If you aspire to a writing career, I highly recommend these books:

• Break Into Fiction, by Mary Buckham and Dianna Love
  These easy-to-understand templates guide the new writer through building a novel and show more experienced writers how to deepen a plot and take a first draft to the next level.

• Story, by Robert McKee
  Written for screenwriters, this book is a gold mine for the commercial fiction writer.

• Scene and Structure, by Jack M. Bickham
  A student of Dwight Swain, Bickham presents the basics of crafting your story and your scenes.

• Getting Into Character, by Brandilyn Collins
  A how-to using the Method acting theory to make your story characters three dimensional.

• Plot & Structure, by James Scott Bell
  Specific techniques and exercises to help you craft your plot into a winning story.

• Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, by Donald Maass
  An invaluable tool even without attending one of Mr. Maass’s workshops. Filled with techniques and exercises to help you craft a break-out or break-in novel.

• Fire in Fiction, by Donald Maass
  The pages of Maass’s third book are packed with examples, exercises and techniques to help you craft compelling stories with “Passion and Purpose.”

• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King
  A must have to teach yourself to self-edit and turn that first draft into a marketable novel.

• Writing the Christian Romance, by Gail Gaymer Martin
  Detailed step-by-step instructions and examples on how to write a Christian romance.

• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian Fiction, by Ron Benrey
  This book walks you through writing for the Christian market and includes discussions of everything from mystery and romance, to historical and young adult.

The writer’s life requires inspiration and perseverance. When either of those wane for me, I pick up one of these books to inspire me.

The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life, by Julia Cameron
An inspiring challenge to just keep writing.

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
A funny, helpful book about what it is to be a writer. This book tells it like it is in a very entertaining way.

 

I also recommend that you consider joining writers’ organizations for support, networking, and education. Both of these groups are outstanding.

• Romance Writers of America
• American Christian Fiction Writers

And, lastly I’ll leave you with some quotes that have inspired me. If you have others, click here to let me know. We’ll add them to the list.

"Write even when you don't want to, don't much like what you're writing, and aren't writing particularly well."
Agatha Christie

“Don't worry about selling the story you wrote. Worry about writing a story that will sell itself.”
Lawrence Watt-Evans

"Perseverance is trying 19 times and succeeding on the 20th."
Julie Andrews

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
Henry Ford

“Eventually you're going to reach the point where just one more attempt, one more effort will bring real success. What a shame it would be to give up just as you reached that point.

You do not know what the next effort will bring because the future is not based on the past. That feeling of wanting to give up is based solely on the past, which really doesn't matter any more. What matters now is where you're headed, not where you've been. And when you view it from that perspective, giving up is simply not an option.”
R. Marston