Five recommended books for writers
1) Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. This is a book that shows you a long list of books every writer should have on their bookshelves. I have read it twice. It lists books that one should make their companion and the ones that are useful for learning engaging writing styles. She also gives […]
1) Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose. This is a book that shows you a long list of books every writer should have on their bookshelves. I have read it twice. It lists books that one should make their companion and the ones that are useful for learning engaging writing styles. She also gives examples of excellent writing from different books. This is a gem of a book. Every writer should own one.
2) The Writer’s Yearbook. This book is a fat resource book which is published every year. I buy a copy every year. It contains list of publishers, list of Agents and inspirational notes on how to write different genres of writing from fiction to screenplay. The contributions are often made by well-known authors in the field. The 2012 edition has a piece by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on how to write short stories.
3) In spite of some people’s views that awards and prizes are fancy things that just propel a writer for no discernible reason; I believe that they play a useful role in encouraging competition in the writing world. While it is true that some really good writers never enter for competitions, it is also true that a lot of very good writing is brought to public knowledge as a result. I therefore always advise that you should get hold of an award winning book as often as you can and see what made the judges pick it. There would be something in the writing that you can learn from. Take for example Nobel Prize author Nadine Gordimer. I read her collection of short stories Some Monday for Sure when I was sixteen years old. I thought I was in South Africa. I felt as if I personally knew the characters. I felt an affinity with them. (The book is now out of print and I can’t even find a copy to buy as my old copy is missing) Was I surprised when she won the Nobel? Not really. I had already conferred a prize on her in my heart when I read her way back then. I became a short story writer because of her. At over 80, Nadine Gordimer continues to sparkle and only recently published a nonfiction book about her country, South Africa. Also this year’s winner of the Caine prize Rotimi Babatunde wrote an incredibly hilarious short story, Bombay’s Republic When I read it ahead of the announcement of the prize, I felt that this was the one and I was proven right when he took the prize. Find it on the internet. Read it.
4) The classics. These are books that must be read to whet the imagination, improve vocabulary and introduce you to different writing styles and how you can proceed with your own writings. They include books by Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Vladamir Nabokov, Franz Kafka and George Orwell. This also includes on the African continent, Achebe, Ngugi, Ama Ata Aidoo, J.P.Clark etcetra. This is certainly not an exhaustive list. These are books written many years ago which received world acclaim and still engage us today. These are books that earned the writers a place in history. Refresh your mind. Read them, source them.
5) Read Journals on writing, writing magazines like The New Yorker and Granta and see writings by established and new authors. Read arts pages of newspapers. The Trust and most other papers offer a literary menu every weekend. Learn about what other writers are doing well and what others have done very badly that cost them. One of the most important attributes of a good writer is his ability to keep reading. The other is to ensure that before you put your book out for publication you get it properly edited. Nothing ruins a writer’s reputation like poorly edited work. Pay an Editor, get several feedbacks. The various writing organisations in Nigeria can help you. For example, Association of Nigerian Authors, the Abuja Literary Society and the Abuja Writer’s Forum.