Reference books for writing

[dragon899]

Based on a few books I have read recently on the subject of writing, I am working on putting together a list of reference books for my home library. Knowing that some of the people who visit this site love writing as much as they love fountain pens...I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with or opinions about the books below. So far these are some of the particular books that have been recommended to me and that other writers said were indispensible.

 

The New Oxford American Dictionary

The American Heritage Dictionary

The Chicago Manual of Style

The Elements of Style

Roget's International Thesaurus

 

I am also wanting to pick up a good rhyming dictionary and wonder if anyone has looked at a few and found one they thought stood above the pack. From what I've seen of the online internet rhyming sites...it seems some sites are better than others, and each one seems to pull some options that others don't. This leads me to believe that over time I may end up acquiring a few different rhyming dictionaries...but we'll see.

 

If you think there is a glaring hole in my list above too and there is a title I should consider I would love to know what recommendations people might have.

[Ted H]

Style: Toward clarity and grace, Joseph M. Williams

 

The Craft of Revision, Donald M. Murray

 

On Writing Well, William Zinsser (you can't go wrong with his other books, either)

 

I also like

On Writing, Stephen King (even if you don't like his work, the guy knows what he's doing).

 

and

The Art of Fiction: Notes on craft for young writers, John Gardner

 

I haven't read this one, but judging by her son's abiltiy, I'd bet it's very good:

Artful Sentences: Syntax as style, Virginia Tufte

[Writer44]

Ted H has a great list there. Used many of those myself.

 

I might also add any/all of Diana Hacker's books. These come in handy and my editor frequently reminds me that I need to consult them more often.

 

44

[Joe in Seattle]

I used Strunk & White's The Elements of Style when I taught Freshman Composition many years ago.

 

I still think it's incapable of improvement.

[tfwall]

What are you writing? That defines what the essential reference is. Short fiction? Newspaper articles? Literary articles? Business reports?

[Philip1209]

I find the New York Times Manual of Style and Usage to be immensely helpful, and I highly recommend it.

[cmenice]

Elements of Style by Strunk and White

On Writing by Stephen King

 

These have been the best of the best. They are the only writing books I keep coming back to. I've bought a rhyming book or two in the past. They proved most useless. What I was trying to say never quite matched with what rhymed. I learned that I couldn't compromise what I was trying to express just to complete a rhyme.

[BillTheEditor]

It's a good list.

 

While the Chicago Manual is our standard for my ezine, you should be aware that there are several other widely-accepted manuals. For example, many publications use the AP Manual or The New York Times Manual (as mentioned by Philip1209) instead.

 

I am not a huge fan of Strunk and White, but it is a standard reference.

 

Other references I use in editorial work:

 

The New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors (quick and simple to use)

The Dictionary of Disagreeable English (deals with misuse, gives good examples, useful for hitting lazy/ignorant writers upside the head)

Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors (covers what the NODFWE does not, more "American" usage)

William F. Buckley's The Lexicon (sits right next to the Thesaurus) (and some of you think I'm a liberal. Hah! Fooled you.)

Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications (mine is a technically-oriented 'zine)

 

I'll stop without listing all the books on my working reference shelf. The only other item that should be on every writer's desk is a good thesaurus -- Roget is popular but there are others.

Edited November 7, 2008 by BillTheEditor

[gyasko]

I used Strunk & White's The Elements of Style when I taught Freshman Composition many years ago.

 

I still think it's incapable of improvement.

 

I think there are better books, e.g., Williams' "Ten lessons in clarity and grace." I say that because Williams' book gives more positive guidance on what students should do. "Omit needless words" really isn't much for students to go on, and the book doesn't account for classroom reality. Students fill up the page with useless verbiage because they have nothing to say. Were they to cut the fluff, there would be nothing left. I also think some of the usage & grammar rules in S&W apply more to a 19th century Latin teacher's fantasy version of the English language than to the language as we use it today. Having said all that, i think that S&W might be an OK reference for writers who want an American Modernist voice.

 

I stopped using writing manuals because none of them addressed the emotional and intellectual challenges my writing students had. They weren't confident or knowledgeable enough about the world to write anything. What? Me? Have something to say? S&W was next to useless in my classroom.

