I'm new at trying to write stories. Maybe I've soaked up enough subconsciously in decades of reading and maybe not, but I'm also doing some reading on the art and structure of storytelling. Some writer's make more sense than others.
Does anyone have recommendations of a book about storytelling that really affected the way you approach writing?
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin is the only book on the craft of fiction that has worked for me.
He can confirm, but I read it as the creative side. He's asking for books about storytelling, not grammar/style.
Yes. Storytelling. Structure, elements, layers. The Hero's Journey. Three Act Structure. Even genre specific. That kind of thing. I'm looking to develop a way of seeing stories that helps me spot strengths and weaknesses and develop better stories.
"Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing" by David Morrell.
He taught "American Literature" at the University of Iowa and then became a full-time novelist. His first novel, "First Blood," spawned the Rambo character, although his novel was quite different than the Hollywood movie.
He explains how to write fiction very well, but also gets into literary agents, the publishing industry, and Hollywood. He has a cynical view of Hollywood, but admits they made him a fortune by not killing off Rambo as he had done in the novel.
I found the book in my local public library. If I remember, the writing books were in the 800 series in the library.