

A Reading List for High School Creative Writing Teachers
Image Credit: Stephen King novel cover
Tonight I thought I would post a list of books that have been helpful to me in this journey. Some of these books I use weekly to generate ideas or exercises; some I have just read for inspiration and others I keep in the classroom (Best American Short Stories, Best American Poetry, etc.) for students to use for modeling and enjoyment. Hope this list is helpful!
Books for Great Writing Exercises
Barrington, Judith. Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art
Behn, Robin and Chase Twichell. The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach
Bernays, Anne and Pamela Painter. What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
Boisseau, Michelle, and Robert Wallace, Randall Mann. Writing Poems
Browne, Renni and Dave King. Self Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print
Burroway, Janet,and Elizabeth Stuckey-French. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
Burroway, Janet. Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft
Clark, Kevin. The Mind’s Eye: A Guide to Writing Poetry
Edgar, Christopher and Ron Padgett. Old Faithful: 18 Writers Present their Favorite Writing Assignments
Fletcher, Ralph. Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide
Heard, Georgia. Writing Toward Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way.
Maisel, Eric. Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide to Starting and Completing Your Work of Art
Neubach, Bonnie. The Write-Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate your Writing
Rabiner, Susan and Alfred Fortunato. Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Non-Fiction and Get It Published
Schneider, Pat. Writing Alone and With Others
Smith, Michael, and Suzanne Greenberg. Everyday Creative Writing: Pawing for Gold in the Kitchen Sink.
Stoddard, David. 200 Writing Prompts
Strand, Mark and Eavan Boland. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms.
Theil, Diane. Winding Roads: Exercises in Writing Creative Non-Fiction
Thomas, Frank P. How To Write the Story of your Life.
Wisniewski, Mark. Writing and Revising Your Fiction.
Books for Great Grammar Lessons
Benjamin, Amy with Tom Oliva. Engaging Grammar: Practical Advice for Real Classrooms.
Elster, Charles Harrington. The Accidents of Style: Good Advice on How Not to Write Badly
Joseph, Sister Miriam. The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric: Understanding the Nature and Function of Language.
Morenberg, Max. Doing Grammar
Schusters, Edgar. Breaking the Rules: Liberating Writers Through Innovative Grammar Instruction
Struck and White. Elements of Style
Trimble, John R. Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing
Truss, Lynne. Eats Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Weaver, Constance. Teaching Grammar In Context
Books That Should Be on Your Christmas List ANNUALLY
Best Teen Writing
Best American Short Stories
Best American Essays
Best American Poetry
Best American Sports Writing (Mystery Writing, Spiritual Writing, etc.)
Poetry 180
Great Books on Writing You should Read and Ponder During the Summer
Agee, James. Agee on Film
Atwood, Margaret. Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing
Baxter, Charles. Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction
Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life
Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel
Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
Goldberg, Natalie. The True Secret of Writing
Gornick, Vivian. The Story and the Situation
Gutkind, Lee. The Art of Creative Nonfiction: Writing and Selling Literature of Reality
Hampl, Patricia. I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory
Keyes, Ralph. The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of Craft
Klinkenborg, Verlyn. Several Short Sentences about Writing
Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life
Oates, Joyce Carol. The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art.
Pressfield, Steven. The War of Art: Breakthrough the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Prose, Francine. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
Roorbach, Bill. Writing Life Stories: How to Make Memories into Memoirs
See, Carolyn. Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers
Ueland, Brenda. If You Want To Write: A Book about Independent and Spirit
Welty, Eudora. The Eye of the Story
Woolf, Virgina. Women and Writing
Zinsser, William. Writing About Your Life: A Journey Into the Past
Great How-To Books on Specific Forms & Anthologies of Specific Forms
Blythe, Will, editor. On Being a Writer: Advice and Inspiration
Cassill, R.V. Writing Fiction
Dilliard, Annie and Cort Conley, editors. Modern American Memoirs
Dowst, Robert Saunders. The Technique of Fiction Writing
Field, Syd. The Screenwriter’s Workbook
Igelesias, Karl. The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters
King, Viki. How to Write a Movie in 21 Days
Kitchen, Judith and Mary Paumier Jones, editors. In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Non-Fiction
Lehman, David, editor. Great American Prose Poems
Shapard, Robert and James Thomas. Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories
Shapard, Robert and James Thomas. Sudden Fiction: International Short-Short Stories
Shapard, Robertand James Thomas. New Sudden Fiction: Short-Short Stories from America and Beyond
Slate, Barbara. You Can Do a Graphic Novel
Spencer, Stuart. The Playwright’s Guidebook: An Insightful Primer on the Art of Dramatic Writing
Synder, Blake. Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need
Trotter, David. Screenwriter’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script
Winokur, Jon., editor. Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights
Zinsser, Williams, editor. Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir