For Further Reading
Many writing guides, studies in creativity, and sourcebooks for generating ideas are available. The following are especially useful.
WRITING GUIDES
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter, What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers; HarperCollins, 1990.
An exercise-oriented writing guide that introduces aspiring fiction
writers to the techniques of characterization, scene construction,
pacing, plotting, building suspense, tapping intomemory, and so
on.
Peter Elbow, Writing without Teachers. Oxford University Press, 1973.
An influential self-instruction guide to the use of freewriting and
other invention strategies as a means to generating content.
Peter Elbow, Writing with Power: Techniques for Mastering the Writing Process. Oxford University Press, 1981.
Suggestions for using content-generating strategies for a wide variety of writing tasks.
Jack Heffron, The Writer’s Idea Book: How to Develop Great Ideas for
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Screenplays; Writer’s Digest Books,
2000.
A primer on generating ideas, with prompts designed to stimulate
creative thinking.
Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?
Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History
of Innovation; Riverhead, 2010.
Johnson examines inventiveness in the context of industry and
technology; but there are parallels to be drawn between technological and artistic inventiveness.
Ralph Keyes, The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear. Holt,
1995.
A guide to working through the anxieties and fears that all writers face to some degree.
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
Pantheon, 1994.
An expressive, common sense, and entertaining guide to the basics
of writing and the writing life.
Simon O. Lesser, Fiction and the Unconscious. Vintage Books, 1962.
An in-depth analysis of the aesthetics of fiction from a psychological perspective.
Gabrielle Lusser Rico, Writing the Natural Way. Tarcher, 1983.
Introduces techniques of “clustering” to generate ideas for essays,
poems, stories.
Donald Maass, Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking
Your Fiction to the Next Level. Writer’s Digest Books, 2005.
A literary agent discusses strategies for making your novel reach
the widest possible audience.
Martin Roth, The Fiction Writer’s Silent Partner, Writer’s Digest Books,
1991.
A smorgasbord of raw ideas organized by categories such as character background, horror and the occult, the love story, marriage
and the family, comedy, sports, espionage, medicine.
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Fo r Fu rth er Readi n g
Jeanne H. Simpson, The Elements of Invention. Macmillan, 1990.
A concise guide to a wide range of pre-drafting techniques.
Ronald B. Tobias, 20 Master Plots and How to Build Them. Writer’s
Digest Books, 1993.
Archetypal plots (quest, adventure, transformation) on which to
develop original story situations.
Fred White, The Daily Writer: 366 Meditations to Cultivate a Productive Writing Life. Writer’s Digest Books, 2008.
Nuggets of wisdom on thirty-one different writing-related topics,
for every day of the year, each with one or more writing exercises.
Fred White, The Daily Reader: 366 Selections of Great Prose and Poetry to Inspire a Productive and Meaningful Writing Life. Writer’s Digest Books, 2009
Short prose selections from classic and popular works of literature
for every day of the year, each with one or more writing exercises.
Karen S. Wiesner, First Draft in 30 Days: A Novel Writer’s System for
Building a Complete and Cohesive Manuscript. Cincinnati: Writer’s
Digest Books, 2005.
A detailed step-by-step guide from brainstorming, outlining, and
researching to drafting; complete with work sheets.
Monica Wood, The Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspirations for Writing;
Writer’s Digest Books, 2000.
An idea-generating book that uses striking photographs and imaginative prompts to get your writing mind going.
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?
STUDIES OF CREATIVITY AND
COGNITION
Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses. Random House,
1990.
A poet-naturalist’s remarkable insights into the contributions our
five senses make to the way we interact with the world and with
other people
James. L. Adams, Conceptual Blockbusting: A Pleasurable Guide to
Better Problem Solving Norton, 1976.
Creative problem-solving techniques directed at professionals in
business and industry.
Jerome Bruner, On Knowing: Essays for the Left Hand. Harvard, 1979.
Essays on the psychology of creativity in the various arts.
Naomi Epel, Writers Dreaming. Carol Southern Books/Crown, 1993.
Twenty-six novelists, essayists, and poets talk about the role
dreams play in their creative lives. Among the writers interviewed:
Isabel Allende, Maya Angelou, Clive Barker, Sue Grafton, Stephen
King, Elmore Leonard, Anne Rice, Art Spiegelman, William Styron, Amy Tan.