[WillAdams]

For a while, I was trying to collect style manuals which were available on-line:

 

http://mysite.verizon.net/william_franklin...le-manuals.html

 

William

 

 

[openionated]

What about Eats, Shoots, and Leaves

[Strang]

What about Eats, Shoots, and Leaves

 

 

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves is a hoot, especially if you're British, but, what I need, is a good manual about: the over-use, and improper usage, of commas. Oh, yes, I do!

[lefty928]

These might date me, but I found the following usage manuals helpful:

The Careful Writer, Theodore Bernstein

Modern American Usage, Wilson Follett

 

My Fowler's usage book disappeared somewhere over the years, but I consulted that often also. As I said, these are older reference works, like several of the good selections you've already cited.

 

For commas, you might consult a grammar text. I have one by Random House. There is often, however, a house style for whether or not to use serial commas, so you could rely on good old Chicago or whatever style manual is approved by the entity you are submitting something to. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, The Transitive Vampire, Woe Is I, etc., are fun extras, but I don't consider them standard references.* The New York Public Library also has a good style manual. Zinsser, like Strunk and White, is frequently mentioned and I think worth the read. My standard dictionary at my old job was the American Heritage dictionary.

 

As someone has already mentioned, I think, it would be helpful to know what you are planning to write.

 

Thanks for this post -- it led me to look up an old favorite of one of my editors: http://www.theslot.com/. Bill Walsh discontinued his updates to the old Web site years ago (once known as "Crusty Old Slot Man's Copy-Editing Peeve Page") but I just looked him up and now he has a blog and two books: Lapsing Into a Comma and The Elephants of Style. What a great discovery!*

 

*These notes, however, are from someone who keeps meaning to purchase the Shorter OED .

Edited November 8, 2008 by lefty928

[jmkeuning]

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves is a hoot, especially if you're British, but, what I need, is a good manual about: the over-use, and improper usage, of commas. Oh, yes, I do!

 

You know, and this is just my opinion, you do not have a problem, not at all. Comma use, even excessive, is acceptable to me, and people like me, who are learned, because we like to set our thoughts apart. So, I say, again, just my opinion, your comma use is fine.

[CAA]

In my 20+ years of book publishing experiencing, the only two references I recommend to my authors are a good dictionary and the Chicago Manual of Style.

 

[Robert]

I find an unabridged dictionary indispensable for my writing. The quotations alone provide invaluable guidance. As Wittgenstein taught us, meaning = use.

 

I've had an online subscription to Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary for three years, and it's a welcome replacement for the fat volume now gathering dust in the corner.

[FLZapped]

Technical Writing by Walter, Mills, and Marion. Published by Hole, Rinehart and Winston. (Last Edition is the 5th, published 1986)

 

This book explains everything from report writing to letter writing. Only available in used condition.

 

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian (latest is 7th Edition)

 

-Bruce

[dragon899]

Thank you all so much for the recommendations...this is a great list! I will need to spend some time either at a bookstore or online reading up on these titles.

 

At the moment I am not closing any doors regarding a specific market but I am currently focusing my attention on young adult fiction and poetry.

[lefty928]

Thank you all so much for the recommendations...this is a great list! I will need to spend some time either at a bookstore or online reading up on these titles.

 

At the moment I am not closing any doors regarding a specific market but I am currently focusing my attention on young adult fiction and poetry.

 

 

Best of luck in your endeavors! There's always the good ol' standby Bartleby.com, where you can peruse online many of the references mentioned. (Not the Kate Turabian, which I remember fondly from my decades-ago stint as a TA ...)

[thibaulthalpern]

Hmm...style manuals deal with the easiest and to me least interesting part of writing, which is the technical, stylistic (!!) aspect of writing.

 

The meat of writing--the structure of the whole that you're creating--is harder to teach. Writing is in fact thinking. Teaching writing is teaching thinking. There are non-reference books on how to write including techniques to help you with writing. These are like teaching guides on how to write for academic discourse but useful even for the writer. I took a course on teaching writing but don't have my bibliography with me. There are a couple of classics on the topic, although they aren't reference books per se.

 

You could also consider a collocation dictionary.