Reading and correlation with writing. — In my experience a fecundity of ideas come along with reading. Stephen King said somewhere to be a great writer you should be an avid reader. Any recommendations to help grasp grammar better?

I wouldn't use any specific novelist's memoir as your guide. More on why in a minute. As for which books are specifically helpful for writing technique, I reccomend:

  • "Making Shapely Fiction" by Jerome Stern
  • "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Browne and King (no, not that King)
  • "Steering the Craft" by Ursula LeGuin

It may sound like I'm breaking my own rule here by suggesting LeGuin, but her book is more of a witting and workshop guide than a memoir. Now, why isn't King's "on Writing" on the list? I actually really like the book as a memoir, but it's actual writing advice is pretty basic, and all of it is better (and more succinctly) covered in the guides above.

There's also an inherent problem with some successful writers' books where even hearing about their habits isn't necessarily going to be helpful. It's all well and good to hear King explain how he spends 8+ hours a day in the chair, but that isn't something many (or even most) writers are capable of. The guy's productivity/work rate is a massive outlier, and trying to imitate it is going to be tough.

It's also worth noting that you don't necessarily want to sound like King. He's a good storyteller, but his actual prose is nothing special.

/r/writing Thread