Recommended Books

A few titles have been chosen that we thought might be of interest and support to you as a writer. If you have any comments about these or any books you would like to recommend that could be included on this page please send them with a paragraph as to why you are recommending it.

Research For Writers
By Ann Hoffman
ISBN: 0 7136 4156 8
A&C Black

This book is now in its seventh edition and is a must for any serious writer. The sections include research methods and organisation as well as copyright issues. Factual and historical research; biographies and autobiographies; specialist research; and a large appendix of research sources and reference books aimed at writers.

She doesn't just tell you where to go but deals with problems you may come across in specific areas, such as the use of nicknames in autobiographical research, and is full of suggestions as how to get around them.

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How To Write Funny
Edited by John B. Kachuba
ISBN: 1 58297 054 8
Writer's Digest Books

This is a very easy but informative book on all areas of how to write funny. There are 29 chapters all written by people who already earn their living from writing humorous works. They cover the basics, the genres and interviews covering the subject generally. Kachuba himself writes the conclusion and sums up the messages quite succinctly.

An excellent book for those wanting to have a go at writing funny or those just interested in how its done.

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Writer's Descriptive Word Finder
A Dictionary / Thesaurus of adjectives
By Ann Kipfer
ISBN: 1 58297 284 2
Writer's Digest Books

I always have a thesaurus on my desk whatever type of writing I am doing but found that I had room for this one as well because it is so different from the others.

It gives you a header word and then a list of related words with their meanings. They may not be the obvious thesaurus links, for example domestication has Bucolic, dumb, pastoral, homemade and zootechnic among its listings.

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How To Write and Sell Interviews
By Sally-Jayne Wright
ISBN: 0 7490 0207 7
Allison & Busby

This is a favourite as it does exactly what it says it guides you through the whole procedure of how to actually do the interview, write it up and then sell it. It doesn't assume any previous knowledge of the subject and even includes a section on researching the markets for your finished piece.