What books can I read to improve my writing?

15 points·ssono··7 comments

In the past, my writing has been good enough to get the job done for classes. However, I would like to learn to write in a way that is enjoyable to read. I know that the usual advice is to read and write more often, but I was hoping that HN would have some book suggestions to improve my prose.

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On Writing by Stephen King is quite good. Depending on where you'll be writing, Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson might be useful, too.

A great suggestion. And I'll second King's own suggestion to read The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Though, some of its advice might be a bit dated and best used in small doses. But to will provide a great foundation.

I came here to suggest 'On Writing' as well.

Not only a great resource for improving your writing, but also a great resource for all creative processes.

"On Writing Well" by William Zinsser. Considered by many to be the best guide to non-fiction writing.

I can only agree with it. I summarized my learnings from the book, if you are interested to have a look what it is about: https://www.robinwieruch.de/lessons-learned-on-writing-well/

The best book on understanding what style means: Clear and Simple as the Truth. Every other book just has confusing "this is The Correct Way", which is wrong, it all depends.

Once you understand style, either try for style they mostly talk about in that book (classical style), or if you want practical style then Revising Prose or Style: Toward Clarity and Grace are good.

There are so many. Writing, like any other skill, can be taught and learned. Don't just practice and passively observe.

Thinking in Style, Pinker

Revising Prose, Lanham

Good Prose, Kidder

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