Five Books That Changed the Way I Write

Over the years, I've read dozens of books on writing--everything from nit-pickety grammar guides to wild, artistic memoirs. Writing books are a great place to seek encouragement or advice when you're stuck in your work, and sometimes they can change your process completely. Here are five that have earned a permanent place on my desk:

1. Writing Tools Roy Peter Clark

What Changed? This book forever altered how I structure sentences and edit stories. Not only does it explain why writers should avoid adverbs and the passive tense, it tells us why powerful sentences start with subject and verb.

What You Won't Find Anywhere Else: A chapter on how the -ing suffix can weaken your writing. I've never seen this advice anywhere else, but after I put it into practice, my sentence-level revision options narrowed, and my writing became clearer.

2. Writing Down the Bones Natalie Goldberg

What Changed? One piece of advice was everything: "Keep your hand moving across the page." Thinking of writing in terms of raw, physical motion, instead of crafted phrases or original art, took the pressure off my first drafts and increased my productivity.

What You Won't Find Anywhere Else: Most of the time, when people think of timed writing prompts, the point of the timer is to keep you from writing something ridiculously long. Goldberg inverts this: She sets a timer for however many minutes, and you're not allowed to stop writing until then--not even to change a sentence or correct a typo.

3. Bird by Bird Anne Lamott

What Changed? This was the first book that ever told me first drafts could be bad. As nasty and messy and raw as you like. Once you give yourself permission to write it badly, a new door is opened to the world of revision and improvement.

What You Won't Find Anywhere Else: Lamott's "one-inch picture frame." It turns out the human mind is lazy and anxiety-ridden, and as such, faces the blank page and looming next chapter with fear. So don't write the next chapter. Just focus on the next scene, or next description, or next conversation. View your story through a "one-inch picture frame," and only write what you can see.

4. The Elements of Style William Strunk and EB White

What Changed? "Auxiliaries and conditionals" such as would, should, could, may, might, and can weaken writing. Definite terms such as will or was make it stronger.

What You Won't Find Anywhere Else: Antique grammar, for example: "The preferable form of the participle is got, not gotten."

5. Beate Not the Poore Desk Walter Wangerin, Jr.

What Changed? Writer's ethics. When you wield the power of creation, you're bound to obey certain rules in order to use your abilities for good.

What You Won't Find Anywhere Else: A thorough definition of the concept of 'scop,' which literally means shaper, and was also an Old English oral poet and storyteller. It's a potent example of how stories can change reality.