6 of the best resources for writers:
- 3 Books (1 for basics, 1 for reference, and 1 for sticky writing).
- 2 Websites (1 for web writing and 1 for content marketing).
- 1 App (a dictionary).
[Insert here the blah-blah intro text that nobody reads.]
1. The Basics of Writing: Elements of Style
Elements of Style is the best guide for learning the fundamentals of writing.
The only problem with Elements of Style is that it’s too short to stand alone as an all-encompassing tutorial or reference guide. For that you’ll need:
2. The Best Reference Guide: Garner’s Modern American Usage
If Garner says it then it is so.
Don’t let the mammoth length of Modern American Usage deter you: you read it 1 essay at a time or you look up 1 word at a time.
It’s like a friend you call on in times of need. You grab it quickly to find something. But then you become engrossed in the book’s insight and charm and you read beyond what you’d intended to look-up.
You might expect a reference guide to be boring and stuffy but Garner’s wry sense of humor jumps off the page.
3. The Fastest Dictionary: Google Dictionary
Google Dictionary is the fastest way to look-up a word.
4. Writing Usable Content for the Web: Jakob Nielsen
Nielsen’s writing for the web articles show you how to format your web writing so that people can find and use your information.
My 10 Simple Tips to Get More People to Read Your Writing is grounded in Nielsen’s research.3
5. Writing Sticky Content that is Memorable and Persuasive: Made to Stick
Made to Stick is filled with examples to make your ideas:
- Concrete (So people understand).
- Credible (So people believe).
- Emotional (So people care).
- In a story format (So people act).
6. Writing Compelling Content that is your Advertising: Copyblogger
You can use content marketing to promote yourself, your business or your ideas.
The popular articles listed on Copyblogger’s homepage are great examples of writing that:
- Is useful to readers.
- Builds the credibility and authority of the authors.
These are my favorite writing resources. What are some of yours?
- But Firefox’s Dictionary Search isn’t as fast as Google Dictionary. [↩]
- The two-volume set of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is too big and heavy (and costs about $100). What would you rather do?:
- Take 1 second to double-click on a word; or
- Take 1 minute to rise out of your chair, grab the OED off your shelf, flip through the pages to find your word, put it back on the shelf, and then return to your chair.
- Nielsen writes longer articles than you or I should. He can get away with it because 1) he’s uber famous and 2) his audience is relatively elite. [↩]