4 books you should read, have we enticed you to get to work right away? Don’t forget that as you think and write your narrative, bibisco can support you in several ways.
With its novel writing software, you can create your characters, keeping track of characters, physical characteristics, objects that appear in the story, and more. It will be like having an experienced writer guide you as you write your narrative.
Conclusions
Between all the techniques, suggestions, and tricks for writing a novel well that is interesting and keeps the reader breathless until the last pages, practice must be taken into account.
Part of this practice is precisely reading other books, other examples from which you can also draw inspiration. In this article, we have seen 4 Must-Read Books for Writers.
