Creativity Resources

Books that have influenced me and that I recommend:

Twyla Tharp The Creative Habit The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life

In her The New York Times bestselling book, choreographer Twyla Tharp shares insights about living the creative life. Her memoir style makes for fun reading. Everything is based on her many years of experience as an artist who works with other artists. Her chapter "An 'A' for Failure" provides lessons in how to turn bad experiences into positive lessons for further growth.

Artist's Way book cover. Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way, [link goes to a selection of Julia Cameron books]

Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way has helped inspire thousands of artistic people to pursue their creative dreams. When I read it in the mid 1990s, I began to take my writing seriously, and focused on my long-term dream of a freelance writing career.

I recommend all of Julia's books and tapes, including the The Right to Write and others. She also teaches in New York at the Open Center, Learning Annex, and Omega Institute from time to time.

Thinking Like Your Editor book cover. Thinking Like Your Editor How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction--and Get It Published by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato

Some book editors recommend this to would-be authors. Filled with trade secrets, Thinking Like Your Editor explains:

Why every proposal should ask and answer five key questions
how to tailor academic writing to a general reader, without losing ideas or dumbing down your work
how to write a proposal that editors cannot ignore
why the most important chapter is your introduction
why "simple structure, complex ideas" is the mantra for creating serious nonfiction
why smart nonfiction editors regularly reject great writing but find new arguments irresistible.

Story book cover Story by Robert McKee

This book is worth buying for the diagrams alone. It really helps you appreciate story structures for films and plays. In Story, McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. McKee understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together.

Story - Audiobook

I really recommend hearing McKee, to experience his style and flair for conveying his points. My husband and I have listened to the cassettes on many long car trips.

Writing Down the Bones book cover Natalie Goldberg - Writing Down the Bones and other books [Link goes to a selection of her books about writing]

Writing Down the Bones
Wild Mind : Living the Writer's Life
Thunder and Lightning : Cracking Open the Writer's Craft
The Essential Writer's Notebook

I also recommend her audiobooks. It's great fun to follow some of her exercises.

Word Painting. Rebecca McClanahan, whose descriptive writing workshop I've attended, packs her valuable writing advice into Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively (Paperback). Rebecca's comments are useful for fiction writers, poets, lyricists, and narrative nonfiction writers.

Creativity for Life by Eric Maisel Creativity for Life: Practical Advice on the Artist's Personality, and Career from America's Foremost Creativity Coach

Eric Maisel approaches lessons in the creative life on the basis of his many years experience as therapist for artistic people and a creativity coach. He provides many lists and angles for considering to make a creative life work.

As one Amazon.com reviewer explains: In CREATIVITY FOR LIFE, Maisel brings together concepts and ideas he's discussed in previous books, but here every part is synthesized and complete. It's a smorgasbord of examples and tactics. He breaks new ground in detailing the artist's personality in ways that that the non-psychologist reader will instantly understand, and the book is highly accessible to anyone from beginner to master.

He includes chapters on creative blocks and resistances, moods, the artistic personality, etc.