Discover great writer’s secret to writing books that people love.
What is the great writers’ secret for creating books that stay with us long after we’ve ended the story?
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Stephen King
All writers know that books are their true friend.
“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” — Ernest Hemingway
Okay, so you love books. But like all kinds of love you need to explore and discover the object of your love. Here are a couple articles that will help you dig deeper when you open a book and start to read and love the book. Monica M. Clarke reviews Francine Prose’s Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. She gives you guidepost on how to discover what makes good writing by reading closely and reading the greats. Kate Maurice’s article provides 9 Ways Proper Reading Can Improve Your Writing. Ms. Maurice’s says, “All great writers started as book lovers.
I hope this 50-state book tour takes you on a book-loving journey to great writing since the books for all 50 state are from great writers. They can become your guide with their magical words that become worlds that last.
The 50-state book tour ends with the following four states on the map. You can visit previous blogs to find the great writers from the other fifty states.
Final states on the map.
Washington’s best read is Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Snow Falling on Cedars is a compelling read – one-part whodunit and one-part courtroom thriller. It follows the mysterious death of a fisherman on San Piedro Island in Washington. A Japanese American man is charged with the murder, and the ensuing trial unearths both the man’s own haunted past as well as the past sins of the entire community on San Piedro.
West Virginia’s best read is The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
This beloved memoir from Jeannette Walls recounts her tumultuous childhood – a large part of which was spent in Welch, WV. Born to an alcoholic, hopelessly optimistic father and an erratic mother, Walls childhood was one of disappointment, tragedy, and joy in near equal measure.
Wisconsin’s best read is The Deep End of The Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Mitchard’s debut novel imagines an ordinary family ripped apart when their youngest son is kidnapped, only to mysteriously return nine years later. The novel charts the mother’s struggles against her own grief and the lengths she goes to hold her tattered family together.
Wyoming best read is Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx
This collection of short stories is best known for Prouix’s Brokeback Mountain, but each of the tales – all set against a desolate Wyoming backdrop – are as well drawn and emotionally resonant.
Next, you may want to visit these states to discover how they inspired these authors to create their stories.
State tourist information:
