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Books for Aspiring Writers: Surviving and Thriving during #NaNoWriMo

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On today's episode, Jill and Adam dive into National Novel Writing Month, how they're approaching this monumental task, and offer up loads of books to help you get through #NaNoWriMo. Need help? We've got your back.

Below you'll find the books mentioned in this episode broken out by what you might need help with for your writing journey.

General guides for writing

Writing Radar by Jack Gantos

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

On Writing by Stephen King

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson


On setting and changing expectations through your narrator

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie


-Figuring out your pacing-

If you're novel takes place in a short amount of time

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

If your novel is a sweeping saga

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

If your novel has multiple timelines

The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

If you need help with how you're using language

The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss

Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

If you need help with character development

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Devil in White City by Erik Larson

Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn

The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer

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