Books You Should Read To Improve Your Writing (Part 2)

Books you should read to improve your writing (Part 2)

1. The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

Books You Should Read To Improve Your Writing (Part 2)

Aspect this book will teach you: AMAZING WORLD-BUILDING

Too much time has passed since the powerful dragon Tintaglia helped the people of the Trader cities stave off an invasion of their enemies. The Traders have forgotten their promises, weary of the labor and expense of tending earthbound dragons who were hatched weak and deformed by a river turned toxic. If neglected, the creatures will rampage–or die–so it is decreed that they must move farther upriver toward Kelsingra, the mythical homeland whose location is locked deep within the dragons’ uncertain ancestral memories. Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons to their new home. And on an extraordinary odyssey with no promise of return, many lessons will be learned–as dragons and tenders alike experience hardships, betrayals … and joys beyond their wildest imaginings. (Goodreads summary)

Honestly, it blows my mind that anyone could have created the world in this series. The way the world is set out, the cultures and ways of living, the unique trade, the creatures, the history, the motivation of the characters, and the prejudices the characters have to face are all tied in so well together. This series offers a completely different world that still manages to be realistic AF. I would definitely recommend this series.

2. Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

Books You Should Read To Improve Your Writing (Part 2)

Aspect this book will teach you: REALISTIC FIRST PERSON POV

Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job – missing persons. Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell’s undertow. Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she’ll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives – including her own. (Goodread summary)

The way in which Lauren Beukes tells the story through her protagonist’s perspective is so realistic that you manage to forget that Zinizi is only a fictional character. The ways in which things are described, the main character’s attitude and the way in which the city of Johannesburg is represented through Zinzi’s eyes is stunningly contemporary and accurate.

If you want to learn how to write a modern character’s POV with realistic humour and pessimism, this book is for you.

3. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Books You Should Read To Improve Your Writing (Part 2)

Aspect this book will teach you: CREATING BELIEVABLE MAGIC SYSTEMS

Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands… (Goodreads summary)

The Inheritance Cycle will forever be one of my favourite book series. This is partly due to the fact that Eragon was the first fantasy book I read where the magic system made complete sense to me and was believable. The way in which the toll magic takes is described, as well the main character’s journey to becoming a powerful magic-wielder are done so well. It is well worth the read.

4. Half Bad by Sally Green

Books You Should Read To Improve Your Writing (Part 2)

Aspect this book will teach you: BREAKING THE RULES OF WRITING LIKE A BADASS MF

Wanted by no one. Hunted by everyone. Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan’s only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it’s too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves? Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive. (Goodreads summary)

I absolutely adore the way this novel (and the whole series) is written. Green has some chapters that are only a word long, pages of only punctuation marks, sections where the POV is unclear etc. She breaks all the rules we were taught to follow and it makes the book all the better. Green uses language and form in ways that I would never have thought of to convey her characters’ emotions and it is an amazing experience to read how she does this.

5. Animal Farm by George Orwell

Books You Should Read To Improve Your Writing (Part 2)

Aspect this book will teach you: ALLEGORY DONE RIGHT

Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” Published in 1945, this powerful satire of the Russian Revolution under Stalin remains as vivid and relevant today as it was on its first publication. (Goodreads summary)

As you can see from the blurb above, this book uses a deceptively simple story line to comment on political problems. The way this novel uses allegory and satire is iconic. If you want to learn about commenting on politics or other world issues in an ironic and unique way, give this book a read. It’s a very easy and short read - so, do yourself the favour.

Reblog if you love any of these books. Comment with your own recommendations. Follow me for similar content.

More Posts from Ramblingsandwritings and Others

4 years ago

Hang in there guys

I Decided To Create A Masterpost That Would Help You With What You Are Struggling With. Hopefully Any

I decided to create a masterpost that would help you with what you are struggling with. Hopefully any of the links below will help you! Reminder; You’re going to be okay. What you are going through will pass, just remember to breathe. 

