What's the best writing book for someone with no writing background?
September 30, 2015 10:53 AM Subscribe
If you were mentoring/working with a technical professional or someone without a strong writing background, what book(s) would you recommend they read to learn about basic concepts/techniques/style/voice, etc.?
My first thought would be On Writing by Stephen King, because it's just so accessible and fun to read. But ideally the book would have a focus on writing for the web. However, any casual non-academic, non-fiction focused writing guide would be helpful as well.
Alternatively, any really great writing blogs you can recommend?
My first thought would be On Writing by Stephen King, because it's just so accessible and fun to read. But ideally the book would have a focus on writing for the web. However, any casual non-academic, non-fiction focused writing guide would be helpful as well.
Alternatively, any really great writing blogs you can recommend?
I was assigned "The Lively Art of Writing" in high school and have recommended it ever since. It's old-fashioned as hell and a little kooky but I love it - it's short, concise, and I think spells out great writing in a really understandable way.
posted by ukdanae at 11:16 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by ukdanae at 11:16 AM on September 30, 2015
Response by poster: I'm looking to help people write friendly, engaging content for the web. Mostly in the way of long-form blog posts (1500+ words). I work for a small digital marketing agency where everyone writes for our blog on topics about SEO, marketing, paid search, local search, how to guides, opinion pieces, etc. So kind of all over the place.
posted by paulcole at 11:18 AM on September 30, 2015
posted by paulcole at 11:18 AM on September 30, 2015
Assuming you're going to be blogging or producing some other type of online content, I always recommend The Yahoo! Style Guide: The Ultimate Sourcebook for Writing, Editing, and Creating Content for the Digital World.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 11:19 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 11:19 AM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
William Zinsser's On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction is hugely helpful and very entertaining.
posted by Flexagon at 11:35 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Flexagon at 11:35 AM on September 30, 2015 [4 favorites]
Zinsser is a great choice. I'd also recommend Sin and Syntax by Constance Hale, which focuses on making the writing more lively and memorable--which might not be a bad idea when talking about SEO and paid search. Plus, the book itself is a fun read.
posted by mjm101 at 11:47 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mjm101 at 11:47 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
You've got some great book recommendations.
I want to chime in with something a little bit different. Hemingwayapp.com is an amazing website that helps streamline, simplify and enliven your writing.
I'm an experienced writer and I still run my long-form blog posts through the site for a quick review before hitting publish.
posted by missjenny at 12:05 PM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
I want to chime in with something a little bit different. Hemingwayapp.com is an amazing website that helps streamline, simplify and enliven your writing.
I'm an experienced writer and I still run my long-form blog posts through the site for a quick review before hitting publish.
posted by missjenny at 12:05 PM on September 30, 2015 [5 favorites]
A strong recommendation for Letting Go of the Words by Ginny Redish. I'm a technical writer doing more web marcomm and corporate blog posting than I have in the past and this book has been extremely useful for me.
posted by subluxor at 12:22 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by subluxor at 12:22 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ditto Zinsser and The Elements of Style (it's definitely flawed, but not everyone will care about the deeper complexities of writing and language use).
One I keep coming back to is Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools. It's fairly short but covers a lot of territory, so I think it's a good all-around guide for a would-be writer.
posted by xenization at 12:22 PM on September 30, 2015
One I keep coming back to is Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools. It's fairly short but covers a lot of territory, so I think it's a good all-around guide for a would-be writer.
posted by xenization at 12:22 PM on September 30, 2015
It's very NaNoWriMo-focused, but I really like Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem as a good guide to getting writing.
You might also enjoy The Blogger Abides: A Practical Guide to Writing Well and Not Starving by Chris Higgins, author and maker of documentaries.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 1:08 PM on September 30, 2015
You might also enjoy The Blogger Abides: A Practical Guide to Writing Well and Not Starving by Chris Higgins, author and maker of documentaries.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 1:08 PM on September 30, 2015
The book you want is Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose by Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee
posted by raisindebt at 1:54 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by raisindebt at 1:54 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
Oh, how could have forgotten Nicely Said? That book is fantastic! +1
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 3:09 PM on September 30, 2015
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 3:09 PM on September 30, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
The classic is, of course, Elements of Style by Strunk & White. Every writer should have a copy on their bookshelf. The Writer's Store is also a good source for writing books of all kinds.
posted by mjm101 at 11:11 AM on September 30, 2015