Top Writing books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Writing books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Writing

Understanding the concepts of Writing starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

The Artist's Way

Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to free up any areas wher…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434

For decades, Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434 class at UCLA has been the premier screenwriting course, launching a generation of the industry's most frequently produced writers. Here, he shares the secrets of his course on the screenwriting process by actually writing an original script, step by step, that appears in the book.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

On Writing Well

On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose

Today’s writers need more spunk than Strunk: whether it's the Great American e-mail, Madison Avenue advertising, or Grammy Award-winning rap lyrics, memorable writing must jump off the page. Copy veteran Constance Hale is on a mission to make creative communication, both the lyrical and the unlawful, an option for everyone. With its crisp, witty tone, Sin and Syntax covers grammar’s ground rul…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

No plot? No problem!

Let Chris Baty, founder of the rockin' literary marathon National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), guide you through four exciting weeks of hard-core noveling. Baty's pep talks and essential survival strategies cover the initial momentum and energy of Week One, the critical "plot flashes" of Week Two, the "Can I quit now?" impulses of Week Three, and the champagne and

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Writing Down the Bones

For more than twenty years Natalie Goldberg has been challenging and cheering on writers with her books and workshops. In her groundbreaking first book, she brings together Zen meditation and writing in a new way. Writing practice, as she calls it, is no different from other forms of Zen practice —"it is backed by two thousand years of studying the mind." This new edition, which marks almost t…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Writing Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Writing, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Garner's Modern English Usage

With more than a thousand new entries and more than 2,300 word-frequency ratios, the magisterial fourth edition of this book-now renamed Garner's Modern English Usage (GMEU)-reflects usage lexicography at its finest. Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary with thoroughness, finesse, and wit. He discourages whatever is slovenly, pretentious, or pedantic. GMEU is the liveliest and…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Making Shapely Fiction

Here is a book about the craft of writing fiction that is thoroughly useful from the first to the last page―whether the reader is a beginner, a seasoned writer, or a teacher of writing. You will see how a work takes form and shape once you grasp the principles of momentum, tension, and immediacy. "Tension," Stern says, "is the mother of fiction. When tension and immediacy combine, the story be…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Self-editing for Fiction Writers

In this completely revised and updated second edition, Renni Browne and Dave King teach you, the writer, how to apply the editing techniques they have developed to your own work. Chapters on dialogue, exposition, point of view, interior monologue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an expert editor would go through to perfect your manuscript. Each point is illustrated wit…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work. “Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Writing the Breakout Novel

Writing the Breakout Novel is a craft book written by a famous literary agent that discusses the strategies necessary for a writer to create a successful breakout novel. The book is split into eleven chapters, which include Premise, Stakes, Time and Place, Plot, and Theme.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets from the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization

Long considered the bible for storytellers, Aristotle's Poetics is a fixture of college courses on everything from fiction writing to dramatic theory. Now Michael Tierno shows how this great work can be an invaluable resource to screenwriters or anyone interested in studying plot structure. In carefully organized chapters, Tierno breaks down the fundamentals of screenwriting, highlighting part…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your Writing books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!


Hey there! I'm Igor, a lead software engineer with over nine years of software development expertise (mostly Rust, C and C++) and four years specializing in blockchain and zero-knowledge proof (ZK) technologies. I hold a Master’s in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and have dedicated my career to …

$110 / month

Only 1 Spot Left

With over 12 years of professional experience, the last 7 working in Corporate America, I have experience as a Presales/Solutions Engineer, Project Manager, and Front-end developer. Throughout my career, I had the opportunity to mentor a diverse range of professionals in technology in the US, Europe and Brazil, especially people …

$120 / month


Sunny Zhu refers to herself as the bridge between people and data and as a “statistics geek”. She has been engaged in a broad range of analytical works across diversified industries to empower companies to turn data insights into solid business decisions. Working for a decade in data analytics, she …

$180 / month

Only 5 Spot Left

Seasoned IT manager with 20 years of experience across Amazon Retail, AWS, and Telecom domain. In my current role, I manage two pizza teams at Amazon with 12 direct reportees. Since Q4 2024, I have conducted 30+ interviews across engineering families. My mentorship approach is personalized, and hands-on. I can …

$150 / month

Only 5 Spot Left

I'm an engineering leadership mentor with over a decade of experience helping software engineers and managers excel. I've built teams from scratch, coached engineers, created career growth plans leading to successful promotions, mentored numerous engineers, defined technical strategies, and envisioned, staffed, and spun off new teams. My mentorship provides practical …

$70 / month

Only 5 Spot Left

Hi there! I'm a seasoned technology professional with over 20 years of experience in managing and marketing products through their entire lifecycle. My expertise spans planning, analysis, design, project management, and continuous improvement phases. I excel at establishing product specifications and pricing with a strong focus on customer needs. Throughout …

$150 / month

Browse all Writing mentors

Still not convinced? Don't just take our word for it

We've already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they've left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a Writing mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."