What Is In My Classroom Library?
A list of craft books for the high school creative writing teacher
Most high schools do not employ a full-time creative writing teacher; schools generally offer creative writing as an elective taught by someone in the English department. I have spent the last twelve years in my dream job: a full-time creative writing position at a performing arts program embedded in a large urban high school. As such I have amassed a classroom library that is targeted only for writers of the creative persuasion, books which are typically not found in either English classroom libraries or high school media centers in general.
While I do have a library of mentor texts, including story collections, screenplays, poetry anthologies, and novels, I also have lots and lots of reference books that trend toward the trade and craft of writing all those genres as well. Having a speciality shelf in your classroom library for craft books is a great idea if for no other reason than to demonstrate to students that writers writing about writing is a thing. At a conference recently, a teacher asked me to suggest a few titles for the budding poet, novelist, and screenwriter in his classroom. So here are my suggestions:
Published by Harper Collins, The Best __ series is a volume of the best writing selected each year by a guest editor from hundreds of publications. These compact volumes usually have about twenty pieces in a variety of voices and styles. The series is a great way to introduce students to different literary journals and online publications they may not otherwise know about.
Friends donate these to me or I hunt for them at Half-Priced Books. My shelves of the different Best American Series includes back years of
Short Stories
Essays
Poetry
Sports Writing
Non-Required Reading
Mystery Writing
Spiritual Writing
Travel Writing
Nature Writing
Food Writing
Science Fiction
Fantasy
Published by Graywolf Press, The Art of__ series are slim volumes with minimalist design written by contemporary writers in a conversational tone on an important craft issue. Each book examines some element of writing and samples literature as mentor texts within the volume. You can read one of these in a single reading session, and students love them. They are not a “how to” manual, more of an "isn’t this interesting” conversation.
The Art of ________:
Perspective
Recklessness
Description
Death
Subtext
Time in Fiction
Time in Memoir
Intimacy
History
Daring
Syntax
Writer’s Digest also published a short Writing Great Fiction Series, which includes books on
Plot and Structure
Dialogue
Characters, Emotion, and Viewpoint
Description and Setting
And here are, in alphabetic order, the other books I have in my classroom library. Some are genre-driven or grammar-centric or how-to or process-related or aspirational. Others are formulaic recipe books for cooking up some words, and my students often like those the best.
624 Things To Write About from The San Francisco Writing Grotto
712 More Things to Write About from The San Francisco Writing Grotto
Ackerman, Angela, and Becca Puglisi. The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Flaws
Ackerman, Angela, and Becca Puglisi. The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes
Addonzio, Kim and Dorriane Laux. A Poet’s Companion
Alison, Jane. Meander, Spiral, and Explode
Allen, Edward. The Hands-on Fiction Workbook
Atwood, Margaret. Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing
Barrington, Judith. Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art
Barry, Lynda. What It Is
Baxter, Charles. Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction
Behn, Robin and Chase Twichell. The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach
Bell, Matthew. Refuse to Be Done
Bell, Susan. The Artful Edit
Bernays, Anne and Pamela Painter. What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
Bly, Carol. Beyond the Writers’ Workshop
Blythe, Will, editor. On Being a Writer: Advice and Inspiration
Boisseau, Michelle, and Robert Wallace, Randall Mann. Writing Poems
Browne, Renni and Dave King. Self Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print
Burroway, Janet,and Elizabeth Stuckey-French. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Burroway, Janet. Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft
Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Carlson, Ron. Ron Carlson Write a Story
Caro, Robert. Working
Casagrande, June. It was the best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences.
Clark, Kevin. The Mind’s Eye: A Guide to Writing Poetry
Clark, Roy Peter. Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer
Coyne, Shawn. The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know
Cron, Lisa. Wired for Story
Cron, Lisa. Story Genius
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life
Dobyns, Stephen. Best Words, Best Order.
Dowst, Robert Saunders. The Technique of Fiction Writing
Dufresne, John. Is Life Like This?
