My Favorite Reads on Writing

It's easy to become inundated with books/blogs on how to write. To help you narrow it down, I've selected seven of my favorite reads about writing:

Best from a best-selling author: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King, inspires you to employ the nitty-gritty style and discipline of Stephen King's approach to writing. Memoir, muse, and advice, On Writing is a great addition to any writer's library. King's book is practical while also being funny, personal, and well, here's a quote from the second foreword: 
"This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit."

Bottom line: Some of his recommendations are most appropriate for genre fiction, but the overall contribution of the book is worth the read if you write anything from non-fiction to literary. 
Personal comment: I don't read horror, so this is actually my favorite of King's books.

Best for nonfiction writing: On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Non-fiction, by William Zinsser (from a Yale course he taught). Masterful writing about writing, Zinsser's is a classic for tips on usage, style, simplicity, words, and special areas such as writing for your job and writing interviews. 

Bottom Line: Excellent all-around text for becoming a better writer.
Personal Comment: On my list to re-read.

Best for popular fiction writing: The Writers Digest Handbook of Novel Writing. All the basics and instructions in a how-to manual for writing popular fiction, and I quote, "Practical advice and instruction on creating the novel - from first idea to plots and subplots to outlining and writing and contacting editors and working with ideas."

Bottom Line: What more can you ask for if you're an aspiring writer or just need a little inspiration? 
Personal Comment: Someday I'll have a best seller! In the meantime, I'm writing what I love and hoping people fall madly in love with cross-genre, literary stories. 

Best for literary fiction writing: Reading like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, by Francine Prose. All the best literature in summary form. 

Bottom Line: Love to read literature? Read this.  
Personal Comment: Reflects one of my favorite sentiments, as I've always recommended reading as the best instruction for writing.

Most useful: The Elements of Style, Strunk and White, another classic in the field, provides concise education on rules of usage, principles of composition, and approach to style.

Bottom Line: A college education should not be considered complete without this little book.
Personal Comment: Even if you have a PhD in English, you might still need it.


Most entertaining: Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, by Lynne Truss, will have you in a jolly mood as you learn to correct your English grammar. Less about writing and more about the de-evolution of the human species as seen through the eyes of a grammarian, this one might have you rolling in the aisles (yes, I snuck it into a concert in Tucson, Arizona once). This book was a best-seller. 

Bottom Line: LOL. 
Personal Comment: Read it! Seriously; don't, forget. To read it.

There are certainly many others I could recommend, including books that incorporate getting published, reading fiction alongside exercises for writing or writers'  memoirs with tips for writing. There are also books that assist with literary analysis. However, I've selected the ones I've enjoyed most over the years. I'm always open to hearing about great books, including those about writing. If you have any other suggestions or favorites, please feel free to post a reply.