Titles for National Novel Writing Month

By Coll Rowe | November 9 2021 | Writing

Each year in November, writers set forth the task of completing a novel during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It’s a challenge most writers strive to undertake at least once in their lifetime, even if they never intend to publish it. To celebrate, we’re recommending titles for instruction on these writing endeavors.

 

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel

Here is the first novel-writing guide from the Save the Cat! series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points that presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists and lays out the Ten Story Genres alongside quirky, original insights.

 

Bird by Bird 

For a quarter century, more than a million readers have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, homespun advice in the modern classic Bird by Bird. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition will continue to spark creative minds for years to come.

 

Mastering the Process

 In Mastering the Process, George offers readers a master class in the art and science of crafting a novel. This is a subject she knows well, having taught creative writing both nationally and internationally for over thirty years.

 

13 Ways of Looking at the Novel 

Thirteen Ways is essential reading for anyone who has ever escaped into the pages of a novel or, for that matter, wanted to write one. Smiley explores the unparalleled intimacy of reading, why a novel succeeds (or doesn’t), and how the novel has changed over time.

 

A Writer’s Guide to Fiction

The second book in the Writer’s Compass series from professional writing instructor Elizabeth Lyon offers both aspiring and established authors the fundamentals of writing and selling a great novel or short story.

 

Art of Fiction

Distilled from John Gardner’s courses and seminars,The Art of Fiction is a no-nonsense and cogent guide to the principles and techniques of good writing. This is a work for the serious beginning writer and makes no apologies for the demands of craft.

 

Blueprint Your Bestseller

In Blueprint Your Bestseller, Stuart Horwitz offers a step-by-step process for revising your manuscript that has helped bestselling authors get from first draft to final draft. Horwitz helps writers look at their writing with the fresh perspective needed to reach the finish line.


Find more books on Creative Writing


The Last Book On Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
9780399579745
The first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! story-structure series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success.
$16.99 US
Oct 09, 2018
Paperback
320 Pages
Ten Speed Press

Some Instructions on Writing and Life
9780385480017
For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, homespun advice. Bird by Bird, a modern classic, isan essential volume for generations of writers young and old. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition will continue to spark creative minds for years to come.
$17.00 US
Sep 01, 1995
Paperback
256 Pages
Vintage

From Idea to Novel
9781984878335
As the author of twenty-four novels, Elizabeth George is one of the most successful--and prolific--novelists today. In Mastering the Process, George offers a master class in the art and science of crafting a novel. This is a subject she knows well, having taught creative writing both nationally and internationally for over thirty years."I have never before read a book about writing that is so thorough, thoughtful, and most of all, helpful." --Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women
$18.00 US
Apr 06, 2021
Paperback
336 Pages
Penguin Books

9781400033188
Over an extraordinary twenty-year career, Jane Smiley has written all kinds of novels: mystery, comedy, historical fiction, epic. “Is there anything Jane Smiley cannot do?” raves Time magazine. But in the wake of 9/11, Smiley faltered in her hitherto unflagging impulse to write and decided to approach novels from a different angle: she read one hundred of them, from classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to recent fiction by Zadie Smith, Nicholson Baker, and Alice Munro.
$23.00 US
Sep 12, 2006
Paperback
608 Pages
Anchor

A Concise, Practical Guide for Novelists and Short-Story Writers
9780399528583
The second book in the Writer's Compass series from professional writing instructor Elizabeth Lyon offers both aspiring and established authors the fundamentals of writing and selling a great novel or short story. In addition to the basics of characterization, plot, pacing, and theme, A Writer's Guide to Fiction also features a plan for revising fiction, a guide to marketing, samples of cover and query letters, and methods of honing the writing craft.
$24.00 US
Jun 01, 2004
Paperback
288 Pages
TarcherPerigee

Notes on Craft for Young Writers
9780679734031
Gardner was almost as famous as a teacher as he was for his writing. Distilled from his courses and seminars, The Art of Fiction is a no-nonsense and cogent guide to the principles and techniques of good writing. This is a work for the serious beginning writer and makes no apologies for the demands of craft.
$17.00 US
Jun 04, 1991
Paperback
240 Pages
Vintage

Organize and Revise Any Manuscript with the Book Architecture Method
9780399162152
The first draft is the easy part… In Blueprint Your Bestseller, Stuart Horwitz offers a step-by-step process for revising your manuscript that has helped bestselling authors get from first draft to final draft. Whether you’re tinkering with your first one hundred pages or trying to wrestle a complete draft into shape, Horwitz helps you look at your writing with the fresh perspective you need to reach the finish line.Blueprint Your Bestseller introduces the Book Architecture Method, a tested sequence of steps for organizing and revising any manuscript. By breaking a manuscript into manageable scenes, you can determine what is going on in your writing at the structural level—and uncover the underlying flaws and strengths of your narrative.For more than a decade this proven approach to revision has helped authors of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as writers across all media from theater to film to TV.
$24.00 US
Jan 29, 2013
Paperback
256 Pages
TarcherPerigee