Top Writing books curated by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we have connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favouriteWriting books – and here are the answers.

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Top Writing books recommended by experts
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Fundamentals of Writing

Understanding the concepts of Writing starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Garner's Modern English Usage

Garner's Modern English Usage

With more than a thousand new entries and more than 2,300 word-frequency ratios, the magisterial fourth edition of this book-now renamed Garner's Modern English Usage (GMEU)-reflects usage lexicography at its finest. Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary with thoroughness, finess…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Don't Make Me Think

Don't Make Me Think

Five years and more than 100,000 copies after it was first published, it's hard to imagine anyone working in Web design who hasn't read Steve Krug's "instant classic" on Web usability, but people are still discovering it every day. In this second edition, Steve adds three new chapters in the sam…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)

Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)

It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways arou…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose

Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose

Today’s writers need more spunk than Strunk: whether it's the Great American e-mail, Madison Avenue advertising, or Grammy Award-winning rap lyrics, memorable writing must jump off the page. Copy veteran Constance Hale is on a mission to make creative communication, both the lyrical and the unla…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Artist's Way

The Artist's Way

Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressur…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Writing Life

The Writing Life

The writing life is the short story book which has seven chapters. It talks about how to become a good writer and how to create a good writing by passing through the perspective and personal experience of Annie Dillard.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Additional Writing Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Writing, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Writing Down the Bones

Writing Down the Bones

For more than twenty years Natalie Goldberg has been challenging and cheering on writers with her books and workshops. In her groundbreaking first book, she brings together Zen meditation and writing in a new way. Writing practice, as she calls it, is no different from other forms of Zen practic…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Making Shapely Fiction

Making Shapely Fiction

Here is a book about the craft of writing fiction that is thoroughly useful from the first to the last page―whether the reader is a beginner, a seasoned writer, or a teacher of writing. You will see how a work takes form and shape once you grasp the principles of momentum, tension, and immediacy…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

A succinct, engaging, and practical guide forsucceeding in any creative sphere, The War ofArt is nothing less than Sun-Tzu for the soul. What keeps so many of us from doing what we long to do? Why is there a naysayer within? How can we avoid theroadblocks of any creative endeavor—be it starting …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Self-editing for Fiction Writers

Self-editing for Fiction Writers

In this completely revised and updated second edition, Renni Browne and Dave King teach you, the writer, how to apply the editing techniques they have developed to your own work. Chapters on dialogue, exposition, point of view, interior monologue, and other techniques take you through the same p…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434

Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434

For decades, Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434 class at UCLA has been the premier screenwriting course, launching a generation of the industry's most frequently produced writers. Here, he shares the secrets of his course on the screenwriting process by actually writing an original script, step by s…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Writing the Breakout Novel

Writing the Breakout Novel

Writing the Breakout Novel is a craft book written by a famous literary agent that discusses the strategies necessary for a writer to create a successful breakout novel. The book is split into eleven chapters, which include Premise, Stakes, Time and Place, Plot, and Theme.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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