Top Craft Book Picks from Writers, Illustrators, and Editors at Kindling Words East, January 2017

I had the fun opportunity to lecture this weekend at Kindling Words East in Essex, Vermont, to an audience of writers, illustrators, and editors. No pressure! My topic was on voice, and specifically, the voice of the narrator of a novel, whether that narrator is a character within a story, a non-character whose storytelling voice is perceptible as a narrator, or even a hidden behind-the-scenes presence orchestrating and interpreting events more stealthily. I drew heavily from 13 Ways of Viewing the Novel by Jane Smiley as my source (a book I blogged about earlier). I found it densely packed with probing insights into the form and origins of the novel, and in particular, thought-provoking discussions of the innovations that gave us point of view (and the politics of point of view), and of the narrative consciousness that permeates a work. So it was perfectly suited to the lecture I wanted to give.

I gave away a copy of 13 Ways as a door prize, and wondered what was the best gimmick to employ in obtaining drawing entries and soliciting a winner. Middle grade author Erin Dionne suggested a great strategy: have the attendees who want to enter the drawing write the name of their favorite craft book on a slip of paper. Draw a winner from among the slips, and compile the data into a list of recommendations. I'm delighted to do so.

Approximately two-thirds of the attendees put a suggestion in the hat. I'll list the offerings below with the number of votes I obtained. I was pleased to see that I'd read a decent handful of these titles, but I have many more on this list to read. Knowing now that they were each some writer or illustrator's favorite pick is all the endorsement I need to give them a chance.

Leading the pack was Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott with 7 votes, followed closely by On Writing by Stephen King. Editor Cheryl Klein, who joined us this year, had three votes for The Magic Words and two votes for Second Sight. Other two-vote books included Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul, Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, Story Genius by Lisa Cron, From Where You Dream by Robert Olen Butler, and Writing with Pictures by Uri Shulevitz. Jane Yolen and Martin Salisbury both had two votes, but for different titles.

Here's the full list. I've put asterisks by those that I've read and loved, which is more of an embarrassing confession than a boast. Clearly, I have work to do!

TITLE	AUTHOR	VOTES
Bird by Bird *	Anne Lamott	7
On Writing *	Stephen King	6
The Magic Words	Cheryl Klein	3
Writing Picture Books	Ann Whitford Paul	2
Save the Cat	Blake Snyder	2
Second Sight	Cheryl Klein	2
Story Genius	Lisa Cron	2
From Where You Dream	Robert Olen Butler	2
Writing with Pictures	Uri Shulevitz	2
The Shape of Content	Ben Shahn	1
If You Want to Write	Brenda Ueland	1
The Writer's Journey	Christopher Vogler	1
Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom	ed. Leonard  Marcus	1
Creating Short Fiction	Damon Knight	1
Art & Fear	David Bayles & Ted Orland	1
Catching the Big Fish	David Lynch	1
Reflections on the Magic of Writing	Diana Wynne Jones	1
Elements of Style	E.B. White	1
On Writing	Eurdora Welty	1
Take Joy *	Jane Yolen	1
Touch Magic	Jane Yolen	1
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers *	John Gardner	1
The Anatomy of Story *	John Truby	1
Syllabus	Linda Barry	1
Brain Science	Lisa Cron	1
Walking on Water *	Madeline L'Engle	1
Children's Picture Books	Martin Salisbury	1
100 Great Children's Picture Books	Martin Salisbury	1
The First Five Pages	Noah Lukeman	1
Characters & Viewpoint	Orson Scott Card	1
Self Editing in Fiction	Renni Brown & Dave King	1
About Writing	Samuel Delaney	1
Freeplay	Stephen Nachmanovitch	1
The Creative Habit	Twyla Tharp	1
Steering the Craft *	Ursula LeGuin	1
Writing the Australian Crawl	William Stafford	1