Why am I passionate about this?

I am a recovering trial lawyer (after 35 years of law practice) who took up fiction writing in my late 50s and became so interested in learning what itā€™s like to be a writer ā€“ and how to write better ā€“ that I began a podcast designed to encourage authors to open up about their writing lives. After more than 500+ author interviews, I remain fascinated by the many different ways that writers approach their craft and how they turn their ā€œwhat-ifsā€ into interesting stories. The writing books that I am recommending are books I used to guide me in my interviews. I hope they will provide insight and inspiration in your writing journey.  


I wrote

The Write Quotes: The Writing Life

By Landis Wade,

Book cover of The Write Quotes: The Writing Life

What is my book about?

In this book, authors from 500+ podcast interviews share their honest reflections on what it really feels like to beā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Landis Wade Why did I love this book?

Every time someone asks me to recommend a book on writing, this is the first book that comes to mind.

It is a two-part wonder, one part memoir and one part master class on writing. Your first treat is the tale of this expert storytellerā€™s path to being a writer. And then come the tips. One of my favorite tips involves killing all your adverbs, words he likens to weeds.

Whether youā€™re a fan of Stephen Kingā€™s stories or not, this is the book for you if you want to experience what it feels like to be a writer and you want to learn how to write well. 

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

24 authors picked On Writing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINEā€™S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME

Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen Kingā€™s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.

ā€œLong live the Kingā€ hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen Kingā€™s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writerā€™s craft, comprising the basic tools of theā€¦


Book cover of Brook Trout & the Writing Life: The Intermingling of Fishing and Writing in a Novelist's Life

Landis Wade Why did I love this book?

I was drawn to this book by the title but also the subtitle: The intermingling of fishing and writing in a novelistā€™s life.

As a fly fisherman and writer myself, I have often thought about the connection between fishing and writing, and more particularly, the similar experiences that come from both, so when I learned about this book, I had to read it. Craig Nova does not disappoint.

Fishing is about good stories, and Nova tells them in this book, but he also reveals how fishing and writing have common needs, such as the need to be in the moment.

He also is honest about the challenges of being a writer and he uses the stream to remind us that when, as he says, ā€œthe literary weather is going to take a turn for the worst, what is needed, more than anything else, is the ability to calm down.ā€ 

By Craig Nova,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Brook Trout & the Writing Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this memoir, novelist Craig Nova explores the interconnections between his work as a writer, his personal life, and his passion for fly fishing. Nova leads the reader into his courtship, marriage, the birth of his children, and his life as a father, husband, writer, friend, citizen, and angler. Just as the author observes the life of the elusive and beautiful brook trout in the tea-colored streams, he finds interconnections to his daily life--he teaches his daughter to build an igloo; he deals with the disappointment of a very public mean-spirited review of his much-anticipated novel; he gazes at hisā€¦


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Book cover of All They Need to Know

All They Need to Know by Eileen Goudge,

On the run from her abusive husband, Kyra Smith hits the road. Destination unknown. With a dog she rescued in tow, she lands in the peaceful California mountain town of Gold Creek and is immediately befriended by an openhearted group of women who call themselves the Tattooed Ladies. Theyā€™re thereā€¦

Book cover of A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life

Landis Wade Why did I love this book?

What better way to experience what it feels like to be a writer than to read the reflections of one of the Southā€™s beloved storytellers?

Pat Conroy was a writer who mentored other writers, quick with a blurb and a word of encouragement. In this book, we find a compilation of his thoughts on writing and publishing from interviews, magazine articles, speeches, and letters.

I loved this book because it shows the personal side of the writer, offering up tidbits about how the internet and technology were mysteries to him, along with his deeper reflections like: ā€œThe Great Santini hurt my entire family. But if I didnā€™t tell the truth the way I saw it, I wasnā€™t worth anything as a writer.ā€

Southern writer Rick Braggā€™s homage to Pat Conroy at the end of the book is a touching exclamation point. 

