My favourite craft books

When I returned to short stories, I needed to study the craft from scratch again. I had always been a hands-on student - I learnt to write short stories by reading. But as a professional writer, I felt I needed to know the rules of the game.


Here are four of my favourite craft books, in no particular order.

Writing Short Stories by Courttia Newland and Tania Hershman

What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter

 Writing Down the Bones – Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

Writing Fiction -  A guide to narrative craft by Janet Burroway