Edgar, Christopher and Ron Padgett. Old Faithful: 18 Writers Present their Favorite Writing Assignments
Egri, Lajos. The Art of Dramatic Writing
Field, Syd. The Screenwriter’s Workbook
Fish, Stanley. How To Write a Sentence and How To Read One
Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel
Forster, Patricia, and Jeff Porter. Understanding the Essay
Friedman, Jane. The Business of Being a Writer
Gardner, John. The Art of Fiction
Gardner, John. On Writers and Writing
Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say
Gilbert, Elizabeth. Big Magic
Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
Goldberg, Natalie. The True Secret of Writing
Gornick, Vivian. The Story and the Situation
Gottschall, Jonathon. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
Gutkind, Lee. The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling Literature of Reality
Hale, Constance. Sin and Syntax
Hampl, Patricia. I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory
Handley, Ann. Everybody Writes
Heard, Georgia. Writing Toward Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way
Hugo, Richard. Triggering Town
Igelesias, Karl. The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters
Jen, Gish. Tiger Writing
Karr, Mary. The Art of Memoir
Keyes, Ralph. The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear
Kidder, Tracy and Richard Todd. Good Prose
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of Craft
Kitchen, Judith and Mary Paumier Jones, editors. In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Non-Fiction
Kiteley, Brian. The 3 AM Epiphany
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. Several Short Sentences about Writing
Kramer, Mark. Telling True Stories
Koch, Stephen. Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction
Kooser, Ted. The Poetry Home Repair Manual
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life
LaPlante, Alice. The Making of a Story
LaPlante, Alice. Method and the Madness.
Le Guin, Ursula. Steering the Craft
Lopate, Phillip. To Show and To Tell
Maisel, Eric. Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting and Completing Your Work of Art
May, Rollo. The Courage to Create
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics
McKee, Robert. Story
McKee, Robert. Dialogue.
McPhee, John. Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process
Neubach, Bonnie. The Write-Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate your Writing
Oates, Joyce Carol. The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art.
Oliver, Mary. A Poetry Handbook
Olmstead, Robert. Elements of the Writing Craft
Paris Review. Object Lessons
Paris Review. The Paris Review Interviews, Volumes 1-4
Pearson, Carol. Awakening The Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes
Percy, Benjamin. Thrill Me.
Pinker, Steven. The Sense of Style
Pinksy, Robert. Singing School
Pressfield, Steven. The War of Art: Breakthrough the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Prose, Francine. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
Rabiner, Susan and Alfred Fortunato. Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Non-Fiction and Get It Published
Roorbach, Bill. Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Memoirs
Salesses, Matt. Craft in the Real World
Schneider, Pat. Writing Alone and With Others
See, Carolyn. Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers
Shapiro, Dani. Still Writing
Slate, Barbara and Tom DeFalco. You Can Do a Graphic Novel
Smith, Michael, and Suzanne Greenberg. Everyday Creative Writing: Pawing for Gold in the Kitchen Sink.
Spencer, Stuart. The Playwright’s Guidebook: An Insightful Primer on the Art of Dramatic Writing
Stern, Jerome. Making Shapely Fiction
Stoddard, David. 200 Writing Prompts
Strand, Mark and Eavan Boland. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms
Strunk, William and E.B. White. Elements of Style
Synder, Blake. Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need
Theil, Diane. Winding Roads: Exercises in Writing Creative Non-Fiction
Thomas, Frank P. How To Write the Story of your Life
Tobias, Ronald. Twenty Master Plots And How to Build Them
Toor, Rachel. Write Your Way In
Trotter, David. Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script
Truby, Jonathon. The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
Tufte, Virgina. The Artful Sentence
Ueland, Brenda. If You Want To Write: A Book about Independent and Spirit
Vogler, Christopher and Michele Montez. The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
Weiland, K.M. Creating Character Arcs
Welty, Eudora. The Eye of the Story
Weston, Anthony. A Rulebook for Arguments.
Winokur, Jon., editor. Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights
Wisniewski, Mark. Writing and Revising Your Fiction
Wood, James. How Fiction Works
Woolf, Virgina. Women and Writing
Yagoda, Ben. The Sound on the Page
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well
Zinsser, William. Writing About Your Life: A Journey Into the Past
Zinsser, Williams, editor. Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
Let me know what craft book you and your students can’t live without. There are dozens every year that I want to buy, and I’d love to add more titles to my library this year.