The 5 Most Impactful Books I Read in My MFA Program

I read a lot in my MFA program. I had seventeen assigned books and fourteen assigned short stories, plus a dozen articles, essays, and other short readings for each class.

If that wasn’t enough, I also chose to continue reading like a mad woman all throughout my graduate program (the escapism was strong). Because I like pretty charts, here’s a rough breakdown of what I chose to read for fun outside of the required reading for my 20-month program:

I discovered some of my favorite novels during my MFA program, but today I want to focus on the books I read as part of my MFA program. I’ve narrowed the list down to my top five that left a lasting impact on me. These are books I would recommend to any aspiring writer because they taught me so much about the craft of writing and what it means to tell a meaningful story.

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Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer—in the iconic passage that gives the book its title:

“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”

An essential volume for generations of writers young and old, Bird by Bird is a modern classic. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition will continue to spark creative minds for years to come.

Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something—anything—down on paper.
—Anne Lamott

This was the craft book on writing that I chose as my mentor text during my first term. I didn’t know if it was the right choice until I started reading and realized that Lamott understood all of my fears. She knew what kept me from putting pen to paper. She knew—on a deeply personal level—why my perfectionism got in the way of starting and why I struggled to write terrible first drafts.

Reading this book genuinely felt like having my own personal writing mentor. Lamott writes with such a personal and conversational tone that made me feel as though we were two old friends talking over coffee. She made every topic feel very approachable (yes, even the scary ones), and her simple tips proved invaluable once I started drafting my novel later in the program.

I know that there are thousands of books on writing, and I’m sure that a lot of them are really great. But, for me, this is my go-to book. It’s the one I would recommend for any new, aspiring, or struggling writer. Her advice is very practical and presented in a way that makes you feel like you’re one of the insiders.

Recommended for: New writers, overwhelmed writers, and any writer who needs a mentor.

Content Warnings: Cursing.

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

John Green, the acclaimed author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, returns with a story of shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship.

Aza Holmes never intended to pursue the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Pickett’s son Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

You remember your first love because they show you, prove to you, that you can love and be loved, that nothing in this world is deserved except for love, that love is both how you become a person, and why.
—John Green

I read this for my Storytelling class. We focused on story structure, mapping plots, and how we could apply what we learned from the books we were reading to our own writing. And, well, I never turn down a chance to read a John Green book.

Strangely enough, this is only the second of his books that I’ve read . . . and perhaps less surprisingly, this one wasn’t my favorite (The Fault in Our Stars will probably always hold the number one spot in my heart). But, despite every reason why I didn’t love this book, I also can’t help but love it. Because it portrays mental health and anxiety in a way that resonated with me so deeply. Because it captures all of the messiness of what it means to be a teenager. Because it left me with tears in my eyes as I read the last page.

This novel made me realize the true depths of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It compelled me to sit still and wrestle with how devastating anxiety disorders are for people . . . for my people. My mom and my sister both have OCD, and this book did more to help me understand their experiences than anything else I’ve ever read or watched.

At the end of the day, this isn’t my favorite novel. It’s not the novel that changed my life or made me sob endlessly. But it showed me a side of mental health that I think everybody should see. It reminded me why my heart has always belonged to the YA genre.

And, perhaps more importantly, it offers hope that one day we will be able to look back and realize that life isn’t perfect. It’s messy and ugly and dark and bad. But it’s ours. And maybe that’s enough to get us to tomorrow.

Recommended for: Writers looking to understand mental health and the young adult genre.

Content warnings: Alcohol, blood, car accident, cursing, death of a parent (mentioned), grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, mental illness (the protagonist has OCD and anxiety), panic attacks/disorders, self-harm (a character repeatedly reopens a wound on her finger by cracking the skin with her fingernail), sexual content (several characters kiss, and the protagonist frequently spirals mentally as a result of kissing someone), and vomit.

Story Genius by Lisa Cron

Following on the heels of Lisa Cron’s breakout first book, Wired for Story , this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story.

It’s every novelist’s greatest pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite.

The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think).

In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.

Humans are wired for story . . . Because story is the language of the brain . . . Story is how we make sense of the world around us.
—Lisa Cron

I read this throughout my last three terms when I was writing and revising my novel. A lot of this was already familiar to me because it’s what Abbie Emmons talks about the most (i.e. why everything has to matter to the protagonist). That being said, there were many topics discussed in this book that I’d never heard before or didn’t fully understand how to implement until after I read it.

I think what makes this book so powerful is that it gives us scientific answers to the questions we all have. What makes a good story? Why can’t I put down that book when it’s 3am? How can I make my readers stay up all night reading my own story? Cron explains the psychology-based answers to these questions in a way that doesn’t make you feel stupid. Instead, it makes you feel like you’ve just cracked the writer’s code.

