The Historical Novel, by Jerome de Groot
While not specifically a book on craft, this provides a fascinating look at the history and development of the historical novel and its place in the broader literary conversation. For writers of historical fiction, an understanding of the depth and range of this genre as well as the important role it assumes in both literature and culture can hopefully encourage those of us who sometimes feel this oldest and most consequential of the fiction genres has been overlooked, devalued, or coopted by politics in recent years.
The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better, by Will Storr
If you’ve ever wondered what psychology and neuroscience have to say about why humans react so powerfully and return so often to certain stories, tropes, and characters—and have done so for as long as humanity can remember—this book might interest you. While psychologists since at least Freud and Jung have been interested in the hold mythology has over the human psyche, modern science has developed new techniques for exploring what those connections might be, why they exist, and how they affect us—as well as how we can engage them to affect others.
I found the book useful for understanding how readers process story information and details so that writers can best guide a reader through the narrative to the envisioned experience. I think some writers discover these techniques intuitively the way some pick up grammar by ear (I couldn't diagram a sentence if my life depended on it!) I tend to learn more by osmosis, so I’m not sure how much of this information I’ll intentionally incorporate into my writing, but it’s a fascinating read.
Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story, by John Yorke
While most writers have been drilled in the three-act structure since grade school, Yorke makes a good case for a more complex plot division which brings nuance and interest to the predictable format. While he’s at it, he also provides some great insights into elements that deepen character and story. I found this to be one of the more thoughtful books on writing I’ve read in a long time, and it made me go back into my story and tweak quite a few of my characters and plot points.
On Moral Fiction, by John Gardner
I went into this book honestly not knowing what to expect. I think I was anticipating a bit of a proto-woke diatribe about the need for fiction to take an activist stance on some socially just cause. Thankfully, it was quite the opposite. Gardner’s main thesis is essentially that, to be art, literature has to be about something more than its style, plot, or prose. Rather, it should explore a moral question about what makes human life worthwhile. However, it should do so without being didactic or using the work to moralize, which can be a fine line to walk.
Even if, like me, you aren’t thoroughly convinced by his position that moral art can produce a moral society (I’d argue the reverse—that art mirrors and interrogates, reinforces and celebrates the existing values of its society), it is valuable to step back from our work and ask: Why? To what end do I create the lives of these characters within this story? If, as an artist, you don’t have an answer that satisfies you, maybe your story isn’t finished yet…?
Good stuff.
I'm beginning to think our minds are somehow linked. I wrote this morning on writing too. Loved this and am going to check out a few of the recommended books. Thanks.