on writing, worth reading
craft books or essays on (creative) writing, but I only add books that I have read myself and found to be helpful (ongoing list)
In the comments is a “Read x if you seek y” guide for all added books, and also the books I chose not to add (and why they might still be worth your time, just not mine)
created by anaconda
last updated September, 2026
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anacondaOP
Read The Writer’s Guide to Persistence by Jordan Rosenfeld if you
- have a lot of guilt about (not) writing, writer’s block, and inconsistency
- have shame towards non-writers about writing
- want to find ways to better incorporate writing into your everyday life
- like journaling, as there are many reflection exercises
anacondaOP
Read On Writing by Stephen King for
- advice on writing habits, early career failures, and persistence
- general advice and oet peeves on writing
- pretty much a step by step walkthrough of the (his) writing process
- anecdotes and stories by, like him or not, one of the writers of our times
- insight into King‘s life and some bts stuff about his books
What this isn‘t: a whole lot of technical and/or revolutionary advice (whether it was popularised through King or not, most of the actual advice in this I have seen 100 times on tumblr too (though he contextualises it nicely))
anacondaOP
Read The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. if you
- want a concise summary of the basics of sentence structure and grammar
- want some insight into how to write tightly and “effectively”
- take the second half with some scepticism, the book is from 1918 and things like spelling won’t always be the same as today
anacondaOP
Read Thrill Me by Benjamin Percy you:
- want advice and well-formulated examples on creating suspense and tension
- want to know how to write (about) violence well
- are writing horror / thriller / mystery
Read Create Dangerously by Albert Camus if you
- are unsure about your place as an artist in a politically unstable time and place
- wonder whether writers have a responsibility to when it comes to politics
anacondaOP
Books I chose not to add
How to Write a Pageturner by Jordan Rosenfeld ➛ might still be worth reading if you want prompts/inspiration on general things like “what kind of flaws does my character have”. also, if you like getting exercises
This one is not a “hell no, waste of time” but it is not very memorable either. Most of the advice is extremely general. If you want advice on creating suspense I would instead recommend Thrill Me
anacondaOP
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield ➛ might still be for you if you need a rough ass kicking about writing and are willing to put up with a lot of invented science, random borderline conspiracy theories, and also… angels? it gets weird, okay? but. parts of it are pretty effective by just yelling at you to write