Cron also debunks why other writing methodologies don’t work for so many writers. She combats Anne Lamott’s “terrible first drafts” theory, explains why pantsing leads to endless rewrites, and sheds light on why so many outline templates fall flat. For me, this was perhaps the most insightful part of the entire book. It made me feel like I wasn’t crazy for not having a set writing method. I’m a plantser, so I’ve never been one to jump in completely blind, but I also don’t like having every detail planned ahead of time.

I like that Cron’s method is adaptable to meet your needs as a writer. If you want to plot every detail, you can. If you want to start with just the basics, you can do that, too. So, if you’re a writer who’s tried and failed to find a writing method that works for you, I would highly recommend checking out this book and trying out her process.

Recommended for: Writers who are struggling to find a writing method that works for them.

Content Warnings: None.

The Problem With Forever by Jennifer Armentrout

A story about friendship, survival, and finding your voice.

Growing up, Mallory Dodge learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime. Now, after years of homeschooling, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at a public high school. But she never imagined she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day. 

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet soon it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants and the truths that need to be heard.

Forever was something we all took for granted, but the problem with forever was that it really didn’t exist.
—Jennifer Armentrout

I read this for my Advanced Studies in Genre Literature class. I picked this book to read during the class because it has many comparable elements to my own novel: It has childhood trauma, the friends-to-lovers trope, a bad boy, and a contemporary setting. I wanted to see how another author incorporated these elements in a way that resonates with readers in my genre.

And it did not disappoint. A lot of YA novels are able to depict what it feels like to be a teenager, but this book genuinely made me feel like I was a teenager again. It’s the first book I can really remember reading as an adult that made my heart race the way it did when I was sixteen. That made me annotate like crazy because I simply had to capture my thoughts as I read.

I also really appreciate the way this book handled trauma. It’s easy to throw trauma backstories into a character arc because it’s edgy and shocking, but it’s a lot harder to actually depict that trauma in a way that is both respectful to actual abuse survivors and not violating to your readers. Armentrout strikes this balance beautifully, at least in my mind. She also masterfully weaves in themes of grief, healing, and hope that left me feeling like I’d gone on a transformative journey with the characters I’d grown to love so much.

Recommended for: Writers looking to craft resonating YA stories that tackle difficult subjects.

Content Warnings: Abandonment, alcohol, blood, bullying, child abuse, child death (a teenager is shot and killed. It is traumatizing for the other teenagers who are there, and the grief that follows is heavy), drug use, injury/injury detail, cursing, grief, gun violence, medical content, murder, panic attacks/disorders, physical abuse, sexual content (there are several sexual scenes between consenting teenagers. They don’t have sex, but they do other things and those things are briefly described), toxic relationship, and violence.

Everybody Writes by Ann Handley

A hands-on field guide to consistently creating page-turning content that your audience loves. (And that delivers real results.)

In the newly revised and updated edition of Everybody Writes, marketer and author Ann Handley improves on her Wall Street Journal bestselling book that’s helped hundreds of thousands become better, more confident writers. In this brand-new edition, she delivers all the practical, how-to advice and insight you need for the process and strategy of content creation, production, and publishing.

Content marketing has evolved. Yet writing matters more than ever.

In this new edition of Everybody Writes, you’ll find the strategies, techniques, tips, and tools you’ll need to refine, upgrade, and (most of all) inspire your own best content marketing.

The truth is that the key to becoming a better writer is to be a more productive one. The key to being a better writer is to write.
—Ann Handley

I read this for my Copy and Content Writing class. I didn’t really expect to enjoy this book because it’s nonfiction and it’s about copywriting and marketing, which aren’t exactly my favorite things. But . . . I was pleasantly surprised. Handley’s an expert at making the mundane feel interesting and, dare I say, exciting. Her passion for writing bleeds through every page, and I found myself annotating constantly.

If you’re like me and almost exclusively write fiction, you might think this book would be a waste of money. But, I’d like to challenge that because even fiction writers need to write copy. If you have a website, you write copy. If you have to use email for your work, you write copy. If you’ve ever considered doing professional writing, you’ll write copy.

Handley also breaks the book down into easily digestible sections, including Writing Rules, Voice Rules, and Publishing Rules. She explains when to break standard rules, how to level-up your writing with some tried-and-true strategies, how to avoid the most common writing errors, how to create and maintain a brand voice, the importance of research, and even how to write different types of content (such as newsletters, emails, homepages, website pages, social media posts, and headlines).

Is this a book I think I’ll ever read again from start-to-finish? Probably not. But this is definitely the most helpful content writing book that I have on hand. It’s easy to navigate, and I know I’ll use it as a reference for quick questions as I continue writing and revising my copy for websites, newsletters, and even emails.

Recommended for: Writers struggling to write copy and anyone looking to pursue professional writing.

Content Warnings: None.

Let’s Talk!

What are some of the best writing craft books you’ve read? Which novels taught you the most about writing? Have you read any of these books? If you have, what did you like the most about them? If not, are you going to give them a try? Let’s talk all things writing and books in the comments down below!