Quill, Parchment, & Ink

I’ve been promising for a while that I would make a list of my writing books and post them. I finally sat down tonight (after gathering them up) and made a list of the books, then looked them up on Amazon.com. These are the ones I either use frequently or are beginning to use. A few of them I just bought this past weekend and am just beginning to page through. Some of them I have used in the past for teaching.


If you have a book or six that you use and would like to recommend, drop me a link and I’ll check it out…I’m always looking for more books.


I broke them into categories and even though I didn’t include summaries, I did include links. A couple I’ve had for a while so they might be out of print.


Enjoy! And let me know if you have them or get them or find anything here helpful. :-)





Prompt Books

The Daily Spark Journal Writing warm-up activities


A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words: image-driven story prompts and exercises for writers by Phillip Sexton Photos by Tricia Bateman


Write Starts: Prompts, Quotes, and Exercises to Jumpstart Your Creativity by Hal Zina Bennett


The Pocket Muse: ideas and inspirations for writing by Monica Wood







Reference Books

The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp by Sgt. Michael Volkin


The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation by N.E. Genge


The Writer’s Complete Fantasy Reference from the Editors of Writer’s Digest Books


The New College Latin and English Dictionary by John C. Traupman, Ph.D. 2007


The Writer’s Digest Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon







Grammar/Vocabulary Books

504 Absolutely Essential Words: 5th Edition by Murray Bloomberg


Painless Grammar by Rebecca Elliott, Ph.D.


Eats, Shoots & Leaves (Illustrated Edition) by Lynne Truss (caution—British version)


Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty







How To Books

Painless Writing by Jeffrey Strausser


Bullies, Bastards, and Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys of Fiction by Jessica Page Morrell


45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt


Beginnings, Middles, & Endings by Nancy Kress


Conflict, Action, & Suspense by William Noble


The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes & Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes by Tami D. Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders


Plot versus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Great Fiction by Jeff Gerke


Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress


Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella







Inspirational Books

It Takes a Certain Type to be a Writer by Erin Barrett and Jack Mingo


Under the Covers and Between the Sheets (The Inside story behind classic characters, authors, unforgettable phrases, and unexpected endings) by C. Alan Joyce and Sarah Janssen


Fondling Your Muse: Infallible Advice from a Published Author to the Writerly Aspirant by John Warner


Bang the Keys: four steps to a lifelong writing practice by Jill Dearman