Books are the best mentors for fiction writers.

Perhaps that statement is controversial to you, but today I’m feeling it, and I thought, in light of Stephanie’s delightful post entitled, What Should a Writer Spend Money On, it’s high time someone make the case for books as the ultimate resource for writers.

“Wait, are you saying that books are better mentors than real, human teachers?”

I’m saying they’re more available, more comprehensive, and much more keen to sit at your elbow while you agonize over a sentence than any teacher, human or otherwise.

Experienced writers who are willing and able to give of their time to mentor others are to be commended. It’s time-consuming work that can only be shouldered out of genuine care and a desire to help others grow.

But such mentors are few and far between. Unless you’re paying for their services. And while there are circumstances in which that might be an excellent opportunity, I would argue that for most of us, most of the time, it’s just not possible, nor is it advisable.

And still we must grow in our craft if only to satisfy that itch behind our breastbone that asks, “Do I have what it takes?”

To that dilemma, I say again: Books are the best mentors for fiction writers.

“What kind of books?” you ask.

All kinds.

Non-fiction Instructional Books

Obviously, books that focus on the how and what of writing can be incredibly valuable. For teens, I always recommend our Go Teen Writers books, WRITE YOUR NOVEL and EDIT YOUR NOVEL, because they’re written with a teen audience in mind. But if you’re a voracious learner and are looking for more on the topic, there are shelves and shelves of books that will literally detail the drafting, editing, and publishing process.

Experts in the field of writing, marketing, pitching, and selling have created an entire genre of books on the craft of writing. These books can mentor you.

As Steph mentioned in her article, you never run the risk of the mentor going too fast when it’s a book that’s doing the teaching. You can take your time, highlight passages, bookmark sections, jot down notes, reread, reread, and, oh yeah, reread as much as you’d like.

Perhaps best of all, craft books often include writing exercises. If you’re motivated to practice, not only will the book give you advice and practical instruction, but also an opportunity to try your hand at what you’ve been learning.

Here are five of my favorite non-fiction books on the craft of writing, and all of them offer writing exercises:

1. Go Teen Writers: Write Your Novel
2. Go Teen Writers: Edit Your Novel
3. Writing Fiction by the Gotham Writers’ Workshop
4. Writing from the Senses by Laura Deutsch
5. The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass

Fiction Writing

While I think every writer needs to read a craft book or two, this, right here, is the meat of what I want to argue:

For the fiction writer, fiction itself is the greatest mentor.

For thousands upon thousands of years, humanity has been telling stories and, in this modern era, we are recipients of all that has come before us. Ancient and classical works, modern and niche, short stories, novellas, and full length novels–all of it is at our disposal to enjoy, critique, and learn from.

Access to books is greater than ever before. Not for everyone, I realize, and not everywhere. But most of us can lay our hands on a book much more readily than we can connect with a human mentor. And to overlook our most accessible, most comprehensive, most available resource would be foolish.

Instead, we should take full advantage of the fiction writings available to us by reading first for enjoyment, and then, when compelling literature is landed upon, rereading these books as a mentor text.

“What do you mean?” you ask. “How do I approach a fictional book as if it were my mentor?”

I’m so glad you asked!

Using Fiction Writing as a Mentor Text

Simply defined, a mentor text is a written document that serves as a good example for the learner. You can learn to write beautiful letters by studying the letters of Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra. (Though, fair warning, Cassandra burned most of them.)

You can learn to write powerful legal arguments by studying the writings of our greatest legal minds.

And you can learn to write compelling novels by studying the novels that move you. The better the writing, the better the lesson.

Since each of us learn in our own unique ways, the means by which we become students of a particular mentor text will vary from writer to writer.

Some of us may choose to mark up the text, while others may simply read it again and again, letting the rhythm of good storytelling take root. Some may jot down notes and copy out passages to feel the flow of the book beneath their fingers, while others may choose to absorb the story via audiobook.

Like writing a novel, there’s no wrong way to do this. If you apply discipline to the joy of reading, suddenly you are more than just a fiction reader, you are a student of the text. Something I believe every writer must learn to be.

Turn a Reading Experience Into a Growing Experience

• Having some tools on hand as you read could be helpful, especially if office supplies put you in the mindset of learning. A notebook and pen, computer or other electronic resource, highlighters if you own the book, sticky notes, and the like. Just don’t get carried away. Office supplies are a means not an end!

• Before you set out to be mentored by a book, take some time to consider what it is you love about the text, and what you hope it will teach you. Maybe you’re wanting to emulate an author’s flowing prose, or perhaps study how they write such snappy dialogue. Maybe you are struggling to pull theme out in your own story and you admire how well another author handles it in their work. Maybe you need help with chapter openings or suffer from a lack of tension in your work. Perhaps you have a very specific question you want answered. Something like: When the pace has my heart hammering, what has the author done on the page? Write it down, give it it’s own page. Whatever it is you’re looking for, consider jotting these items down in a notebook. Leave plenty of room below each item to scribble out applicable observations you make while reading.

• Consider buddy reading. Many of us process better if we can do it with others. If you choose to read a mentor text alongside another writer, it might be helpful to share your learning goals with one another before you begin. That might allow for a richer dialogue.

• If you’re not reading for any particular purpose, but still hoping to learn from a mentor text, maybe give the elements of fiction writing (Setting, Character, Plot, Style, and Theme) a page each in your notebook, and as you observe strategies or techniques that interest you in those areas, scribble them on the page. You could even be more specific and create pages in your notebook for all the things that interest you: Dialogue, Sentence Structure, Descriptors, Words to Look Up, Words I Like, Words I Hate.

• Feel free to use outside resources to enhance the experience. There are plenty of websites like SparkNotes that offer a breakdown of a book’s major elements. If that helps you begin to think critically about a book, then please make use of whatever is available. Let’s say you’ve decided to use Lord of the Flies as a mentor text. Maybe you open up SparkNotes and see that they’ve listed a theme for that book as “Man’s Inherent Evil.” As an exercise while reading, you could mark every sentence that reinforces the idea that man is inherently evil. This might help you grow in your efforts at weaving theme into your storytelling. Another resource I’d recommend here is KM Weiland’s Story Structure Database.

Additional Thoughts

• When we treat a piece of writing as a mentor text, the goal is to learn the author’s strategies and approaches and work to apply those in our own writing. We aren’t studying the work of an author so we can plagiarize it. This is a very important distinction.

• Each book has its strengths and weaknesses. Some books will teach us a lot and some will not. Don’t expect to learn everything from one text. If a book excels at pacing, read that book with an eye toward the author’s methods there. If a book excels at characterization, take note of how the author accomplishes such a feat. In this way, you’re learning from many mentors, not just one.

• As you begin to use novels as mentor texts, you’ll begin to come up with your own process. Be cognizant of it and work to build on that foundation next go round.

In conclusion, I’ll say this: I’ve only scratched the surface of what you can learn by studying the work of brilliant authors. And while you should absolutely take advantage of the opportunities you are given to learn from in-person teachers and experts, I stand by my claim that books are the best mentors for novelists. And they’re available on a level that those teachers and experts simply aren’t.

Tell me, have you ever used a novel as a mentor text? Can you list a few novels that might have something to teach you?

Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.

Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.

It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.

To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.

For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.