Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this candid, practical masterclass, bestselling novelist Caroline Leavitt breaks down the writing advice landscape so you can stop guessing and start growing. You’ll learn which books are best for beginners, which unlock structural breakthroughs, and which become indispensable during revision — plus how real authors navigate the messy, nonlinear road to finishing a novel.
MORE FROM CAROLINE
Reedsy Profile: reedsy.com/caroline-leavitt
WRITING BOOKS MENTIONED
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Anne Lamott and Neal Allen
Refuse to be Done by Matt Bell
Truth is the Arrow by Steve Almond
What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
The Anatomy of Story by John Truby
The Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction by Elizabeth McCracken
SUBSTACKS& BLOGS
substack.com/@janefriedman
The Plot Solution: mirandabeverlywhittemore.substack.com
Publishing Confidential: kathleenschmidt.substack.com
Using Enneagrams (Jeff Lyons is an expert at this) storygeeks.com
WRITERS MENTIONED IN THE WEBINAR
Alice Hoffman, Second Nature
Tayari Jones: An American Marriage; Kin
Dylan Landis: Rainey Royal, List of All Possible Desires
John Irving: Queen Esther
Christopher Castellani: Last Seen
Elizabeth Strout: Olive Kittridge
Anna Quindlen: More Than Enough
Celeste Ng: Little Fires Everywhere
Richard Price: Lazarus Man,Susan Henderson, The Flicker of Old Dreams
Mary Morris: The Red House
Leora Skolkin-Smith: Stealing Faith
Bill Roorbach: Beep
In this candid, practical masterclass, bestselling novelist Caroline Leavitt breaks down the writing advice landscape so you can stop guessing and start growing. You’ll learn which books are best for beginners, which unlock structural breakthroughs, and which become indispensable during revision — plus how real authors navigate the messy, nonlinear road to finishing a novel.
MORE FROM CAROLINE
Reedsy Profile: reedsy.com/caroline-leavitt
WRITING BOOKS MENTIONED
Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences by Anne Lamott and Neal Allen
Refuse to be Done by Matt Bell
Truth is the Arrow by Steve Almond
What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
The Anatomy of Story by John Truby
The Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction by Elizabeth McCracken
SUBSTACKS& BLOGS
substack.com/@janefriedman
The Plot Solution: mirandabeverlywhittemore.substack.com
Publishing Confidential: kathleenschmidt.substack.com
Using Enneagrams (Jeff Lyons is an expert at this) storygeeks.com
WRITERS MENTIONED IN THE WEBINAR
Alice Hoffman, Second Nature
Tayari Jones: An American Marriage; Kin
Dylan Landis: Rainey Royal, List of All Possible Desires
John Irving: Queen Esther
Christopher Castellani: Last Seen
Elizabeth Strout: Olive Kittridge
Anna Quindlen: More Than Enough
Celeste Ng: Little Fires Everywhere
Richard Price: Lazarus Man,Susan Henderson, The Flicker of Old Dreams
Mary Morris: The Red House
Leora Skolkin-Smith: Stealing Faith
Bill Roorbach: Beep
