# On Writing by Stephen King

9 Hacker News commenters recommended On Writing by Stephen King and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a worthwhile, enjoyable read for anyone interested in writing, and one of the few books on the subject they call essential. One critic finds it too prescriptive, like The Elements of Style.

## Why people recommend it

- Essential reading for aspiring writers (2 comments): "The only books that are required reading if youre planning to write are "on writing" by King" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49410132)) "get a book on writing (perhaps Stephen King's)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46384791))
- Enjoyable audiobook listen (2 comments): "The best audiobook I’ve ever listened to is Stephen Kings On Writing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48883427)) "I've a soft spot for that book because it saved me from two days of very long and dreary jury service." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48884446))

## What people warn about

- Too prescriptive, like Elements of Style (1 comments): ""On Writing" is another book like "The Elements of Style", both are too prescriptive, albeit not useless." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49756465))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Elements of Style by Strunk and White](https://hackerapproved.com/p/elements-of-style.md): 12 recommend
- [On Writing Well by William Zinsser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/on-writing-well.md): 4 recommend
- [The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sense-of-style.md): 3 recommend
- [Writing for Developers by Scynthia Dunlop](https://hackerapproved.com/p/writing-for-developers.md): 2 recommend
- [The Chicago Manual of Style by University of Chicago Press](https://hackerapproved.com/p/chicago-manual-of-style.md): 2 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593311507?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780593311509) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "On Writing by Stephen King", https://hackerapproved.com/p/on-writing/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).