All the Craft Books, but Not All at Once
Resources for Each Stage of the Creative Process
Hello Protagonists!
Welcome to another entry in Author Diaries—where we take you behind the scenes of writing and publishing.
In this post, you’ll find:
✨ What’s Filling My Creative Well: The Coaching Way Course with Tara Mohr
🕵🏻♀️ Behind the Scenes: A list of great craft books and resources crowdsourced from the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE community
As always, thank you for being here, not just as readers, but as fellow story-lovers and co-dreamers of this beautiful, bookish life.
xo, Joanna
✨ What’s Filling My Creative Well
Currently learning: The Coaching Way course with Tara Mohr. I am really enjoying learning more ways to help others find and align with their inner wisdom, while meeting amazing people interested in deep connection. If you’re not into coaching but love Tara’s idea of using your voice in a bigger way, I heard great things about her Playing Big course, too.
Currently reading: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett - I enjoyed The Tainted Cup for our April book club so much that I picked up the next in the series right away. I have yet to meet someone who didn’t enjoy this novel! I’m looking forward to the third in the series, A Trade of Blood, coming out in August.
All the Craft Books, but Not All at Once
Do you remember when you first learned about the craft of writing?
I wrote an entire novel before knowing that story structure was even a concept. Then Martha Alderson, The Plot Whisperer, blew my mind during her session at the San Francisco Writers Conference. Ever since, I’ve collected all the craft books. And this month, I polled the Creative, Inspired, ALIVE community about your favorites too.
Along the way, I realized that different resources are needed at different parts of the creative process, and having them sorted by stage might help us find the right book at the right time.
Before you scroll through, one of our members shared the best piece of craft advice she had heard: “Don’t try to implement all of the advice at once, and when choosing a method for structure, pick ONE. Otherwise, it gets too overwhelming.” Thanks, Cate! I second that. So, here are all the craft books, but take them one at a time.
Plot and Story Structure
Books to help you outline if you’re a plotter or figure out the spine of the story in revisions if you’re a panster.
Structuring Your Novel by K.M. Weiland
Hooked by Les Edgerton
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
Wired for Story and Story Genius by Lisa Cron
Developing Character
Books to help you discover your characters’ strengths, flaws, and paths towards transformation.
Creating Character Arcs by K.M. Weiland
The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson (Not a craft book, but an amazing tool for developing cogent characters.)
Refining Sentences and Language
Books to help you make each line sparkle during your later revisions.
Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Neal Allen and Anne Lamott
Sin and Syntax: How to Create Wicked Good Prose by Constance Hale
How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
Memoir + Craft Advice from Famous Authors
Books to serve as wise mentors on our journeys.
On Writing by Stephen King
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont
Writing, Creativity, and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd
This is our May Book Club pick! Join us for our meeting on Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Discussion Qs and more info HERE.
Genre/Form Specific Recommendations
Even if you don’t write these genres, learning from them helps expand your writing in unexpected ways.
Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
Romancing the Beats: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction by Jeff VanderMeer
The Magic-System Blueprint: A Fiction Writer's Guide to Building Magic Systems by CR Rowenson
Deep Craft with a Spiritual Perspective
Books that go beyond content to touch on the deeper meaning of our work.
The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Creative Inspiration
Books that are particularly helpful when you’re stuck, uninspired, or even a bit crushed by it all.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
The Creative Act by Rick Ruben
We Need Your Art by Aime McNee
Workflow and Habits
Books to help you get your butt in the chair and do the work every day.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Other Community Recommendations
All of K.M. Weiland and Sacha Black
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
Where Do You Hang Your Hammock?: Finding Peace of Mind While You Write by Bella Mahaya Carter
Gentle Writing Advice: How to be a Writer Without Destroying Yourself by Chuck Wendig
Share more in the comments!
📚 How many of these have you read?
💙 Did we miss any of your favorites?
💡When did you learn about the craft of writing?
I loved The Emotional Craft of Fiction and Writing the Breakout Novel also by Donald Maass.
What a great list! Thank you for compiling it! I have saved the email so that I can have it as a reference. :) For me the two KM Weiland books you mentioned truly helped, especially if you use them together. I generally think that for the protagonist, the character arc and story arc are interlinked. Also, using the enneagram to aid in developing characters and their behavior was also very helpful for me.