by Alycia W. Morales @AlyciaMorales

Since April is my birthday month, and I love buying new books, I wanted to share my list of 20 writing resources that every writer should have on their bookshelves. There is so much value in studying the writing craft, and I encourage you to invest in your career as a writer by investing in some of these resources. (And by attending the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, because … well, come on! It’s awesome!)

I know that we have a lot of readers who write fiction and a lot who write nonfiction, so I’ve tried to build the list in such a way that both will benefit. Some of these are for everybody, while others could be for fiction writers and others are for nonfiction writers. However, if I have learned anything at all over the past ten-plus years of my career, it’s that many fiction elements can easily apply to nonfiction writing and vice versa. After all, we’re trying to keep an audience captive, and fascinating others with our storytelling abilities is how we do that.

Without further ado…

The List of Writing Books Every Writer Should Have:

1. On Writing by Stephen King (warning: language)
2. bird by bird by Anne Lamott
3. the Story of With by Allen Arnold
4. Called to Create by Jordan Raynor
5. Real Artists Don’t Starve by Jeff Goins
6. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass (and the workbook)
7. Writing 21^st Century Fiction by Donald Maass
8. The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
9. Story Trumps Structure by Steven James
10. The Anatomy of Story by John Truby
11. Plot Perfect by Paula Munier
12. Writing Blockbuster Plots by Martha Alderson
13. The Dance of Character and Plot by DiAnn Mills
14. Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Seger
15. Troubleshooting Your Novel by Steven James
16. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
17. The Emotional Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi 

(There’s a whole series of valuable books in their thesaurus series!)

18. Social Media for Today’s Writer by DiAnn Mills and Edie Melson
19. How to Blog for Profit by Ruth Soukup
20. Polishing the Pugs by Kathy Ide

Not only do I recommend reading books on the craft of writing, but I also recommend reading books in the genre you write in, books in genres you don’t write in, and nonfiction books in areas of life that you enjoy reading about, learning about, or are simply curious about. Writers read. It’s another way we learn how to write well, by reading good writing.

So, this year, when your birthday rolls around, treat yourself to a new book about writing and grab a book you’ve wanted to read for a while!

As a gift from me to you during my birthday month, you can download and print this list! Just click here.

Alycia W. Morales is an award-winning freelance editor and author. Her clients have won the Selah Award, BRMCWC Director’s Choice Award, and many others. Her writing has been published in Thriving Family magazine, Splickety Love, and several compilation books. She is a member of ACFW, the president of Cross n’ Pens critique group, and a BRMCWC Conference Assistant.

When she isn’t busy writing, editing, and reading, Alycia enjoys spending time with her husband and four children taking hikes in Upstate SC and NC, creating various crafts, coloring in adult coloring books, and watching TV.

Alycia blogs at The Write Editing and Life. Inspired. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.