Six books for new prose writers | a blog from our Writer in Residence, Peter McAllister

Our Writer in Residence, Peter McAllister, shares his recommendations of the best books about creative writing… 

“When starting my writing journey, I found it very difficult to know what advice to heed and from whom. Everyone seemed to have an opinion, a fixed idea of what’s expected of a writer. ‘You need to be at your desk every day,’ some said. Others offered the time-honoured, ‘just write what you know,’ and I was even told once to, ‘look for the lifeblood of the story… its stream will guide you.’ Though always given in good faith, advice often felt contradictory and the sheer volume of it was overwhelming.

A great writer and someone who has since become a close friend of mine offered the best advice: do whatever works for you. I knew she was right, straight away. There is no ‘one size fits all’. Whatever method keeps you producing work you’re proud of is right for you. It may be a completely different approach to what works for the next person, but writing is, for the most part, a solitary pursuit with no universal flow-chart to guaranteed success.

We can all benefit from some good quality pointers in the right direction, of course, so with the above caveat in mind, I offer for your consideration six craft books, written by leading authors, academics and critics. Chosen specifically for their vastly varied styles and suggested strategies, I hope one, two or perhaps even all six will prove useful for emerging writers. They each give different viewpoints on the craft of writing and, while some might serve simply to help you eliminate ways of working, others may offer something you take forward through the rest of your writing life. You may find yourself a favourite to reach for frequently or when in need of something particular it offers…”

Ailsa Cox – Writing Short Stories

“As Professor Emerita of short fiction at Edge Hill University and founder of the Edge Hill Prize, Ailsa Cox has made educating others and rewarding them for their successes her goal in life. And she’s very good at it. 

A huge fan of short stories myself, this book has been invaluable to me for many years and is one I often flip through when looking for a writing prompt or an exercise to help develop a section of a piece I’m working on. This book isn’t just for short fiction writers; Cox encourages emerging writers to break habits, try new things, and generally explore their creativity.

Key aspects of creative writing are explained clearly and concisely, including character development, structure, dialogue, viewpoint, narrative voice and much more. Exercises throughout each chapter ensure you’re writing as you work through the book and form a bank of tools you can draw on for many years afterwards. This is a text to work through from cover to cover, should you wish, but one I feel works best to dip in and out of, as needed.”

(Not currently available from The Morrab Library.)

Jessica Brody – Save the Cat Writes a Novel

“For novelists who work best within a clearly defined framework, Jessica Brody’s best-seller is a must. Follow the steps in this book from cover to cover and you’ll plop out at the far end of it with a manuscript built on decades of research, having employed her one-size-fits-all drafting method. 

The famed ‘Save the Cat’ methodology was originally a screenwriting strategy and here, Brody has successfully adapted it to novel-writing, so if you’re a filmic writer (ie. if you see your story as moving images in your head), you’ll likely connect with this book. Guiding writers through the fifteen plot points Brody says she has identified in almost every successful novel in history, she promises to help you compose successful novels that sell. There are many ‘cheat-sheets’ to be found online that claim to summarise her method (one written by Brody herself) but working through this book will bring benefits beyond just the production of your manuscript; you’ll learn how novels are constructed and begin almost subconsciously working that knowledge into all your writing from that point on.”

(Available to borrow from The Morrab Library. It can be found in the Literature Room, upstairs, at the Dewey Number 808.3)

 

James Wood – How Fiction Works

“Prepare to bore friends and family by spontaneously reading out loud from this book; you won’t be able to resist, it explores such fascinating insights into the world of fiction. James Wood covers ground here ranging from present day back to Homer’s writings of the eighth century BC, picking apart the very foundations of fiction, explaining how it works and how contemporary writers can harness it. 

Wood was The Guardian’s Chief Literary Critic, a staff writer at The New Yorker and Professor of Literary Criticism at Harvard, so is expertly qualified to guide readers through this history of fiction. Of course, while interesting for all, this isn’t a book for non-fiction writers to rush out and buy.

Far from an instruction manual, this is more of a historical exploration that will have you reaching for the old favourites you thought you knew inside-out and re-reading them with a new understanding and appreciation. You’ll then be able to employ this knowledge in your writing, unlocking greater depths to your fiction.”

