Books for Writers Just a few handy books to help out.

The Writer’s Handbook Either this or the
Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook from the current year will help with finding addresses for agents and publishers, and has all sorts of helpful current advice. A vital tool. And there are versions for self-publishers, children’s writers and poets too.

Roget’s Thesaurus Seems obvious, but loads of people don’t have one. An absolute necessity for any writer, together with a good dictionary.

Words to Rhyme with by Willard Espy. I bought one of these when I definitely couldn’t afford it, and it’s been the best money I ever spent. A fantastic resource for poets, songwriters and anyone who needs a matching word rhyme and can’t think of the right one. Set out in single, double and triple syllable sections. Get it.

Writing with Pictures by Url Shulevitz. The 101 for picture book writers and illustrators. Simple and informative.

The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren by Iona and Peter Opie. The Opies are the world’s greatest experts on nursery rhymes and playground lore. This is totally fascinating if you want to know about the history and origins of, say, ‘Adam and Eve and Pinch-me’. Also see I Saw Esau.

The Creative Writing Coursebook I often wish I’d done the creative writing course at the University of East Anglia, from where all of the exercises in this book are taken. Highly recommended. It really works to improve anyone’s writing. I often go back to it if I’m suffering from any kind of writer’s block and do one of the practicals to free me up.