Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
I love everything Anne Lamott writes. She pulls no punches, she’s frequently hilarious, and Bird by Bird has the most succinct pieces of writing advice that live in my head and I refer to over and over. The main one is thinking of your first draft as the “shitty first draft” or SFD. This saves me every time I start a new novel. It doesn’t matter if your setting sucks, your characters are cardboard, your dialogue sounds like Theresa May on a bad day – it’s just an SFD! You can fix it all next time. I find this so freeing I can’t even tell you. The advice referenced in the title is also important: Anne’s brother was trying to do a painting of birds and getting overwhelmed. Her father told him, just take it bird by bird. I’m not ‘writing a book’ or even a chapter or a page. I can take it paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, word by word, bird by bird.
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The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
This is not a writing book exactly. But. It’s a book about getting up early and getting stuff done. And it really really works. You know, when I can make myself do it. Basically you get up a bit earlier (I didn’t even get up, I just took my laptop to bed with me, set an alarm and sat up). You write, read, exercise, do visualisations and all that malarkey. Or you can just read and write and you will still be ahead on your day. You may know to do this already. I know to do this already – and I know how much better my days are when I write (and read) first thing – but somehow I really struggle to make myself do it. This book helps.
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Stop Worrying; Start Writing: How to Overcome Fear, Self-Doubt and Procrastination by Sarah Painter
Sarah was one of my very first writing friends and remains one of my best writing friends. But that’s not why I love this book. I love this book because a) Sarah and I have the exact same process – mostly based in faff, panic, and flail; b) it not only covers writing, but also being a writer; and c) Sarah is just so lovely, warm and wise, it’s like an inspiring, comforting and encouraging chat with a friend over wine.
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Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Again, not strictly a writing book – this one’s about creativity in general – but it’s incredibly inspiring. I struggle with feeling in control of my career and also with finding and keeping the joy. This book helps with both. Plus it’s funny. And the chapters are short, making it an excellent book to read during your Miracle Mornings, to get the day off on the right foot.
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Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter by Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook
This book. Honestly, this book. If you were sitting opposite me now, you’d see me looking like the heart eyes emoji, my hands clutched to my chest (that’s a lie, cos I’m typing, but you get the gist). I am not someone who considers themselves a Whovian. I watched the Eccleston and Tennant seasons, but that’s all. You do not need to be a Whovian to enjoy and learn from this book. It’s so inspiring. And comforting. Russell T Davies stays up all night smoking and emailing and listening to music and PANICKING because he has so many scripts to write and he has no ideas at all. And then something sparks a plot or a character or a setting and we get to watch it develop and blossom in real time and it’s just the very best book on writing there’s ever been and all writers should read it.
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(c) Keris Stainton
About It Had to be You:
Twenty-five-year-old Bea is a hopeless romantic with a hopeless love life – until now. New beau Danticks all the boxes: he’s good-looking, kind and thoughtful. The complete opposite of Bea’s ex, who once threw her out in the middle of the night when she was ill so she didn’t disrupt his sleep.
So when her friends point out that she and Dan don’t have fireworks, Bea ignores them. Dan is the whole package. And yet Bea can’t stop comparing him to her best friend Henry… Because Dan doesn’t get Bea’s jokes. Or like books. Or make her laugh until she can’t breathe. Or become speechless when Bea puts on her favourite black dress for a night out…
As time goes on, Bea can’t shift the feeling that something just isn’t right. On paper Dan is the perfect man. But in reality… Will Bea be brave enough to ask for more from life – and get the fireworks she deserves?
A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy for fans of Giovanna Fletcher, Cate Woods, and Mhairi McFarlane.
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