(Available to borrow from The Morrab Library. It can be found in the Literature Room, upstairs, at the Dewey Number 808.3)

 

(Available to borrow from The Morrab Library. It can be found in the Literature Room, upstairs, at the Dewey Number 808.06)

 

Anne Lamott – Bird by Bird

“A beautiful exploration of the love of authorship, Lamott uses her signature style of non-fiction to take readers on a journey of becoming a writer in this best-selling book. Very much a blend of novel and instruction manual, Lamott delves deep into her father’s brain cancer diagnosis, the birth of her son, marriage, death, domestic abuse and how this and more has all affected her writing. 

For those struggling to find their way in the literary world, it may comfort you to learn that even greats such a Lamott have struggled intensely. Bird by Bird is relatable, heartbreaking, reassuring and exhilarating in equal measures. If you’re looking to wrap yourself up in an emotional read that will linger long after you put it down and simultaneously help you understand your own process, then this is a must-buy.”

John Yorke – Into the Woods

“A seasoned pro in the world of broadcast writing, Yorke is Managing Director of Company Pictures – the producers of Skins, Shameless, Wolf Hall etc. In terms of British Drama, they don’t come more experienced; Yorke (who also heads up Channel Four Drama and is Controller of BBC Drama Production) founded the BBC Writer’s Academy – a year-long programme that has produced a generation of successful television writers.

Into the Woods examines the concept of ‘story’ from all angles, revealing that there are identical elements in everything from fairy tales to blockbuster Hollywood movies. Using visual media as a starting point for most of his theorisation, he helps film and television writers see how easily they can draw on time-tested methods to improve their own writing, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. This isn’t just a book for screenwriters, far from it; Yorke offers insights that will benefit all who want to tell a story, whatever their form.”

(Available to borrow from The Morrab Library. It can be found in the Literature Room, upstairs, at the Dewey Number 808.3)

 

Jane Alison – Meander, Spiral, Explode

“For something a little bit… different, make sure to give Jane Alison’s award-winning craft book some much-deserved consideration. Breaking away from standard formulaic propositions, Meander, Spiral, Explode encourages writers to look for patterns in nature and use them to ‘feel’ their way through their stories, employing pure creative energy, rather than road-mapped guidance.

A fun read and insightful offering, Alison challenges the importance of the dramatic arc, rising tension, climaxes and denouements. She implores writers to leave these ‘outdated modes’ behind and instead ‘bring back experimentation’. For anyone who considers themselves a non-linear prose writer, this will be a huge help and a great pleasure to read.”

Peter is our Writer in Residence from March 2025 – March 2026. You can read more about his residency here and book a place on one of his creative writing workshops here

Library member Patricia Wilson Smith writes for us about J.T. Blight – part three

The fascinating and tragic story of J.T. Blight has captured the imagination of writers and artists over many years. Library member Patricia Wilson Smith has written the third instalment of a blog for us about how Blight‘s story has inspired her…

Continuing my research into John Blight’s life, in May I revisited the archives at The Morrab Library and Kresen Kernow. In the Morrab library are two small diaries crammed with tiny writing and drawings, in which John Blight documents his first months at the Cornwall County Asylum. His writing is neat, mostly easy to read, but sometimes requiring a magnifying glass. His early entries are lucid and full of observational details.

Between 19th and 28th September he is clearly confused at times, and struggles to keep focused, but his wandering thoughts are punctuated with clear and unambiguous reflections that he has been ‘betrayed’ by those he has formerly counted as his friends. It seems that others shared his view:

From the Visitors Committee Minutes held at Kresen Kernow, I learned that William Borlase represented those responsible for administering the funds for Blight’s early years at the asylum, and that in 1878 he advised the Asylum Visitors (trustees) that he no longer had sufficient funds. In 1882 he reported that he could no longer be held personally responsible, which lead to a public appeal. The writer John Michell quotes from the Earl of Mt. Edgcombe’s address to the Royal Institution, Cornwall in May 1883:

