While learning more about Donald Miller (who will be speaking at Messiah College on April 26), I came across his list of favorite books on writing. Here are two samples.
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield:
True, professional writers are not walking around looking at flowers waiting for inspiration, they are, rather, fighting the urge to distract themselves and sitting down at the computer to hammer out their days work. Pressfield instills in his readers a professional perspective. Being a writer, to Pressfield, is no more glamorous than being a plumber. A professional shows up every day and "fixes a toilet."
On Writing Well by William Zinsser:
From Zinsser I also learned to write for myself, not for an audience. This is one of the greatest lessons a writer can learn. Zinsser teaches us to write what we think is funny, or what we think is touching, and trust there are more people out there like you.
Although I enjoyed a lot about Donald Miller's blog, I'm still pretty sceptical of his thinking in several basic respects. (As he himself says: "psychology" and "personality types" are topics that "I geek out on." This list could also include "spirituality.") At least in places, however, he distances himself from the emergent "conversation" because, in part, he has a more serious view of human depravity (a healthy thing to take seriously).
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It's good to read your thoughts on Miller as you continue your research. You are providing links to his books and his talk at Messiah, does that mean you are encouraging us to read more of his work and to go to his talk?
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I'm glad that you found some value in my comments. I'm not promoting Miller, but thought that adults who are encountering enthusiasm for his ideas (and related strains of popular Christian writing) might benefit from learning more about it firsthand. They could then speak with more specificity and wisdom. I'd love to go myself for this reason, but reading his website will have to suffice for me. The event is primarily for youth ministry majors I think. As I understand it, Miller's demographic tends to be young adult.
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