The Art of War for Writers is a nifty little reference book (I say "little" but it's actually 260 pages) that's based on that ancient classic, Sun Tzu's Art of War. The book is a collection of bite-size tips and tactics split into 3 sections: Reconnaissance, Tactics, and Strategy. By keeping each tip or tactic relatively short (normally around 3 to 5 pages), the book's easy to dip into when you have a spare five minutes on your hands, though I often find that the "just one more" urge overtakes me and I end up reading several tactics.

The tips and tactics themselves are very useful and are often things that, in other books, might be lost amongst a large chapter. By addressing these points individually and in such an easily digestible format, you can really take them onboard then ponder them as you go about your daily business.

Even if you're currently reading another book, I can highly recommend The Art of War for Writers to fill those spare minutes when a full reading session isn't convenient.

Make a Scene is an interesting and highly valuable book for novel writers as it addresses a point that's often overlooked by people writing stories... a story is a collection of scenes and each one of those scenes must have its own purpose and stand up on its own merits.

I actually started writing movie screenplays before I started writing novels so I was familiar with working on a scene-by-scene basis. However, when working on a novel, it's easy to get drawn into thinking by chapter, often resulting in some weak scenes that don't really work. Make a Scene forces you to address this problem by taking each scene from your story and establishing a clear purpose for it as well as a distinct beginning, middle, and end so that each scene flows into the next and maintains the momentum and interest of the overall story.

Another plus point of Make a Scene is that it addresses the specialist requirements of different types of scenes. An action scene must be written in a different way to a dialogue scene, just as a contemplative scene must be written in a different way to a climatic scene.

If you've never thought about novel writing in this way before then Make a Scene will make a difference to you. It may even be of use if you struggle to "flesh out" your story, as breaking it down into scenes relieves the pressure of the "big picture" and makes it easy to focus on small sections.

Your Writing Coach is, as the name suggests, a complete companion book for writers. Rather than just focussing on the physical process of writing a book, it also covers the related aspects such as finding the right writing environment, brainstorming ideas, and even overcoming your own self-doubt. That said, the sections on the actual technical process of writing are also very good and offer good advice and tips.

This isn't really a book to sit and read from cover to cover. Instead, like a proper writing coach, it should only be referred to as and when the need arises. For example, if you're still brainstorming your book idea then the chapters on the technical side of writing are better left alone until you're ready for them, just as the section on selling your book isn't really needed until after you've finished your manuscript (or at least have a first draft completed).

This is a great book and is highly recommended, especially if you're a new writer, keen to write your first book but unsure if you can do it. With this book in your arsenal, you'll definitely be on the right track.