Books on Writing in General
 

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

• This is a useful reference. 

• Provides simple rules to make writing (and thinking), sharper, easier to understand, and more vigorous. 

• Provides basic guidance for effective writing.

 

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss

• Punctuation can be fun!

• Funny!

 

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker​

• This style guide focuses not on grammar or word choice, but on organizing writing in ways that best serve the reader.

 

On Writing by Stephen King

• He includes some great advice about how to write more compelling stories.

• About writing fiction, which grants are, and so some insight into storytelling is warranted!

 

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

• She has some great advice about how to write more and craft a compelling story.

 

Style: Toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph Williams

• This style guide focuses not on grammar or word choice, but on organizing writing in ways that best serve the reader.

 

Don't Make me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug

• Though this is a book on web design, the approachable, visual, and lively content puts writing in a business context, identifies how people read online, provides information design principles, and demonstrates how understanding of audience and needs comes into play. The title acknowledges that readers come to websites to DO something—they don't want to stop, they don't want to puzzle over something—and reading in order to take an action is the same mindset review panels bring to proposal reviews. Therefore, many of the same principles apply.

 

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

• Provides basic guidance for effective writing (i.e., the reader gets out of it what the author intended/needed them to get).

 

The Art of Fiction by John Gardner

• About writing fiction, which grants are, and so some insight into storytelling is warranted!

 

How to Write a Lot by Paul Silva

• Very useful for people who struggle to squeeze writing in to their day