Resources on writing well

Resources on writing well

This list of resources revises and expands a document that my friend Aron Vallinder created a while ago.  The hyperlinks go to the corresponding Amazon.com pages.  The average Amazon customer review score appears in brackets, followed by the total number of reviews.  If the book is available in electronic format for free, a separate link is provided. A few items are also accompanied by brief annotations.  If you think I’m missing some good resource, please let me know.

Articles

• Erling, Genya and Trish O’Kane, Learning to Do Historical Research: A Primer.

• Graham, Paul, Writing, Briefly.

• Gwern, Checklist for Finishing an Essay.

• Muehlhauser, Luke, Rhetoric for the Good.

• Munger, Michael, 10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly.

• Nielsen, Michael, Six Rules for Rewriting.

• University of Toronto, Advice on Academic Writing.

• Yudkowsky, Eliezer, Singularity Writing Advice.

Books

• Barzun, Jacques. Simple and Direct: Rhetoric for Writers.

[3.5/10] Recommended by Tim Ferriss.

• Blum, Deborah, Mary Knudson, and Robin Marantz Henig, A Field Guide for Science Writers: The Official Guide of the National Association of Science Writers.

[4.3/11] [pdf]

• Clark, Roy Peter, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer.

[4.7/54] [pdf] Aimed at fiction writers.  Each chapter contains helpful practice exercises.

• Flesch, Rudolf, The Classic Guide to Better Writing: Step-by-Step Techniques and Exercises to Write Simply, Clearly, and Correctly.

[4.4/9]

• Flesch, Rudolf, The Art of Plain Talk.

[4.4/7] Luke Muehlhauser’s summary.

• Fowler, H. W. and Ernest Gowers (ed.), A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 2nd ed.

[4.5/5] [pdf] A true classic, albeit now somewhat outdated. There is almost universal agreement that the second edition (revised by Gowers) is superior to the third edition (further revised by Winchester).

• Hancock, Elsie and Robert Kanigel, Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing.

[4.6/5] [pdf]

• King, Stephen, On Writing.

[4.6/110] [pdf] Sivers’s summary. A general reflection on the craft of writing, with a number of practical tips interspersed throughout.

• Kramer, Mark and Wendy Call, Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University.

[5/24]

• LaRocque, Paula, The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well.

[4.8/27] [pdf]

• Montgomery, Scott, The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science.

[4.3/7]

• Stein, Sol, Stein on Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques.

[4.6/91] [pdf] “My favorite book on writing.” (Kaj Sotala)

• Strunk, William and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed.

[4.7/441] [pdf] A classic of its genre, it has also attracted a great deal of criticism.

• Thomas, Francis-Noël  and Mark Turner, Clear and Simple as the Truth, 2nd ed.

[5/2] “The best book I’ve read in years.” (Robin Hanson) I summarized the book here. See also Steven Pinker’s excellent talk, The Sense of Style, which is heavily informed by the work of Thomas and Turner.

• University of Chicago, The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed.

[4.6/47] [pdf]

• Wilbers, Stephen, Keys to Great Writing.

[4.9/32]

• Williams, Joseph and Gregory G. Colomb, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 10th ed.

[4.6/29] [pdf, 9th ed.] “The best teachers of practical style are Joseph Williams and Gregory Colomb.” (Francis-Noël Thomas & Mark Turner)

• Zinsser, William, On Writing Well.

[4.5/74] [pdf] “Fantastic” (Tim Ferriss)