Sigmund Freud, On Creativity and the Unconscious. Harper & Row,
1958.
Several papers on the creativity underlying works of art, literature; also studies of the role of the unconscious in love and religion.
William J.J. Gordon. Synectics: The Development of Creative Capacity.
Harper & Row, 1961.
An examination of the elements of creative thinking in the context
of business and industry.
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Fo r Fu rth er Readi n g
Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture. Beacon, 1955.
The importance of play in language, art, myth, and in civilization
in general.
Arthur Koestler, The Act of Creation. Macmillan, 1964.
An exhaustive analysis of creativity from a psychological perspective.
Jonah Lehrer, Imagine: How Creativity Works. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
The author finds commonalities in creative thinking among people
as diverse as neuroscientists, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, musicians, and artists of all kinds.
Eric Maisel, Creativity for Life. New World Library, 2007.
One of several books by a noted psychotherapist on how to tap into
one’s creative potential.
SUGGESTED SOURCEBOOKS FOR
IDEAS
The Brothers Grimm, The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales. New York:
Pantheon Books, 1944; 1972.
All of the fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm in their unabridged form.
Thomas Bullfinch, Bulfinch’s Mythology: The Age of Fable. Garden City:
Doubleday, 1968.
A compendium of the great nineteenth-century classicist’s retellings of the ancient Greek and Roman myths.
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?
Fo r Fu rth er Readi n g
Josefa Heifetz Byrne, Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and
Preposterous Words. Citadel, 1976.
Very few words included in this dictionary will be recognizable; as
a result, they are ideal prompts for story ideas.
Andy Selsberg, Dear Old Love: Anonymous Notes to Former Crushes,
Sweethearts, Husbands, Wives, & Ones That Got Away. Workman, 2009.
This compilation of anonymous letters sent to the author is a gold
mine of ideas for writers of romances. See also Frank Warren, below.
J.E. Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols; trans. Jack Sage. Philosophical
Library, 1962.
More of an encyclopedia of archetypal symbols through the ages
than a mere dictionary.
E.D. Hirsch, Jr., et al., The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every
American Needs to Know. Houghton Mifflin, 1988.
This compendium of essential knowledge is divided into twentythree sections, including the Bible, mythology, literature, fine arts,
history, business/economics, and the major branches of science.
Lucia Impelluso, Myths: Tales of the Greek and Roman Gods. Abrams,
2008.
Concise retellings of the greatest myths from the ancient world,
each illustrated in color by a famous work of art. See also Appendix C for additional reference works on ancient myths.
Garrison Keillor, ed., Good Poems. Penguin, 2003.
The poet and humorist includes masterful poems in categories such
as Poems of Thanks, The Good Life, Animals, and Trips.
Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, ed. and trans., Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook
Translated from the Sanskrit. Penguin Books, 1975.
The original texts from the Vedas and other sources; with commentary.
William Roetzheim, ed. The Giant Book of Poetry. Level 4 Press, 2006.
Hundreds of poems through the ages, with commentary.
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Philip Smith, ed. 100 Best Loved Poems. Dover Thrift Editions, 1995.
Some of the greatest poems ever written are included here.
Studs Terkel, Working. Pantheon Books, 1972; Avon paperback reprint, 1975.
An extensive compendium of testimonials by American laborers
of all kinds.
Frank Warren, Post Secret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary
Lives. Morrow, 2005.
A compilation of secrets sent anonymously to the author. The
Washington Post wrote, “Standing in the midst of all this naked
shame, guilt, anger, and yes, hope, you’re suddenly not so alone.”
This book and the spinoff books that Warren subsequently published are virtual treasure troves of ideas for writers. See also Andy
Selsberg, above.
The World Almanac and Book of Facts. World Almanac Books.
An annual publication filled with up-to-date facts about the economy, business, science, and technology, sports, world history, geography, social issues, and consumer information.
Zimmerman, J.E. Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Harper & Row,
1964; Bantam paperback edition, 1965.
An ideal dictionary for quick referencing; two thousand-plus mythrelated names and places, each including a pronunciation key and
sources.
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