Here are some self-study materials for writers I’ve found helpful on my quest to develop a skill set. This material covers a wide range of authorship, point of view, and time. These books are geared toward better writing (and story telling) with some more pertinent than others to various modalities, say fiction, non-fiction, plays, screenplays, magazine articles, etc.
THE LIST:
{In alphabetical order by Author}
William Archer
Play-making (1912)
Aristotle
The Nicomachean Ethics
Poetics
Robert Bly
Iron John: A Book About Men
Note: I’m not aware of a similar book relevant to women. If you know of one, please let me know. Thank you.
Julia Cameron
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (1992 – Updated 2002 & 2016)
Joseph Campbell
The Power of Myth (1991 collaboration with Bill Moyers)
The Hero’s Journey (2003 Ed.)
The Hero With A Thousand Faces (3rd Ed. 2008)
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
On The Art of Writing (1916)
Shawn Coyne
Story Grid 101 (2020)
T.S. Eliot
Christianity and Culture (1939, 1948)
Syd Field
Screenplay – The Foundations of Screenwriting (1982)
The Screenwriter’s Workbook (1984)
H. W. Fowler
A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (2009, Oxford University Press)
William Goldman
Adventures In The Screen Trade (1983)
Carl G. Jung {Volumes Selected From Jung’s collected works.}
Symbols of Transformation (1956 Ed.)
Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, (1966 Ed.)
The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (1981 Ed.)
Stephen King
On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft (2010 Ed.)
Vicki King
How to Write a Movie in 21 Days (1988)
Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing (2001-2007)
Patricia Ryan Madson
improv wisdom (2005)
Robert McKee
STORY – Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (1997)
STORYNOMICS (2018) Co-authored with Thomas Gerace, CEO of Skyword
John McPhee
Draft No. 4 – On The Writing Process (2017)
Maureen Murdock
The Heroine’s Journey: Woman’s Quest for Wholeness (2020)
Carol S. Pearson
Awakening the Heroes Within: 12 Archetypes to Help Us Find Ourselves and Transform Our World (2015)
PLATO
Timaeus and Critias
Steven Pressfield
The War of Art – Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles (2002)
Turning Pro – Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work (2012)
Nobody Wants to Read Your SH*T – And Other Tough Love Truths to Make You a Better Writer (2016)
Vladimir Propp
Morphology of the Folktale (2nd Ed. 1968)
William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
The Elements of Style (4th Ed.)
Blake Synder
Save The Cat! (2005)
Brenda Ueland
If You Want To Write – A Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit (1938)
Christopher Vogler
The Writer’s Journey – Mythic Structure For Writers (3rd Ed. 2007)
John E. Warriner
Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition (1982 Franklin Ed. or other)
Merriam-Webster
Dictionary of English Usage (1994)