books on books (the loft #1)
recs for readers who not-so-secretly want to be writers
greetings, substack squad. welcome to the loft!
the loft, my loft, is the magical upper level of my LA studio apartment turned office. fans of Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter may remember Simone’s iconic New York City apartment with a bathtub splat in the middle of her living room, and i’ve always felt like the loft is my bathtub — that one random/beautiful/bizarre “i’m a writer living in a big city in my 30s” kind of thing.
and seeing as the loft has become my writing space…it feels like as good a place as any to offer you some unsolicited writing advice.
again i say, welcome!
the more time i spend online, the more i notice the distinct types of content that writers share: content for readers, and content for other writers. so the idea with creating this offshoot of my substack is to start a series of easy-to-find articles with my advice to other creatives.
today, i thought i’d kick things off by sharing some of my favorite books to help with the craft and inspiration of writing. kindly note i’m not going to recommend Stephen King’s On Writing, but only because that one should go without saying!
alright. methinks that’s enough ado.
let’s get into it…
1) The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron
what it is: a 12-week “artistic recovery” program with daily and weekly prompts/challenges/artist dates for the creative (and/or the creatively blocked).
why i recommend it for writers: the first time i read The Artist’s Way was in March 2020, and boy oh boy did the “media deprivation week” hit HARD in lockdown! despite that experience, or maybe because of it, i continue to suggest this book to everyone i know — and i try to reread it once a year as a sparkly little brain refresher (think: flossing). my favorite takeaway was the practice of morning pages, which involves sitting down every morning to write 3 pages by hand (sometimes guided by Cameron’s prompts, sometimes not). trust me, there’s a reason why i’m putting this book at #1. should you take away only one thing from this listicle, let it be that this book can be life-changing…if you let it be.
2) Meander, Spiral, Explode, Jane Alison
what it is: a dreamy analysis of narrative structure, including (but not limited to) texture, symmetry, repetition, and color. yes…color!
why i recommend it for writers: if you already know what parataxis and hypotaxis are, you’re gonna love this book. if you don’t (and i didn’t), i kinda think you need to read this book! Alison’s writing is a beautiful and accessible presentation of the dramatic arc and why we tell stories the way we do (my favorite being the paratactic phrase), in addition to offering suggestions for how to switch things up. the only drawback is that i haven’t read all the books she references, but that’s hardly anyone’s fault but my own. we’re currently reading Meander in my book club (hi guys!), and i can let you know what the rest of the crew thinks after we meet next.
ps…did you know the word text comes from the Latin texere, to weave…?
(edit: ps. ps. oh god i just realized i sound exactly like my grandfather with the Latin thing!)
3) Save The Cat, Blake Snyder
what it is: The Book for screenwriting.
why i recommend it for (ALL) writers: okay. so. some people love this book, some people hate this book. i get it. but i believe that’s the very reason why you must read this book — whether you’re a fiction writer, poet, screenwriter, blogger, game writer, etc.. Save The Cat was a mandatory read on our college syllabus, and i always start by plotting my projects ( tv, film, manuscript, or other) with some version of Snyder’s rules. do i always follow the rules? nope! but the quicker you draw yourself a box, the sooner you can think outside of it. in other words:
also, for you author types out there — know there is a Save The Cat for novels, but i prefer the screenwriting classic. it keeps me thinking visually, across all mediums!
4) In The Blink Of An Eye, Walter Murch
what it is: film editing for emotion b4 anything else.
why i recommend it for writers: this is another book recommended to me by my first screenwriting professor (shout out, Professor Giglio), and it details the author’s experience editing several projects including The English Patient. you might be surprised to see so many screenwriting books on my list, not to mention a book about film editing, but i promise you that learning to think of stories in their most simple, visual form can only help you write (in any format) more economically, visually, and emotionally. blink twice if you understand.
5) Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
what it is: a study of punctuation in the English language (!)
why i recommend it for writers: starting when i was in elementary school, my Nanu would bring home every single book about writing that she found, and i still remember the day she walked through the kitchen belly-laughing about this one — she also loved pandas, and nothing could top the image of one of these furry friends shooting up a dive bar because of one too many commas! seeing as this book was written in 2003, i’d love to know what Truss thinks about the state of grammatical affairs today. and if my Nanu was still here, i’d love to tell her that i saw my first panda IRL last weekend:
quick aside: you may have noticed i try to keep my substacks as sloppy as possible (under-capitalized, “iMessage casual”, etc). this is because i was frustrated by how my computer automatically corrects my work, and writing it “wrong” makes me slow down and think more. just trying to keep the muscles fresh by doing something different…y’know?
6) Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
what it is: advice on writing and life (aka: brick by brick).
why i recommend it for writers: i think i found this one on TikTok? unsure. but i enjoyed it! each of Lamott’s anecdotes felt like a warm little literary hug, and my favorite point that she makes is how writing becomes its own reward. But for that, I’ll let Lamott explain with her brilliant and dry and earnest (that was a paratactic phrase) (and that is what we call a callback) sense of humor:
“Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do — the actual act of writing — turns out to be the best part…I tell my students that the odds of their getting published and of it bringing them financial security, peace of mind, and even joy are probably not that great. Ruin, hysteria, bad skin, unsightly tics, ugly financial problems, maybe; but probably not peace of mind. I tell them that I think they ought to write anyway.”
7) Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
what it is: a collection of letters written by the Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke to Franz Xaver Kappus. Kappus wrote to the popular poet from 1902 to 1908, seeking advice on deciding between his own literary career or a career with the Austro-Hungarian Army (was he the OG Troy Bolton you ask!? perhaps, i say!).
why i recommend it for writers: although he initially refused to read Kappus’ poetry, in later letters Rilke describes to Kappus how a poet (not just their poetry) should feel, think, and view the world. also, i’m Hungarian. and this is one my Nanu forced on me.
8) The Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White
what it is: a style guide for formal grammar used in American English writing.
why i recommend it for writers: two big reasons. one — the list of 49 “words and expressions commonly misused.” two — the list of 57 “words often misspelled.” and know i say this as someone who still has to Google “definitely” for the right spelling. every…single…time…!
9) Consider This, Chuck Palahniuk
what it is: a memoir by the writer of Fight Club (and others).
why i recommend it for writers: to be honest, i picked up this book up by accident. because for several years i had a policy of avoiding all things Fight Club related, which may or may not have had to do with avoiding all things related to a Fight Club-obsessed ex. however, i LOVE this book! Palahniuk’s advice is unique, zany, and almost literally cartwheels off the page, keeping you hooked from the moment you start. don’t believe me? check out his author photo on the back cover, and the story behind it. then let’s talk.
and that concludes our very first edition of the loft!
have you read any of the books on my list? and did you like them? hate them? or do you have any others to share with the class? if so, please comment below!
also, if there are any writing-specific topics that you want me to tackle in future iterations, please let me know by taking this survey.
AND if you liked reading this, and/or you want to judge the effectiveness of these resources in my “real” writing, remember to preorder yourself a copy of my debut ya book: KILL THE LAX BRO. only 67 days until pub day!
more soon xo