If I were to recommend a few books that all writers and artists should have on their resource shelf, I’d recommend Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water, Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life, David Bayles’ and Ted Orland’s Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, and…
Matt Madden’s 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style.
When it comes to getting great ideas on how to approach a scene, it’s one of the most inspiring and useful books I’ve ever encountered. Check it out.
Jeffrey, thanks for passing this along. Us writer types are always concerned about the BEST way to tell our stories or write our scenes. Mr. Madden’s approach appears to be unique, clever, and does what all writers are supposed to do: show, not tell. I commend him for putting that adage to practice in a book about writing.
These are GREAT to look through: http://www.artbabe.com/exercises/exercises/
Very thought-provoking stuff.
I’ve recently discovered the book Exercises in Style by Queneau, which was the inspiration for Madden’s book… the English translation is excellent so I can only assume the original French is very good too. It is, indeed, inspirational, and very funny too.
Glad to hear this version is similarly creative and inspiring.