Guest Post by Author of PAIRING UP, Katie Van Ark: Favorite Books on Writing

If you're reading this post, you've probably at least seen the question before about what three books you'd want to take with you if you were to be stranded on a desert island. Though there are many, many authors I would miss, if I could only take three books I would take these three craft books so I could write myself a lifetime of stories. Egotistical? Perhaps, but these three books are worth it.

For developing great premises, I love Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel. “In one-on-one meetings at writers conferences, I can usually stop a story pitch dead in its tracks by interjecting the following: 'Hold on, your protagonist wants to [insert goal here}.], but let me ask you this, if he is not successful, so what?'” (Maass 60) This book also taught me how to raise the stakes, incorporate psychology of place and social trends, and to develop my themes more fully.

Robert McKee's Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting is the book I wish I had seen in high school. Though I learned to basics of character, setting, and genre in school, McKee explains the relationships between these and other essential elements. “A beautifully told story is a symphonic unity in which structure, setting, character, genre, and idea meld seamlessly. To find their harmony, the writer must study the elements of story as if they were instruments of an orchestra – first separately, then in concert.” (McKee 29) Though the book was written for screenwriters, it is very applicable to novels. This is the book I turn to when developing plot lines and character arcs, the book that taught me about beats, writing a scene, turning points and climax.

Once I've developed a strong premise and have an idea of how the character arcs and plot structure will work, I write the first draft. Then it's time for the last book on my list: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print, by Renni Browne and Dave King. “You can drop your amateurish look and give your writing a professional edge.” (Browne & King 4) This is the book that I use to polish my drafts. With checklists at the end of each chapter, it guides writers to check for showing instead of telling, avoiding backstory dumps and tangents, using the most effective point of view, creating authentic sounding dialogue and much, much more.

Katie Van Ark is the author of Pairing Up. Visit her online at www.katievanark.com or on Twitter:@kvanark. http://www.swoonreads.com/m/pairing-up