————————————————————————————-

Distractions;

Here are some distractions to help keep your mind occupied so you aren’t too focused on your thoughts. 

-Draw something

-This website translates the time into colours.

-Create your own galaxy.

-Play flowing.

-Make a 3D line travel where ever you like. 

-Listen to music.

-Calm.

-Ocean mood, do nothing for two minutes.

Sleep issues; 

- 8 hour sleep music.

-Rainy mood. 

-Meditation.

-Coping with nightmares.

-How to cope with nightmares, 11 steps.

-Calm

-Foods that can affect your sleeping, both positive and negatively. 

  Uncomfortable with silence; 

-Rainy mood.

-10 hours of rain and thunder.

-3 hours of rain and thunder.

-Human heartbeat.

-Rainforest.

-Sound of rain on a tin roof.

-Autumn wind.

-Rain on a tent

-Traffic in the rain.

-Soft traffic. 

-Fan.

-Train.

-Simply noise.

-My noise.

-Rainy cafe.

Anxiety; 

-How to stop worrying. 

-Tips to manage anxiety and stress.

-The 10 best ever anxiety management techniques. 

-Self-help strategies for anxiety. 

-Helping a friend with anxiety. 

-All about worrying.

-8 myths about anxiety. 

Sad, angry and depressed/depression; 

-“I’m always sad”

-Feeling sad.

-Going through trauma.

-“I’m always angry”.

-Anger management. 

-All about anger.

-National helplines and websites.

-Self-help strategies for depression.

-Dealing with depression at work.

-Dealing with depression at school.

Isolation and loneliness; 

-Pets and mental health.

-All about loneliness. 

-“I feel so alone”

-10 more ideas to help with loneliness. 

-How to deal with loneliness.

  Self-harm;

-Alternatives to self-harm and distraction techniques.

-146 things to do besides self-harm.

-More alternatives to self-harm.

-Self-harm alternatives.

-How to take care of self-harm wounds/injuries.

-Getting rid of scars.  

Addiction; 

-How to help a friend with a drug addiction.

-What is addiction?

-All about alcohol and addiction.

-The facts about drug addiction.

  Eating disorders; 

-Helping a friend with an eating disorder.

-Eating disorder treatments. 

-Support services for eating disorders. 

-Self-help tips with eating disorders.

-Eating disorder recovery. 

-Recovering from an eating disorder. 

-100+ reasons to recover. 

-Understanding and managing eating disorders. 

  Dealing with self-hatred;  

-3 ways to ease self-loathing. 

-How to turn self-hatred into self-compassion.

-Self-hatred resources.

-10 step plan to deal with self-hate. 

  Suicidal; 

-International suicide hotlines (1)  (2)

-Preventing suicide. 

-Reasons to stay alive.

-Dealing with suicidal thoughts and feelings.

-Coping with suicidal ideation.  

  Schizophrenia;

-All about schizophrenia.  

-Helping a person with schizophrenia.  

-Understanding and dealing with schizophrenia.  

-Delusions and hallucinations.  

OCD;

-Managing your OCD at home. 

-Overcoming OCD.

-How to cope with OCD. 

-Strategies for dealing with the anxious moments. 

Borderline personality disorder; 

-Helping someone with BPD. 

-All about personality disorders.

-Treatment for BPD.

Abuse; 

-Healthy relationships VS abusive relationships. 

-Emotional abuse

-Overcoming sexual abuse. 

-Hotlines services. 

-5 ways to escape an abusive relationship. 

-Domestic violence support. 

-Signs of an abusive relationship. 

-What do to if you’re in an abusive relationship. 

-Surviving abuse. 

-What you can do if you’re sexual harassed. 

-Sexual assault support.

-What to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted or abused. 

  Bullying;

-How to stand up against bullying.

-How to protect yourself when it comes to cyber bullying.

-How to help stop people bullying you. 

  Loss and grief; 

-How to cope with a suicide of a loved one.

-Grieving for a stranger. 

-Common reactions to death. 

