As a serial procrastinating writer, I naturally have a lot of reading to distract me from the the task of actually writing. Here are some of my favourites which have helped and inspired me.
The Right to Write and The Artist’s Way, both by Julia Cameron.
Her belief that we are all writers and we can all be writers has been a hugely reassuring force in my writing life. I find the spiritual side of her writing advice harder to grasp but the basics of Morning Pages (hand writing 3 sides of paper every morning) and Artists’ Dates (taking yourself somewhere inspirational on a weekly basis) are tenets which I am determined to live by at some point.
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Even the title of this book is helpful. It comes from a book report on bird that Anne had to write when she was younger. She felt overwhelmed by the task and her father advised her to just take it bird by bird. This ‘one step at a time’ approach works in many parts of life when things feel a bit too much. Just go bird by bird.
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Her famous quotation in on a post-it note near my computer: ‘How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives’. It is a much-needed reminder to just blooming well get on with things. Here is the full quotation:
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days…A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living. Each day is the same, so you remember the series afterward as a blurred and powerful pattern.
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
On Writing by Stephen King
Probably my favourite book on writing. King is an absoulte writing master and I have got some much out of reading about how he writes and about his thoughts on writing. I have the audiobook version too so I have read and listened to this multiple times.
Ready, Set, Novel! by Chris Baty, Lindsey Grant and Tavia Stewart-Streit
This is a workbook which can help you get started by generating ideas and building your novel up. I found this so useful when I was just starting out with my novel. There are sections on building characters, setting and plot. There is a memoir version which I have and one day, I will start filling that in.
Notes From My Day 
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