A Writer's Library

The other day, I was searching for something in my office. I'm by nature an orderly, organized person married to a clutterer. I fear that forty-seven years living with him has rubbed off. But only in my office! As so often happens, I found far more in my search than the one item I sought.

I have a small bookcase that holds photo albums, file folders and my writing library. Through the years, I've managed to collect a sizable number of books that focus on writing skills. It occurred to me that maybe some of them are outdated, so I started combing through them.

Outdated is an understatement. I began stacking those next to the bookcase, returning others to the shelf. Most of what I kept are newer ones, published within the last three to five years, a few even older. Several deal with writing personal essays and memoir, since that is the main thrust of my writing at this point in my life. I remembered that I had some more books on writing in a bookcase in our lower level family room. So off I went to weed out the ones that are now passe.

By the time I finished, I had quite a stack of books I no longer needed or wanted. Our state authors convention provides a table for books like this that anyone may take for free or they can leave a donation which goes to the state organization. And that's where these books will go. Perhaps someone else can find some useful information in them.

But now, I have some extra space on my bookshelves, which means I can go shopping for new books to help me sharpen my writing skills. There is a plethora of books about writing in the bookstores and on books selling websites. Many are written by top name authors while others are by those who teach writing classes.

Do you have a writer's library of your own? Do you read books about writing? If you answered yes to both questions, pat yourself on the back. If you said no, then you'd better get started reading and building a library soon. We never stop learning. There's always room for a little more knowledge in our field. Our writing world changes like a kaleidoscope--so quickly that it is sometimes hard to keep up. Treat yourself to a new book about writing today.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about a few of my favorites.