-Working through grief.

(Other loss and grief)

-Moving away from friends and family. 

-Coping with a breakup.

  Getting help; 

-Seeking help early. 

-All about psychological treatments. 

-Types of help.

-All about age and confidentiality. 

Things you need to remember; 

- Don’t stress about being fixed because you’re not broken.

-Remember to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Tell yourself that you’re proud of yourself, even if you’re not. 

- This is temporary. You won’t always feel like this. 

-You are not alone. 

-You are enough. 

-You are important. 

-You are worth it. 

-You are strong. 

-You are not a failure, 

-Good people exist. 

-Reaching out shows strength. 

-Breathe. 

-Don’t listen to the thoughts that are not helping you. 

-Give yourself credit. 

-Don’t be ashamed of your emotions, for the good or bad ones. 

-Treat yourself the same way as you would treat a good friend. 

-Focus on the things you can change. 

-Let go of toxic people. 

-You don’t need to hide, you’re allowed to feel the way you do. 

-Try not to beat yourself up. 

-Something is always happening, you don’t want to miss out on what’s going to happen next. 

-You are not a bother.

-Your existence is more than your appearance. 

-You are smart. 

-You are loved. 

-You are wanted. 

-You are needed. 

-Better days are coming. 

-Just because your past is dark, doesn’t mean your future isn’t bright. 

-You have more potential than you think. 

- Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.

Please remember to look after yourself and know that you are more than worth it and you deserve to be happy. Keep smiling butterflies x


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5 years ago

It was all a mistake.  A misunderstanding.  Another day, another fight.  Except...this time Eclipse had won. The alleyway was dark, abandoned.  The girl ripped off her own mask, letting even more tears trace their paths down her face.  “Stay with me- no, don’t you dare.  Not now- not yet...”  She clutched the body of her love, shaking in horrible cries.  Small fires burned, not yet having burned themselves out.  The villain didn’t care if the coals burned her, what did it matter.  It had all been a game, of some sort or another.  They had started out as friends, and then she would merely pull pranks on him and he would do them back.  Until one day a line was crossed.  After all, when two people are special and have powers, eventually it all goes downhill.  Her sister died because of him.  She still remembered his stunned face, even through the mask.  He tried to say he was sorry, looked down horrified at himself.  He tried to make it better.  She shoved him away, snarling that she didn’t want any part in it.  Sorrow and anger were easier to justify than mercy and remorse.  That’s when it stopped being a game.  She wanted his death, and she had gotten it. 

There were times when she didn’t have to be different.  Days when she could just be herself.  Narah.  Days when she could just sit in a coffee shop and people watch, or walk her dog in the park, or attempt to do yoga for fun.  But when her sister died, someone new came into her life.

Ronan.  Tall.  Funny.  He had freckles on his nose that scrunched when he laughed, and red-gold hair.  They met at the funeral.  He had come up to her and said his condolences like everyone else.  She gave the same response as she gave anyone else and moved about the room.  But when they ran into each other again, in the park, that’s when something started.  He asked her how she was doing, and she was honest.  That was when their friendship started.  He was the only one who knew, truly knew who she was.  He found out when he knocked on the door of her apartment after she hadn’t talked to anyone, or left in days.  All of the rooms had ice dripping from them, drawing into their source.  Her.  She had been sobbing for days, her grief unquenchable.

As months went by, the line blurred between friend and lover.  They did everything together, and he knew all of her faults and loved her for it.  He never tried to stop her from fighting her nemesis.  Once, and only once, he asked her why. She stopped by his apartment and found him nursing a deep gash on his face.  He just said he got in a fight and left it at that.  But then, later on, while they were talking over coffee, he asked her softly why she fought her nemesis like she did. After a long time she answered, "Because if I don't, I feel like I will forget her."

But that was all gone, her future with him dripping through her fingers just like the blood did.  She pressed herself to him, clutching his body and curling into it.  Her sobs echoed against the stone in the ally, her body shaking.  

“Don’t go.... don’t leave me alone.”  

He didn’t answer.

Prompt #2090

“No,” they whimpered. “N-no, not you, anyone but you.” They slumped to their knees, cradled the hero’s face between the hands that had killed them. “I never knew- never even guessed- oh god, oh god. [Hero] was just my nemesis but I love you, loved you.” They choked on their own sobbing, their lover’s skin going cold under their fingers. “Don’t leave me, please, god, just don’t leave me-”


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5 years ago

Where my world building nerds at? Reblog this post if you LOVE doing world building, love TALKING about your world building, and would love QUESTIONS about your world building in your askbox!

5 years ago

It was a hit and run type thing, her apartment had been broken into.  But, as criminals go, once you become one the police don’t particularly like to help.  Alara gave a broken, raspy cough.  Panicking would do her no good now.  She wasn’t afraid of death, almost welcoming it.  But she didn’t want to leave him alone to clean up her mess.

“What kinda problem exactly?”  He sat up, swinging his legs off of the bed and rubbing the bridge of his nose.  Normally he wouldn’t be quite so concerned about why she was calling at whatever godforsaken hour this was, but this time... this time something was different.

Her breathing grew shallower, and she bit her lip trying to hold back a whine of pain before completely breaking down in sobs, curling around herself.  She pulled her hand away from her stomach and watched the drops of blood fall off of her fingers onto the floor.

“Alara?”  His voice was sharp, all of the warning lights going off at once.  “Alara what’s going on?”  He flicked the light on, wincing at the brightness as he began the search for his jacket. 

“Something happened...”

“I know that already.”  He growled.  “So help me tell me what’s wrong.”

“Someone broke into my apartment.”

He stopped dead in his tracks for one split second, before shaking himself out of it.  She lived only a mile or two away, it would be alright.  

“Are you hurt?”  He asked carefully.

She hesitated in her answer.

“Y-you’re... Evan you’re not going to make it in time.”  Her voice was soft, soothing.  As if it would help.  

Writing Prompt #124

A sat crying, finger hovering shakily over the call button. B would be asleep, and they didn’t want to wake them- they were a bad enough morning person as it was. But they needed help, and desperately. They didn’t think they had much time left.

The phone rang for a while, the tone echoing throughout the stone walls of the room they were in, before B’s croaky voice answered.

“What sorta time do you call this?”

“Hey, B…” A said, their voice small, “I’m sorry to wake you up… I wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important…”

“It’s… it’s okay,” B replied groggily, “what’s up?”

“I have a slight problem…” said A, “I’m uh… in a little bit of trouble-”

“Oh…? That doesn’t sound good.”

“No…” A sobbed, looking down at the blood beginning to seep through their shirt. “It’s really not.”


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5 years ago

I recently started journaling and for some reason I feel a lot less anxious and I get things done?

4 years ago

is pirate a potential career

please

I beg of thee

let me be a pirate standing on the bough of a ship leaning out with my hair blowing on the wind without a care in the world, my chaotic evil radiating out from me across the dark stormy sea as I wander about, drifting with the tides with a quill in my hand and a never fading smirk upon my face


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5 years ago

everyone who reblogs this before 03-30-2020 gets a book recommendation based on their blog in their inbox

4 years ago

She watches over us and the night, her soft purrs causing the stars stuck in her fur to ripple and our mossy forests to sway.  

Concept: You walk outside one night and notice that there are two full moons. A few hours go by and they don’t seem to move.

You stare up at them.

They blink.


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5 years ago

Snow falling, bittersweetness, dancing in the dark on nimble feet, stillness and unsettling quiet with your mind beginning to become curious


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4 years ago

Shout out to all the kids who are really good at acting and theater because they’re so used to changing their personality constantly be it parental struggles or just morphing depending on who you’re with


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ramblingsandwritings - Here For The Vibes
Here For The Vibes

Hello! Just your local chaos gremlin. Twenty year old lesbian figuring things out.

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