“I think you will pardon me for recalling to your memory one whose name will live in Cornwall in connection with works which you all know, but whose face will never be seen amongst us again. His descriptive power and artistic skill are things of the past, because, thought the hand still lives, the overwrought brain, powerless to guide it”  
(from ‘A Short Life at the Lands End’, Michell, 1977)

A few days later, on 30 May, Cornish newspapers printed an appeal by William Bolitho for contributions to Blight’s ‘upkeep’ at the asylum. A Royal bounty of £200 was guaranteed if a further contribution of £300 could be raised in donations. ‘£100 can be relied on’, said Bolitho, ‘it remains to raise the further £200’.

Until that time his care had been provided by ‘friends who knew him in happier days’ and 2 grants of £100 and £50 from the Queens fund. The aim now was to guarantee an annuity of £50 per year, failing that Blight would be transferred to the paupers’ wing. The committee of the Penzance Public Library concluded they hadn’t the funds, but voted to support a public appeal. Money was finally raised to purchase an annuity of £43, and Blight was to all intents and purposes forgotten. In 1884 an announcement by his publisher, Parker, in Oxford, pronounced him dead.

©patricia wilson smith 2025

https://patriciawilsonartist.com/2025/04/14/john-thomas-blight-1835-1911/

Library member Patricia Wilson Smith writes for us about J.T. Blight – part two

The fascinating and tragic story of J.T. Blight has captured the imagination of writers and artists over many years. Library member Patricia Wilson Smith has written the second instalment of a blog for us about how Blight‘s story has inspired her…

I’m reading A Week at the Lands End, John Blight’s third published work. The copy I hold in my hands was printed in 1861, and it thrills me to handle an early edition. What can it have meant to him, I wonder? As an artist myself, I imagine his excitement at seeing his work in print. 

John Blight  was 26, and had already published a detailed review of the ‘Ancient Crosses and Other Antiquities in the West of Cornwall’ ( 1857 ), followed by a similar treatise for East Cornwall (1858). He was attempting to preserve details of a large part of Cornwall’s history that was in danger of being swept away by a wave of Victorian modernisation.

His little ‘travelogue’, ‘A Week at the Lands End’ clearly had the growing tourist trade in mind, but was crammed with lovingly-detailed engravings of local wildlife and flora, tales of old superstitions, and recommendations for walks, as well as carefully recorded depictions of the sites of interest.

The frontispiece to ‘A Week at the Lands End’ – Could that be JTB, seated behind the couple in the foreground, intently sketching the scene?

Above: ‘The Irish Lady’. Below: ‘The Armed Knight’.

I’ve broadened my research, visiting Kresen Kernow, the Cornwall archive at Redruth, to view two letters from St Lawrence’s Hospital, (formerly Bodmin Asylum): letters replying to an enquiry from a member of the Helston Old Cornwall Society in 1968.  The first letter, dated 5th February 1968 confirms –

‘He was admitted from 16 Morrab Place, Penzance…He was described as single, 32 (sic) years of age, and his occupation was Artist, FSA. Author. The supposed cause of his illness was stated to be overwork and overexcitement about a book he was writing’.

The second letter, one week later, raises an interesting question: 

‘He was admitted on 25th May, 1871, he was classified as a Private Patient and the Form of Guarantee…was for one month only. However, from the correspondence it would appear that interested people or relatives were making arrangements for a further Guarantee of a longer duration…’ 

The ‘Form of Guarantee’ referred to a payment of 16 shillings for board and maintenance not exceeding one month. Whoever the interested parties were, they were successful, and Blight never escaped the confines of the asylum. 

A subsequent visit to the Archive enabled me to view the Order for the Reception of a Private Patient, signed by John Blight’s father on 22 May 1871, before he was to travel by train, accompanied by two attendants, to Bodmin Asylum.  Robert Blight stated that JTB had been ‘getting worse for nearly three years’, that he supposed the cause to be overwork, and that he had ‘lately been using threats of violence’. One wonders what was so disturbing this gentle, refined and talented artist, who was now described as suffering from delusions by the two medical professionals who signed the certificate confirming him to be of unsound mind.

