You can't be a writer unless you are an avid and wide reader. Immerse yourself in language, and read the best fiction you can. This is a brilliant book on how writers learn from reading quality literature. Highly recommended.

Gardner offers some sound advice.

I think this is very useful in giving an overview in writing fiction, especially the technical side of writing. Good to have on your shelf as a reference.

Don't let Gardner's abrupt tone put you off, because there is much advice to think about.

There is quite a lot to learn from this important writer.

Although this book is out of print, I think it is an excellent addition to the serious writer's library. I also highly recommend Maugham's 'A Writer's Notebook', as well.

This book won't teach you how to write, but it will give you a glimpse how Patricia Highsmith was inspired to write suspense fiction.

How to construct a story? Look no further than Australian author Kate Grenville who was shortlisted for the 2006 Booker prize.

If you are a writer of fiction, you have to be an avid reader of it too. That means reading widely in all genres. Just read, read, read...

This book builds on aspects of constructing a story. This is a must for your own library.

King shows you what worked for him.

This is actually quite useful and well worth the price.

This seminal book is a lesson in writing creative nonfiction.

I urge you to read the great novels of Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Gogol, Chekhov and others. Then read Nabokov's criticism and your insight will grow enormously.