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It's the peak of the summer reading season. So, in keeping with annual treks to the beaches, mountains and summer cottages, here's a few books you might want to take along.
Everyone involved in screenwriting is familiar with books by the screenwriting "gurus" of our trade: Goldman, Seger, Field, McKee, etc. Sometimes, in addition to the focus on craft, it's helpful to dip into writing by authors offering a more generic view of creativity and the overall writing process. Here's a few I particularly like...
Rollo May, a psychiatrist and painter, is author of "The Courage to Create". It's a slim, yet pithy exploration of the role of creativity in our lives and the relationship between the artist and his/her subject. It's been popular for decades and I give it two thumbs up.
Annie Dillard is a superb essayist and her book, "The Writing Life", probes and explores the writer's inner world. It, too, is a slender, yet elegantly written book.
Another excellent essayist and observer of the writing process is Wallace Stegner. I recommend On the "Teaching of Creative Writing". It takes the form of a series of questions and answers from discussions at Dartmouth University. The very first question: "What, Mr. Stegner, is your reply to the question of whether creative writing can, in point of fact, be ?taught'?" For his response, you'll just have to buy the book.
Writer Natalie Goldberg brings experience in Zen meditation to the writing process in "Writing Down the Bones". Her straightforward prose, informed by her own journey as writer and teacher of writing offers wisdom gained by doing and reflecting on the doing.
What these four books have in common is brevity and clarity. They stand as models for every writer in any medium.
Pick one and take it on your next trip to the beach. And don't forget to pack the sunscreen.
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