By Pat Conroy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Lowcountry Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Final words and heartfelt remembrances from bestselling author Pat Conroy take center stage in this winning nonfiction collection, supplemented by touching pieces from Conroyā€™s many friends.

This new volume of Pat Conroyā€™s nonfiction brings together some of the most charming interviews, magazine articles, speeches, and letters from his long literary career, many of them addressed directly to his readers with his habitual greeting, ā€œHey, out there.ā€ Ranging across diverse subjects, such as favorite recent reads, the challenge of staying motivated to exercise, and processing the loss of dear friends, Conroyā€™s eminently memorable pieces offer a unique window into the lifeā€¦


Book cover of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Landis Wade Why did I love this book?

I and many other writers think of this book based on the title alone.

There is more to the book that the title, of course, but it is the clue to the meat of the book, which is, and I am paraphrasing: writing is hard to do, so take it one step at a time, sentence by sentence, word by word, bird by bird.

Lamottā€™s practical writing advice is filled with stories about writing. She is witty and funny and above all, practical. Because writing is difficult, she shines the light on that elephant in the writing room.

Part memoir and part writing advice, itā€™s nice to read a book that shows that someone who became such a talented writer can remain humble about what it takes to make it happen.    

By Anne Lamott,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Bird by Bird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ā€¢ An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writerā€™s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times). 

ā€œSuperb writing adviceā€¦. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.ā€ ā€”The New York Times Book Review

For a quarter century, more than a million readersā€”scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilitiesā€”have been inspired by Anne Lamottā€™s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdomā€¦


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Book cover of Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)

Me and The Times by Robert W. Stock,

Me and The Times offers a fresh perspective on those pre-internet days when the Sunday sections of The New York Times shaped the countryā€™s political and cultural conversation. Starting in 1967, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections over 30 years, innovating and troublemaking all the way.

His memoir isā€¦

Book cover of The Writing Life

Landis Wade Why did I love this book?

While some writing books offer nuts and boltsā€“the so-called rules of writingā€“this book from Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Dillard teases the writer with essays that make you think.

We are invited into the world of writing with metaphor and we learn by comparison. Like the story of the inchworm stuck in the long grasses, frozen to the tall blades. Perhaps you should just jump, Dillard quips, and put yourself ā€œout of your misery.ā€

True, writing can be miserable at times, but also, it can be wonderful. I like this book because it is a way to experience what it feels like to be a writer through the craft of prose. 

By Annie Dillard,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Writing Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"For nonwriters, it is a glimpse into the trials and satisfactions of a life spent with words. For writers, it is a warm, rambling, conversation with a stimulating and extraordinarily talented colleague." ā€” Chicago Tribune

From Pulitzer Prize-winning Annie Dillard, a collection that illuminates the dedication and daring that characterizes a writer's life.

In these short essays, Annie Dillardā€”the author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and An American Childhoodā€”illuminates the dedication, absurdity, and daring that characterize the existence of a writer. A moving account of Dillardā€™s own experiences while writing her works, The Writing Life offers deep insight into oneā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

The Write Quotes: The Writing Life

By Landis Wade,

Book cover of The Write Quotes: The Writing Life

What is my book about?

In this book, authors from 500+ podcast interviews share their honest reflections on what it really feels like to be a writer. These inspirational and practical quotes come from hard-working, award-winning, and New York Times bestselling authors in more than 33 U.S. states and five countries.

Authors quoted include David Baldacci, Therese Anne Fowler, Steve Berry, Lisa Jewell, John Hart, Sophie Cousens, Ron Rash, C.J. Box, Craig Johnson, Wylie Cash, Kristy Harvey, Brad Taylor, Charlie Lovett, Judy Goldman, Chris Fabry, Amber Smith, Tracy Clark, John Gilstrap, Kimmery Martin, A.J. Hartley, Clyde Edgerton, Jill McCorkle, Jason Mott, Mark de Castrique, Cathy Pickens, David Joy, and many more.

Book cover of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Book cover of Brook Trout & the Writing Life: The Intermingling of Fishing and Writing in a Novelist's Life
Book cover of A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life

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