I wonder how many of these 'self help' manuals really do inspire people to be able to write music/art/poetry etc?
I think you need to have the initial creative urge within you and then just work at your skills, although these tomes may then come in useful for the practical stuff, such as how to find a publisher and so on.

When I was a child I read The Fearless Treasurer by Noel Streatfeild, in which a group of young people are lead back into history to find where their own families had joined the 'web' of continuity. So a child from Yorkshire was found to have ancestors who had been Viking raiders, a boy from East Anglia had forebears who had been with a guild of Master Craftsmen, a very stuck-up young lady had ancestors who had made their money as factory owners in the Industrial Revolution and so on.
The children were required to wear blindfolds and sit in a quiet spot and then the 'time travel' took over.

I loved this book and believing anything was possible spent several fruitless days sitting on a quiet hill overlooking the River Avon near Stratford . . . but nothing happened. I was most disillusioned . . . but it did teach me not to put my faith in what is written in books.

One of my favorite books on writing is Stephen King's book On Writing. It is half autobiography of his writing life, have manual on writing. As a writer, I was enthralled by his story and his wisdom. So much that, much of it stayed with me in the form of mantra-like quotes:

"Kill your darlings."
"Second draft = First draft - 10%"

If you are speaking of novels that are about writers, none can hold a candle to New Grub Street by George Gissing.

PAM

I agree with what Vee has written above. I think Creators are born, not made, but a little polish never hurts. Two quotes helped me and I cannot remember who said them:

"Writing= you open up a vein...."

and

"Writing is the axe that breaks the frozen sea within."

Apart from this, Anne Dillard has written an excellent work on the creative life that I highly recommend: "The Writing Life."

Also, many poets have been inspired by Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet."

'Letters to a Poet' by Rilke is an excellent choice - a book I return to often.

I would highly recommend Francine Prose's 'Reading like a Writer'. I firmly believe you can't be a writer unless you are an avid reader too. I reviewed the book a couple of months ago on Amazon:

Reading Like a Writer, May 29, 2007
By Adam (Adelaide, Australia)

"The best books, to my mind, are those which give rise to discussion and thought. Prose provides these in sweeping doses here.

Prose superbly evokes in this book, the need for the writer to read, and read widely, slowing down and carefully paying attention to the minutiae of the text. It is the focus on language: "lingering over every word, every phrase, every image, considering how it enhance[s] and contribute[s] to the story as a whole...[and by] reading a masterpiece can inspire us by showing us how a writer does something brilliantly."

"Reading Like a Writer" encourages you slow down and absorb every word, sentence and paragraph. It also lets you ponder such things as: Narration, character, dialogue, and the details of text that makes literature dazzle.

Towards the end of the book, there is an insightful chapter on Learning from Chekhov, in which Prose suggests that we read his many stories, and by doing so "admit that you know nothing of life, nothing of what you see. Then go out and look at the world." This is sound advice, I think.

Finally, Prose details a list of Books to be Read Immediately. These range from Jane Austen, Raymond Carver, Tolstoy, Henry Green, Nabokov and Flaubert among others. These are books to be read and savoured, because we have to keep working at being better readers and writers, for we have an exciting apprenticeship ahead of us.

Prose does not talk down to the reader, rather she treats the reader as an intelligent person, who wants to learn a thing or two about how to read more effectively, so that they can aspire to write effectively.

Prose is a fantastic and witty communicator; her ideas are explained clearly and with passion. I highly recommend "Reading Like a Writer" to anyone that wants to be a greater reader, and indeed a quality writer."

Also, if you can track down an essay by Raymond Carver, I think it's called 'On Writing', then you will be rewarded by his insight. I'm sure it is in his 'Fires' collection.

Adam

Here is a link that might be useful: Reading like a Writer