© patricia wilson smith 2025

Library member Patricia Wilson Smith writes for us about J.T. Blight

The fascinating and tragic story of J.T. Blight has captured the imagination of writers and artists over many years. Library member Patricia Wilson Smith writes for us about how Blight‘s story has inspired her…

I’m a visual artist working with both digital and traditional media. I’ve always made short video films as part of my practice, and two years ago I decided to develop my film-making skills, by studying for a Masters Degree in Film Practice. Living in the wilder landscape of West Penwith, I have a great attachment to the moors and coasts, and I discovered the work of John Thomas Blight (1835-1911) through his drawings and engravings of the archaeological sites that I was exploring. I thought his drawings were beautiful, and his ability to record archaeological detail meticulous. In January this year I graduated with Distinction and, with unaccustomed time on my hands, I began to delve into the circumstances of JTB’s life, thinking to make a short experimental moving-image work that embraces certain parts of West Penwith that Blight knew and loved

The Morrab Library has a close connection with JTB. Many of his drawings, paintings, sketchbooks and notebooks are held in the Library archive, as well as copies of his books. I wondered if these might give me an insight into his life, as well as providing rich visual material. I have to thank Lisa Di Tommaso for her advice on books to read and guidance with the archive. My first visit impressed on me the unique value of archives: I was acutely aware of handling delicate and fragile documents and drawings that had been created by JTB nearly 200 years ago. 

Blight’s detailed record of a fogou at Trewoofe (undated)

This little watercolour is in one of JTB’s Bodmin notebooks: it shows the drawing room used by gentleman ‘residents’ at Bodmin Asylum and was made during his first summer there in 1871.

As I learn more about Blight, I discover that his story was complicated, and poignant. He has been written about sympathetically, and the most recent biographical account The Dust of Heroes, (2006) written by Selina Bates and Keith Spurgin painstakingly describes the arc of his life in Penzance, and the circumstances that combined to bring about his incarceration in Bodmin Asylum at the age of 36. 

John Blight’s story has the ingredients of a Victorian tragedy along the lines of Chatterton. But, unlike Chatterton, Blight died in obscurity at the age of 75. Several of his contemporaries who enjoyed public acclaim (James Halliwell, for example, and William Borlase) did so by relying heavily on Blight’s artistic talents, his passion for detail and his wide archaeological knowledge, and it appears that long before his death in 1911, his drawings, engravings and writing found their way into the hands of those who profited from them much more than he was ever able to.

Do you have a special piece of textiles in your life?

Vicki Aimers in the Elizabeth Treffry Room during her Artist Residency at The Morrab Library in 2023. 

This March, Book Artist and PhD Researcher at Falmouth University, Vicki Aimers, will be returning to The Morrab for a week’s Artist Residency exploring textile stories in West Cornwall.

Her Residency will be titled ‘A Guiding Hand’ and draws directly from the Library’s collection using this photograph from our Photo Archive as the starting point. It depicts a late 19th-century governess to the Chown family, Marion Ash, sitting on a garden bench with the children. 

Dolly and Jack Chown with Marion Ash learning to sew in the garden.

Vicki says “Marion’s story provides insight into the often-overlooked experiences of governesses, touching on themes of emotional labour, isolation, and liminality. Inspired by these photographs, I will create a series of artist books that blend historical research with creative interpretation, bringing hidden narratives like Marion’s to light and encouraging public engagement with this rich archival material.” 

Her PhD research focuses on the private education available to girls in Cornwall during the century, before the establishment of the Board and National Schools. 

Ahead of her residency, Vicki is inviting members of The Morrab Library to delve into their attics and family archives to share stories, memories and examples of any family samplers. 

She is particularly interested in those made in West Cornwall over the past century and is encouraging members to get in touch with her via email (vickiaimers@btinternet.com) or Instagram (@vicki_aimers). She would love to hear the stories of these special pieces of textiles in your life ahead of, and throughout her Residency (11th-15th March 2025).

We will be sharing more information about her Residency over the coming weeks but there will be workshops, a children’s activity, a talk, and more. We’ll share more information on these specific events soon.