For any author who wants to write engaging scenes and dialogue, I would recommend Scene and Structure by Jack M. Bickham. This book provides insight into what makes a scene work and what doesn’t. It also helps to learn how to control the pacing of a novel.

I’d recommend a beginning author read as many books in their chosen genre as they can find to get a feel for the tropes and structure. There’s no single writing book that I adore enough to recommend, except for my own WRITING THE COZY MYSTERY. Even if you don’t write in this genre, you may want to include elements of a mystery in your story.

There are so many writing-related books that I’ve gleaned knowledge from, but I particularly like the simplicity of Janet Evanovich’s HOW I WRITE.

I always recommend BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott. It was the first book that demystified the process of creating a novel. This review nails it: Anne Lamott is “a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps” (Los Angeles Times). Don’t wait. Hint: if you purchase the Kindle version, you can highlight the passages that resonate with you for later.

My recommendation is to find a writing book that speaks to you. I have quite a collection and thought I understood the craft of writing, but then… While pre-published, I attended a writer’s function, and the presenter spoke about a character’s agenda (instead of motivation). A light bulb shone in my head. Coming from a meeting-oriented discipline, I knew all about agendas. Soon thereafter, I got my first two contracts, one in mystery and one in romance.

ON WRITING by Stephen King, but I’d also add that all writers need a strong command of grammar and should have a good grammar book in their author toolbox. If you want to break the rules, you first need to understand them.