33 Books Writers Need On Their Bookshelves

courtesy of Saltygal

By Jennifer Blanchard

All writers have bookshelves filled with a variety of books about writing–from writing reference books to writing idea books to editing books.

I, myself, am no stranger to books about writing. In fact, my bookshelf is loaded with them. Each book about writing signifies not only how far I’ve come as a writer, but what I’ve learned along the way.

So I wanted to share my list of can’t-live-without-them books. Here’s what’s on my bookshelf currently. The books with the * next to them are the books I highly, highly recommend you read if you haven’t already:

• Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
• Write Is A Verb: Sit Down, Start Writing, No Excuses by Bill O’Hanlon *
• Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
• How to Write Best-Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz
• On Writing, by Stephen King *
• the Writer’s Market
• the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market
• Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott *
• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King *
• The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman *
• The Writer’s Idea Book, by Jack Heffron *
• Create A Character Clinic, by Holly Lisle *
• What If? by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
• Writing Fiction, by Janet Burroway
• A Dash of Style, by Noah Lukeman
• Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
• The Elements of Style by Strunk and White *
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes
• The Writer’s Book of Hope by Ralph Keyes
• A dictionary (mine is a combination dictionary and thesaurus) *
• A thesaurus *
• How To Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead by Ariel Gore
• 1001 Ways To Market Your Books by John Kremer
• The Artist Way by Julia Cameron *
• The Writer’s Handbook by Barry Turner
• Style: Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph Williams
• How To Write A Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey
• Pen On Fire by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett *
• The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell *
• The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock: The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Selling More Work Faster by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell *
• Revision by Michael Legat
• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield  *

What books about writing do you have on your bookshelf? What books about writing do you recommend others read?

Note: None of these recommendations are affiliate links. I just wanted to recommend some books about writing that have greatly helped me learn what I know today. These are books I return to time and time again for advice, motivation, inspiration and on occasion, a good laugh or two.