What is the best writing book you've ever read?

[Laura]

Do you read writing-how-to books? And if so, what are your favorites? Some of them are so dry and others are helpful. Do you have any that you refer back to time and time again? Have they helped your writing?

[Ingrid, Just another writer.]

I recently did, yes. I didn't know what a tremendous toll it would take in my writing. I had trouble with grammar and it bandaged my wounds up pretty nicely! I believe it was called How to Speak and Write English Correctly by a John D. Can't remember the chap's last name


for anyone stuck in the cracks, a manual guide can be a last resort, so please use one!

[Chris]

I found this to be quite helpful.

http://www.jackmcdevitt.com/Pages/12B...

[Laura]

Hi Chris. Wow! That is a detailed link! It looks like it contains some very helpful information. I am going to print it out and take a look at it. Thank you so much for posting it and sharing it with everyone!

[Ingrid, Just another writer.]

i agree. noticed a few mistakes of mine reiterated in the textual formatting. Like the helpful dos and donts analogy

[Jessica]

I used A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher in middle school. I know it's a bit too young of a book for any of you now, but I just wanted to throw that out there since it really helped fuel my passion for writing and my passion for working on my writing skills when I was younger.

[Judith]

I've read more than a few "how to" books associated with Writers Digest online classes, the best of which was "Hooked"--Grab Readers at Page One. The tactical ones, however, don't compare to the more philosophical books, written by truly successful writers. My favorites in that category are Umberto Eco's "On Literature" and Stephen King's "On Writing". Eco's best advice to writers is to anticipate what your reader is expecting and then surprise him by writing something else.

[Laura]

I love both of those books! Thank you for sharing.