Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
A Complete Guide for Aspiring Writers with Books & Tools
38
items Books, notebooks, writing tools and creative systems I actually use - from learning the craft and building a story to editing, finding your voice and keeping the whole thing moving when the initial enthusiasm has left the building.
Sections
6
Learn the Craft
Build the Story
Writer's Space
Find Your Voice & Inspo
Keep Writing & Editing
Learn to Write for Free: Courses, Lectures & Writing Resources
Learn the Craft
Probably the best book on storytelling I’ve read — smart, genuinely interesting, and actually practical. Saunders takes great stories apart piece by piece, so you can see how they work instead of just being told how writing is supposed to work.
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
Stephen King hardly needs an introduction. If he’s the one telling you how to write, surely some of it has to work — which feels reassuring already.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
A classic for a reason — clear, practical, and very good at making story structure feel like something you can actually work with rather than a mysterious gift you either have or don’t.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
The proper craft textbook on my shelf — less inspirational pep talk, more “let’s actually understand how fiction works.” Characters, dialogue, point of view, structure, revision, examples and exercises: the book I’d reach for when I want to study wri...
Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide to Narrative Craft
The book I’d reach for when writing starts feeling too big. Warm, funny, practical — and very good at reminding you that you don’t have to write the whole book today. Just the next small piece.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
For the part of writing nobody can plot for you — the sentences themselves. Le Guin makes you listen to prose, play with rhythm and point of view, and start noticing what your own voice actually sounds like.
Steering The Craft: A Twenty-First-Century Guide to Sailing the Sea of Story
Build the Story
For getting scenes out of your head and onto something you can move around — perfect for plotting, reordering, and spotting where the story suddenly goes flat.
Story Board Sticky Notes. Designed and created for filmmakers, animators and creatives. 200 Self-Adhesive notes with hard cover book!
I use the yellow ones for plot — scene beats, turning points, missing links, and all the bits that need moving around until the story finally makes sense.
Mr. Pen- Yellow Sticky Notes, 3”X3”, 48 Pads, 2880 Sheets, Bulk Sticky Notes, Se
I’d give each color a job — yellow for plot, then others for characters, tone, atmosphere, relationships or whatever the story needs. Suddenly the whole manuscript becomes something you can actually see.
24 Pads Full Adhesive Sticky Notes Colorful Sticky Notes Adhesive Memo Self Stic
I use these (from my own shop:) on my writing board to track the emotional arc of a scene — moving them around when the mood shifts helps me see whether the characters’ feelings actually change, instead of just assuming they do.
Emotion Stickers – Crayon Feelings Characters Pack Magnet
For leaving yourself tiny notes that are actually fun to find later — useful for scenes, reminders, little wins, and the kind of to-do list that doesn’t feel completely joyless.
Animal Pun Sticky Note, Set of 8 | Funny 50 Page Notepads | Cute Desk Memo Pads | Coworker Gift Stationery | Fox Cat Frog Raccoon Seal Set
Writer's Space
The perfect size for capturing lines, scene beats and sudden ideas — small enough to leave room on a bigger board for images, scraps and everything else that helps build the mood of a story.
Magnetic Dry Erase Memo Board
My favorite kind of writing board: big enough to keep the structure, timeline and deadlines in sight, with plenty of room left for images, notes and all the strange little things that help a story find its mood.
SKÅDIS Pegboard - white 30x22 "
The little add-on that makes my writing board actually work — hooks, clips and containers for notes, pens, index cards, images and all the loose pieces of a story that need somewhere to live.
SKÅDIS 7-piece accessories set - white
Cheap enough to keep a few around, good enough for everyday plotting — perfect for scene notes, timelines and all the arrows your story inevitably ends up needing.
MÅLA Whiteboard pen with holder/eraser - mixed colors
Apparently this is the only paper long enough to fit my thoughts — perfect for sprawling plots, timelines, arrows, detours and ideas that refuse to stay inside a notebook.
MÅLA Drawing paper roll 98 '
Because apparently a paper roll this long deserves its own little docking station — and I love having the next sheet ready when the plot keeps going.
MÅLA Paper roll holder with storage
For reassuring myself, one click at a time, that everything is under control. Mostly.
Under Control (Mostly) Mouse Pad
It won’t write the book for you, obviously. But a tiny flower-covered typewriter on the desk does make procrastination look suspiciously literary.
LEGO Creator Typewriter with Flowers 31169
Useful, beautiful and occasionally unnecessary things for people who spend too much time around books and notebooks.
Gifts for Writers & Readers
Find Your Voice & Inspo
I like this as a tiny reminder that writing starts before the writing — notice more, question more, ask why, and don’t accept the first answer too quickly.
Unemployed Philosophers Guild Plato Plush Magnet
A literary rabbit hole about writing, memory, survival and the strange need to leave something behind.
Why We Write When Everything Else Disappears
Coffee first, then a famous opening line — and somehow your mind starts wandering toward sentences of your own. Not just first lines, either: one good phrase can send the whole story somewhere unexpected.
First Lines of Literature mug
One from my own shop — a notebook for the moments when you stop trying to sound like a “writer” and start sounding like yourself.
I've got my voice Journal
One from my own shop — an ironic little reminder that, like the aristocracy, I also have no idea what a weekend is. Just for completely different reasons.
What Is a Weekend? Coffee Mug
The books that left me with something I genuinely kept using or thinking about.
Books With Ideas That Actually Stuck
Completely unnecessary — which is probably why I love it. A tiny typewriter for the desk, just to make the writing corner feel a little more like a place where stories are supposed to happen.
Wooden Typewriter Model: Realistic Plywood Craft Kit (Vintage Design)
Keep Writing & Editing
For editing without wrecking the page — transparent notes are perfect for marking up books, printed drafts and your own manuscript while keeping the original text visible underneath.
50 Sheets Transparent Sticky Notes Waterproof Memo Pad Self Adhesive Notes
One from my own shop — a little reminder on the writing board that good stories don’t always move in straight lines either.
Good Things Aren’t Always Straight – Geometric Dog Illustration Magnet
One from my own shop — basically my reading uniform for days when books are the plan, the place, and most of the personality.
Books Make Home Relaxed T-Shirt
One from my own shop — warm under the desk while I write, and a fairly clear message to the family that I’m currently unavailable for non-book-related matters.
I can't, I'm busy with reading Socks
Tiny rewards for getting the thing done — because apparently my brain works better when there’s a little treat waiting at the end.
Reading Otter Stickers – Cute Watercolor Book Lover Otters Sticker
Learn to Write for Free: Courses, Lectures & Writing Resources
An actual university writing course, sitting on YouTube for free. Characters, plot, worldbuilding, publishing and the wonderfully reassuring discovery that even professional writers have to figure this stuff out.
Brandon Sanderson
Tiny writing lessons delivered one at a time - much less intimidating than “learn how to write a novel” and considerably harder to use as an excuse not to start.
Writing
For the moment when the story exists perfectly in your head and somewhat less perfectly on the page. Structure, character arcs, scenes and enough diagrams to make the chaos look temporarily manageable.
Start Here!
Writing advice in small enough pieces to listen to while walking, cooking or avoiding the chapter you are technically supposed to be writing.
Writing Excuses
A very large cupboard of writing advice — plot charts, revision help, character exercises and useful things to pull out when a manuscript develops one of its mysterious illnesses.
Free Writing Downloads
For the slightly alarming stage when the book starts becoming real. Writing, editing, publishing, marketing and what exactly you are supposed to do with the manuscript once you finally type THE END.
Resources for Authors and Writers On Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing and Making a Living As A Creative