Most recommended books

On Writing

by Stephen King

Recommended in 31 interviews and reading lists

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Who recommends it

  1. Emma TourtelotInterview
    Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott made me want to be a writer. On Writing by Stephen King reminded me, a few years later, that it was time to actually try.
  2. Awais KhanInterview
    I think any book that you can get your hands on is good enough. However, if one is writing in a certain genre then reading books in that genre is always helpful. For example, if you’re writing crime fiction, then reading authors like Lee Child, Martina Cole and James Patterson would do you well. I have read a lot of…
  3. Books to Help You Write Your First BookReading list
    On Writing is a book by Stephen King that covers everything from writing a book to reading to improve your writing. King is an accomplished author who has written many bestselling books.
  4. The Best Books of the 1990sReading list
    I first got to know King in the ’80s as a best-selling horror writer. This book made me start thinking of him as a writer, period. It’s a seemingly loosely-structured mix of memoir, philosophical reflection, and practical how-to advice for writers; he wrote it to stay sane while recovering from a car accident that…
  5. Sakinah HoflerInterview
    Zen in the Art of Writing by Raymond Bradbury and On Writing by Stephen King are two craft books where each writer discusses how they entered writing. Both Bradbury’s whimsical approach to writing what he’s inspired by (as well as his 1,000 words/day habit) and King’s discussion of how long it took for him to break…
  6. Pamela PaulInterview
    For journalists, I love Follow the Story by James B. Stewart. For writers, I love On Writing by Stephen King. Most of all, it’s important to read broadly and widely and outside your comfort lane. I tend to lean towards books about what I don’t know, books outside my own experience. If you want to be a journalist and a…
  7. Roselle LimInterview
  8. Jane GreenInterview
    Story by Robert Mckee for the science of what makes a story, and particularly, the importance of conflict in your stories and characters; My Ex-Life by Stephen McCauley to see how funny, well-written and compelling good commercial fiction can be, and On Writing by Stephen King because it has such clear and simple good…
  9. Nicola CornickInterview
    I’m not a huge reader of “how to” books but I found On Writing by Stephen King insightful and thought-provoking. For authors looking to write historical fiction with or without supernatural elements, I’d recommend Daphne Du Maurier for a masterclass in how to build atmosphere.
  10. Wendy HigginsInterview
    I’m not much of a self-help or craft reader so I can only think of one, and it’s a great one. On Writing by Stephen King because of its message about the necessity of perseverance to make it in this business.
  11. James ConnollyInterview
    On Writing by Stephen King is an incredible treatise on the artistic life, what it requires of the soul and how to balance the imbalance of living in your own mind and the voices that rumble in our heads.
  12. Patrick AllanInterview
    Meditations is up there, but it was Zen In the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury that convinced me I could be a writer too. My life has been so much more fulfilling since I’ve started writing for a living. On Writing by Stephen King is worth an honorable mention as well.
  13. Jill SantopoloInterview
    I would tell someone who wants to be a writer to read Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare because I think those stories and plays are all wonderful examples of plot and character. And then for the third book, I’d tell them…
  14. Damian DuffyInterview
    At 16 I’d give myself On Writing by Stephen King, because that was when I was most into King as a writer, and I think that book could’ve inspired me to be a more prolific writer, or at least more aware of the old adage that you have to do a lot of bad writing to get to the good. At age 25 I’d give myself 47 by Walter…
  15. Peter WorleyInterview
    On Writing by Stephen King. It’s a great true-life story told by one of the great storytellers, but it’s also an immensely informative and insightful manual on how to write. This book is not just great for reading, it also empowers the reader to become the writer. If only J.K. Rowling had read this she wouldn’t have…
  16. Ania AhlbornInterview
    I’m going to cheat on this one and say On Writing by Stephen King, twice. Honestly, I can’t think of another book that has influenced me or spoken to me so clearly more than this one. As weird as it sounds, the first time I read On Writing, I cried a few times. Maybe I was just overly hormonal, but the way King writes…
  17. Christopher GoldenInterview
    That’s hard to say. My career has encompassed so many disciplines and mediums. I’d say On Writing by Stephen King, The Elements Of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White, and Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. And, honestly, if I have to explain why, you shouldn’t be embarking on this career.
  18. Ruth MoschnerInterview
    If you wanna be an author definitely On Writing by Stephen King, if you want to be a TV-Presenter, it would be Until Here Thank You Very Much by Friedrich Küppersbusch. If you want to be a holistic health consultant, you should read everything you can get about the topic!
  19. Alison LittlewoodInterview
    It’s a tricky one because I studied Literature and History and read an awful lot of books, but if there’s one I’d like to have discovered earlier, it’s On Writing by Stephen King. It’s not only full of some very good advice about writing but is very encouraging, and the personal memoirs of how he began are…
  20. Lamar GilesInterview
    This is tough because I also teach writing at the university level, so there may be textbooks I could recommend, but in some cases they’re expensive, and perhaps a bit dense for someone who’s not in a graduate level course. So, I’ll go with one book that gave me a lot of direction when I didn’t know there was…
  21. Kristi DeMeesterInterview
    On Writing by Stephen King. There are bits of advice in there I don’t wholeheartedly agree with, but I still feel that it’s a definitive touchstone on craft and practice. On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner because sometimes you need someone to give you a stern talking to and not paint writing as rainbow-filled…
  22. Helen HardtInterview
    As for an outside book, I’d have to say On Writing by Stephen King. He begins a book only with a premise, like I do, and when I was learning the craft and reading books and attending lectures that insisted the only way to be successful in this industry is to plot, plot, and then plot some more, King was a breath of…
  23. Sarah MorganInterview
  24. Trista MateerInterview
    The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, On Writing by Stephen King, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott,
  25. Laura McKowenInterview
    On Writing by Stephen King – he tells the truth about what it’s like to be a writer and offers the best practical advice I’ve found. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – she’s funny, humble, and honest (plus she’s in recovery and I resonate with that). And Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke – simply profound and…
  26. Adam CroftInterview
    There are many I could suggest. On Writing by Stephen King is vital for any writer. If you’re looking to publish independently, marketing will be key. Books like Write, Publish, Repeat by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant will be key. So will Reader Magnets by Nick Stephenson and other similar books.
  27. Jeff ZentnerInterview
    Read On Writing by Stephen King; read lots of the best books you can find and study what makes them great.
  28. Siobhan CurhamInterview
    I recommended Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert to a lot of my female friends and family. And On Writing by Stephen King to most of my writing friends.
  29. Jenna McCarthyInterview
    Way too many to count, but at the top of the list are The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, On Writing by Stephen King, Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis (I’m always shocked and horrified when people admit they haven’t read this and insist they remedy that immediately) or anything by Augusten Burroughs.
  30. Anthony RyanInterview
    On Writing by Stephen King would have been a great help to an eighteen-year-old me, but sadly he didn’t publish it until I was in my early thirties. It’s pretty much the best book about writing I’ve read, though novice writers should be cautious about slavishly following all of King’s advice, there is no one size fits…
  31. B. DolanInterview
    That’s a tough call. I actually read On Writing by Stephen King somewhere in my adult life, and ‘hearing’ the childhood hero that sort of lit the spark talk about his process was helpful. I just remember him talking about how he sat down every day to write like someone clocking in at work.

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