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How to write a novel (creative writing)
No Plot? No Problem!: A High-velocity, Low-stress Way to Write a Novel in 30 DaysNo Plot? No Problem!: A High-velocity, Low-stress Way to Write a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £0.33
Baty: A fabulous book. This is the one that made me write a novel in a month. Irreverent, hilarious and: it works.
On WritingOn Writing by Stephen King
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £3.99
King: Down-to-earth advice, and interesting to see what a bestselling mega-star has to say and how it's not so different from others authors say.
The Creative Writing Coursebook: Forty Authors Share Advice and Exercises for Fiction and PoetryThe Creative Writing Coursebook: Forty Authors Share Advice and Exercises for Fiction and Poetry
Buy new: £10.49 / Used from: £3.99
UEA: Various essays of different quality with some useful nuggets scattered throughout.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the NovelThirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley
Buy new: £11.89 / Used from: £2.32
Smiley: Fantastic advice and eminently hands-on useful. Half of the book is a plot summary of 100 novels; I didn't find those as good as the 'how to write / revise your novel' chapters.
Writers on WritingWriters on Writing
Buy used from: £10.93
Writers on Writing: A great collection of 'how I do it' essays, based on very good interviews with authors at the Adelaide Festival in Australia. Incl. Vikram Seth, Claire Messud and many more.
Exercises in StyleExercises in Style by Raymond Queneau
Buy used from: £27.35
Queneau: The brilliant and hilarious classic of how to write the same inane anecdote in 99 differrent ways. Truly liberating. This made me write a host of experimental stories. Great fun.
Exercices De StyleExercices De Style by Queneau
Buy used from: £4.99
Queneau (French): The same book in French so you can savour the brilliance and wit of the original.
How to Write a NovelHow to Write a Novel by John Braine
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £2.65
Braine: Useful, no-nonsense, hands-on advice on how to write a mainstream novel.