Over on the bulletin boards, I asked: "Have there been any books on writing that have helped you? On the flip side, have you ever paid for a writing book and felt like it was a huge waste of money? Is it even possible to learn how to write from a book?"

Here's what bulletin board users chimed in with.

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

Stephen King's On Writing: "I found it incredibly interesting to follow his path to becoming a successful writer. I am not the world's biggest fan of his books, but I think he is an unbelievably creative and talented. I found his advice on writing dialogue to be immensely useful."

Wild Mind and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

The Forest for the Trees; An Editor's Advice to Writers. "''The Forest for the Trees'' - I loved the directness of this book. It's real world insight and advice from someone who has spent a lot of time with both successful and unsuccessful writers and their work. She has an incredible grasp on what writers go through, the good and the bad. While reading it, I found myself saying ''Oh, that's me! I do that!!'' I found her practical advice on publishing very useful."

"Those books are my favorites, and I return to them often: Save The Cat, by Blake Snyder This is one of my favorites because it gets right to the point, and gives clear examples rather than theory. It's aimed at screenwriters, but the information is just as useful to novel writers on how to build a solid story structure.

Writing the Mystery Novel, by Hallie Ephron. I just saw her speak yesterday and bought the book. I like it because it's very concise with detailed examples of ways to build suspense and use secrets, and it can work for any novel, not just mysteries.

Two books by Raymond Obst, one on writing scenes and the other on revising. If you search on his name you'll get the titles. I like these two because they offer very specific advice, and new ways of approaching scene construction.

Writing the Romantic Comedy, by Billy Merritt: I love this one because it looks at the elements of a successful Romantic Comedy, using films like When Harry Met Sally, to illustrate story structure."

"Most such books I've read have been inspiring rather than useful -- more like an opportunity to think about different ways to write. One I like is Writing for Story by Jon Franklin."

"The Writer's Life, by Julia Cameron. A small pocket sized book good for short inspirational moments while waiting for subways or a friend at the cafe."

"Any writing by Gay Talese is at the top of my list from Fame and Obscurity to The Bridge. A master storyteller and writer with a great eye for detail."

"George Orwell's Politics and the English Language is an essay, not a book but I'd say it's the best compass I have read on writing. It's not about politics in the newspaper sense, but about word choice, why people make certain choices, and what is the subsequent effect. It's about saying 'I have found' versus 'Numerous experiential phenomena has led me to conclude that....'"

"For nuts & bolts-freelancing-is-a-biz-type of writing book, Kelly James-Enger is the best."

"It's out of print, but A Writer's Companion by Richard Marius is great, especially for essays. Kind of steep used online, but you might luck out and find it in a good used book store."

"Larry L. King's None But a Blockhead which isn't well known. The guy who wrote the novel on which the film Rambo was based wrote a good book."

"You can also deliberately analyze a great story, outline it chapter by chapter, and visually 'see' how they structured it. I did this with several books and it was really helpful.

John Grisham's The Firm. That book is really like a textbook in how to construct page-turning suspense and how to create a world (the South) that the reader will get lost in.

Jodi Picoult's Salem Falls This book intimidated and inspired me at the same time. It's so well written, in multiple viewpoints, and she weaves in all kinds of subtext and even layers in a ''Crucible'' like storyline and made it fresh.

Anything by Anne Rivers Siddons. She amazes me with her atmospheric Southern books. The voice, description, and humor always pull me into the world that she creates."

"I'd like to jump in on the discussion about books that made me want to write better ... number one on my list is Jemima J by Jane Green. I'm still riding the wave of chick lit, and I love it - I've read all of Green's other books, and haven't been as impressed with them. Jemima J, however, I can literally read over and over, even if I finished it just a week ago. There's something about the writing style, the way she flips between perspectives ... she's good at drawing the reader in and making them feel like they're sneaking along with the characters, like the reader and the main character have some connection that carries them through the entire book. I'm anxious to hear what others come up with ... I need to make a library run soon, so I'm always up for suggestions on what to read!"

"James Stewart's Follow the Story and Jon Franklin's writing for story taught me how to analyze what works & doesn't work structurally. Also--and this is a big also-- how to create tension, compelling characters, drama etc. in narrative nonfiction. i rarely buy/read ''how-to-write'' books, but these two were recommended by other writers and both Stewart & Franklin are Pulitzer prize winning journalists. What stayed with me from the Stewart book: nurture my curiosity and keep asking questions. Especially the questions I might hesitate to ask. When he was the Wall Street Journal's front page editor he discovered that stories rooted in an unanswered question generated more interest than stories in which the writer knew everything from the get-go, even if the subject was one in which the reader had no prior interest!

And which books did people find overrated? Or, how do you know if a book is going to help you or just be a waste of money? "You learn to write primarily by writing -- and by reading, but not necessarily by reading books on writing. I always skim books in the bookstore before I buy them. I can tell pretty quickly if they are worthless. It's pretty rare to come across a book on writing that is a waste -- it may cover material I don't care about, or be too elementary, but I can see it might be useful to the audience it's aimed at."

"I found Story by Robert McKee to be rather lackluster, if you're looking for bad ones."

"I enjoyed reading Writer's Digest when I was a kid, and occasionally skim their articles at the library when I am checking out market listings, but it's generally too simplistic for me at this point."

"Books like The Well Fed Writer and Robert Bly's How to Make a $100,000 as a Freelance Writer can be useful. However, those books are designed primarily for corporate writers rather than magazine freelancers. And, yes, if you are disciplined, talented, and follow their advice you can make a good amount of money. The caveat is this usually requires you to write the type of material and subject matter that most writers aren't interested in -- like a marketing white paper for a technology company. So they are useful if you keep in mind they assume the reader is a businessperson who provides writing services based on market demand rather than a writer who wants to produce work that is personally rewarding or creatively satisfying.

"Donald Maass, How to Write the Breakout Novel. Some people love this book. I was less than impressed because it attempts to force writing into a formula, and there are too many rules for things he thinks you can't do. I don't agree with them. But that's just me."