At the end of this post, I hope that you will have been inspired |

• to list ten books that you love
• to write a scene by following the writing practice “Learn from the books you love
• to print out and use the free printable

10 Books I Love

Don’t ask me to pick my favorite books and if you ask me tomorrow the above could look entirely different. But when I brainstormed the books I love this is what came up for me today.

(For the following writing exercise it is also a good thing that the list can change)

(If you want to read any of the books on my list here they are listed by authors as well.)

After I read Francine Prose’s book “Reading like a writer” I try to ask myself each time I think of a book how can this book help me to become a better writer. One way is to do what I share in the following.

Step 1 | List the Books

When I make my list I try not to mix nonfiction with fiction. Even though the above list doesn’t exactly resemble this I try to keep separate lists for different genres like crime fiction and fantasy and would let memoirs have their own list as well. But as the saying goes when it comes to love and war there are no rules so just make the list of ten books you love the way you want to.

Action step | Make a list of 10 books you love

Step 2 |Look for a Common Theme

Now comes the part when it is time to fuse the mind of the reader with the mind of the writer. When you go through your list is it then possible to detect a common theme between the books. Do they have the same kind of character or setting or is the feeling they leave you with kind of the same sensation. When I went through my list I think the common theme amongst most of the books is “Life at peril” either by the hand of others or by one’s own. They also carry a sense of beauty in hard times.

Action step| Make a note of the theme you see emerge from your list.

Step 3 |Now you are ready to write

Often one of the problems with writing is knowing what to write about. One advice often to come up is “write what you know” but I want to put a spin to this and say “write what you love”. If you love to read about romance or loneliness try to write about this yourself. If you love a strong heroine write a scene with such a character. If you love the surroundings to play a big part in the setting of the story write an opening paragraph inviting us into this scenery.

Action step | Brainstorm what scene you could write with the theme you got from your list of books. Now write for ten minutes from the idea you liked the best

Free Printable

Action step | Download free worksheet and print A4 without border, fill out and have a good time writing