Everyone can write, not everyone can write well. These 10 books are perfect at teaching you to be a better writer, whether you want better emails, just beginning to unleash your creativity, or a seasoned hack.

1. The 10 best books on
writing
Everyone writes, few write well

2. Reading about writing
WHO needs to read about writing?
You do. Thanks to the internet good writing has never
been as important a skill for so many people as today.
WHY if I can already write?
We think that we are experts at it because we can
compose emails. But according to the Dunning-Kruger
effect this isn’t true.
WHAT books then?
These books are a selection of all disciplines, for
inspiration on creativity, to writing a script, novel or
essay.

3. The best books on writing
and storytelling, courtesy of
Considered Words
Click on the pictures to find out more or to buy the books at
Amazon

4. Story – Robert McKee
The granddaddy of
modern storytelling
books, Robert McKee is
loved by many for his
direct style combined with
his real love of writing
and desire for others to
tell stories well. He sets
out his principles (don’t
ever call them rules) of
writing in a clear style that
he follows up with several
examples from
Hollywood.

5. The Seven Basic Plots –
Christopher Booker
Christopher Booker
was the Daily
Telegraph‘s theatre
correspondent for
many years and he’s
used his critiques of
hundreds of plays,
operas and books to
infer seven basic plots.

6. The Screenwriter’s Bible –
David Trottier
As the title suggests,
this is aimed at
screenwriters but all
writers can learn from
his approach, for the
book does not just
focus on the
mechanics of
formatting a script but
also looks at how to
make your writing
effective andvigourous.

7. The Elements of Style –
Strunk& White
Written by US university
professor Strunk,
journalist (and Strunk’s
former student) White
updated it in 1956. It has
eight rules of usage, ten
principles of composition,
matters of form and a list
of words and expressions
commonly misused along
with words often
misspelled.

8. Save the Cat! – Blake
Snyder
Blake Snyder wrote Stop!
Or my Mom will shoot,
but don’t hold that against
him. Snyder’s book is
aimed at screenwriters
but with lessons for all
writers, particularly his
focus on on two key ideas
– good structure and
showing the hero is
someone worth rooting
for.

9. Confessions of an Advertising Man –
David Ogilvy
This book isn’t about
writing, it’s an
autobiography, so
what’s it doing in here?
Well Ogilvy made his
fortune in advertising
and for him that was
built on effective use of
powerful words.

10. Screenwriting: The Sequence
Approach – Paul Joseph Gulino
Another screenwriting
book in the list. Why?
Because screenwriting
is such a stripped
down form of
storytelling that the
writing has nowhere to
hide – it has to be top
class.

11. Essays – George Orwell
Concise, barely using a
word more than
necessary, but with good
examples and arguments
as to the importance of
writing, word choice and
style, these essays are as
relevant now as they
were when written. After
reading this you can
never look at a corporate
blog or email with their
meaningless buzzwords
in the same way again.

12. The Writers’ & Artists’
Yearbook
It won’t teach you how to
write, or how to come up
with ideas, but this
annually updated volume
is essential for anyone
who wants to make a
living from writing. The
yearbook lists agents,
publishers, magazines
and others associated
with the writing industry.

13. How Not to Write a Novel -
Newman &Mittelmark
Sometimes the easiest
way to illustrate
something is to show the
opposite. This is Newman
and Mittelmark’s
approach in How Not to
Write a Novel. It has good
examples of what to
avoid, and – despite the
title – does give a few
hints on how to write a
good novel.

14. Find out more on writing
and storytelling
Want to find out more about these books? See
the original post on the Best Books on Writing at
Considered Words.
If you want to read more about writing, or to
contribute, head to ConsideredWords.com