Reddit reviews Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing (3rd Edition)

I heard someone say once that you need to understand the rules before you can break them the right way. Anyway, I found these books helpful. I would never adhere to their advice exactly, but I did learn a lot from all of them and combine it with my own personal style:

John Gardner - The Art of Fiction

A bit dated, but it still does a good job of laying out what it means to write fiction. He has some good suggestions for exercises at the end.


Anne LaMott - Bird By Bird

Half craft, half inspirational. I'm not usually big on sappy, inspirational shit, but I loved this book and found it very helpful.


James Bonnet - Stealing Fire From the Gods

Focuses on the elements of great stories in film and books.


John Trimble - Writing With Style

This is a great overview of the technical side of writing well. The best I have found.


The main thing though: READ A LOT OF FICTION. You should read much more than you write. No one ever became a great writer by sitting around and reading about writing, but it can help you zero in on what to look for in the fiction of others.

Hope that helps.

A good, professional editor who knows how these things work should be able to offer grammatical corrections without crossing ethical lines.

However, narration and storybuilding are a different problem, and one that native speakers also often struggle with. I'd suggest you point your friend towards some other resources aimed at this topic. Personally, I found the book "Writing with Style" a great resource on how to frame your writing for your audience. Perhaps you could also see if your university has a Writing Center or other resource for grad students looking to get some help.

this book is the most helpful book I've ever read. It does a great job of addressing writing issues that are tough to solve. I can't say enough good things about it. It changed the way that I approach reading and writing. If you have a couple bucks to spare, go for it.