The Great Library

21 resources to bring out the storyteller in you

Jun 01, 2025

I majored in engineering. Code, process improvements, warehouse layouts, and autoCAD became my life. In those four (maybe five) years, I’m not sure I wrote a single essay.

I definitely didn’t write any stories.

Then I decided to write my first book, and quickly realized I had no idea what I was doing. I went in search of books on writing and story craft only to find that these are far more common than the stories they proclaim to teach you how to write (much like this newsletter, fwiw).

I tried dozens – no, hundreds – of these. Most of them, if I’m being honest, were nothing more than glorified procrastination.

But a select few I open so often that the spines are in danger of falling apart. I feel great recommending these, and beneath each recommendation I’ll include a note on what you’ll learn from that specific resource to give you an idea of whether to invest your hard-earned time and money.

Let’s start with the top echelon of craft books.

Quick note: This pile of resources comes not from a selection offered by the entire world, but only a curation of what I’ve read and listened to. I won’t recommend anything I haven’t tried myself.

Books

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain – George Saunders

It’s not so much the short stories but Saunders’ analysis of them that may make you fall in love with storytelling. His whimsy but insightful style feels like your grandpa just so happens to be the world’s leading expert on story.

Steering the Craft – Ursula K. Le Guin

Le Guin is the most influential writer you may have never heard of. Much of modern speculative fiction owes her a great debt, and this book focuses solely on story craft, not the woo woo stuff you get in many of the writing-memoir style books. It’s short, full of exercises, and focuses on actual techniques.

You’ll enjoy it if you want to go deep on things like information density, sentence structure, and voice.

The Elements of Style – EB White and Wiliam Strunk Jr.

This little book is why half my sentences get shorter every time I edit. It's basically your strict but loving writing coach in paperback form. Strunk and White will beat the fluff out of your writing until only the good stuff remains.

This is for you if you need the barebones fundamentals. It sits on my desk.

Into the Woods – John Yorke

Ever wonder why every story feels familiar? Yorke breaks down the five-act structure that he claims hides in everything from Shakespeare to Pixar. He's got this way of making you go “ohhhh, so THAT'S why that worked” about your favorite stories.

This is for you if you want to go deep on story structure.

This Craft of Verse – Jorge Luis Borges

A short book made up of a series of lectures Borges gave at Cambridge in the 60s. He never wrote a full novel, but became known as one of the great storytellers of the 20th century because of his poems and novellas.

Nobody could do more with fewer words, and this book will help you do the same.

Meander, Spiral, Explode – Jane Alison

A departure from the tyranny of the 3 Act Structure. Alison explores narrative patterns found in nature (think waves, spirals, radials, networks) and shows how to use them in your writing.

This is for you if you’d like to venture outside of the traditional story structures.

Storyworthy – Matthew Dicks

A fun, quick read that leaves you brimming with ideas on how to tell better personal stories. I recommend this book all the time.

If you want to tell better personal stories — at dinners, at work, with friends, on the stage — this is where I recommend starting. A top quality book.

Bird by Bird – Anne LaMott

Part writing craft, part memoir, this is the most woo woo book on the list. LaMott has a special way of talking about writing and story that makes me want to put pen to paper which, honestly, is more valuable than any tactical advice.

This book is for you if you need inspiration to overcome the resistance you feel to actually doing the work.

The Science of Storytelling – Will Storr

There's actual science behind why we can't put down a good story. Storr will teach you how to hack your reader's brain (in the best way possible). The engineering side of me loved this book.

This is for you if you believe the storyteller is both an artist and a scientist, and you want to explore the science.

Several Short Sentences About Writing – Verlyn Klinkenborg

Forget everything you learned in school about topic sentences and five paragraph essays. Each page of this book will make you rethink how sentences actually work.

This is for you if you're ready to unlearn your bad habits.

Conflict & Suspense – James Scott Bell

A tactical approach to creating conflict and suspense in your stories. What I liked most is how Bell applied the ideas at all levels of story — from the overarching structure all the way down to the sentence.

This is for you if you want to add extra umph to your story’s conflict.

Articles + Essays

The Art of Fiction No. 45, John Steinbeck

This is a collection of letters Steinbeck wrote to himself or colleagues while writing East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, and his other novels. They’re informative, entertaining, and above all else, inspiring.

One of the letters includes his ‘6 ideas for better writing.’

The secret architecture of great essays, Michael Dean

Michael by trade is an architect, and his point of view on writing aligns very strongly with mine. I believe there is a secret architecture of great stories, and Michael convincingly makes this argument for great essays.

The Bibliography of a Writing Life, Dylan O’Sullivan

Dylan’s collection of literature is the reason I read This Craft of Verse as well as The Art of Fiction No. 45. He’s done an incredible job curating a wide swath of literature across genres and time periods.

Videos + Podcasts

2025 Creative Writing Lectures, Brandon Sanderson

One of the best-selling fiction authors in the world has a full lecture series on YouTube, for free, that you can watch. All about creative writing and storytelling.

It is incredible.

How I Write, David Perell

A podcast where David interviews writers on their process. He’s obsessed with writing, and it comes across in the quality of the questions, the depth of the answers, and the eagerness of the guests. My favorite of late is this interview with Eric Roth, who wrote the script for Forrest Gump, the Dune movies, and more.

How to Journal (Like a Philosopher)

Journaling is the closest thing I’ve found to time travel. In this video, Jared Henderson focuses on a simple but helpful routine to get you journaling daily. He focuses on the idea that “human beings are narrative creatures.”

Lessons from the Screenplay

This channel feels like you’re getting a degree in screenwriting without having to spend a dime. Each video focuses on a specific topic, such as Creating a Villain, the Control of Information, or

The clues to a great story

A <20 minute masterpiece from the guy behind Finding Nemo and WALL-E.

I’ll leave you with this note I highlighted, “The audience wants to work for their meal. They just don’t want to know they’re doing that. Meaning, we want to be given the clues to understand the whole story. We want to be told, what is 2 + 2? But we don't want to be told, 2 + 2 = 4. It’s this well organized absence of information that draws us in.”

Pick any handful of these and you’ll have a better foundation than the majority of folks out there. But beware, do not bog yourself down in writing and story craft forever. I’ve been there, and it’s addicting.

You must move to the next step.

Pair your learnings with practice. Pick up your favorite book, read it not for fun, but to pick apart how the writer tells the story. What promises do they make? How do they introduce characters? What about conflict? How do they make the story feel logical? How do they get you to ask, ‘what happens next?’

See the patterns. Pay attention to what works on you.

Then tell your own stories. Fictional or personal, doesn’t matter. Apply your learnings. Develop your own style. Put pen to paper.

If you have more resources to add, let me know in the comments.

- Nathan

World Builders

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