On Writing
On Writing by Stephen Kingby Stephen King
Ranked 2 of 6 writing guides by recommenders
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.
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.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Essential reading for aspiring writers
“The only books that are required reading if youre planning to write are "on writing" by King”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “To become a better writer, read as much as you can” “get a book on writing (perhaps Stephen King's)”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “I wrote a 2M-character novel with ChatGPT, without an outline” Enjoyable audiobook listen
“The best audiobook I’ve ever listened to is Stephen Kings On Writing”
Comment from 12 Jul 2026 in “How to Read More Books” “I've a soft spot for that book because it saved me from two days of very long and dreary jury service.”
Comment from 12 Jul 2026 in “How to Read More Books”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Too prescriptive, like Elements of Style
“"On Writing" is another book like "The Elements of Style", both are too prescriptive, albeit not useless.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “How to Write with an LLM”
Other writing guides people recommend
The four most recommended other writing guides, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Elements of Styleby Strunk and White | 12 | 10 | 55% | 8 | — | — |
| On Writingby Stephen KingThis page | 9 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| On Writing Wellby William Zinsser | 4 | 1 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| The Sense of Styleby Steven Pinker | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Writing for Developersby Scynthia Dunlop | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This is the role of an editor (check out Stephen King book On Writing which makes this point).”
“"On Writing" is another book like "The Elements of Style", both are too prescriptive, albeit not useless.”
“The only books that are required reading if youre planning to write are "on writing" by King”
“Stephen King talks about this in On Writing . He carries a book with him wherever he goes and reads in 10m increments throughout the day.”
“I've a soft spot for that book because it saved me from two days of very long and dreary jury service.”
“The best audiobook I’ve ever listened to is Stephen Kings On Writing”
“get a book on writing (perhaps Stephen King's)”
“I found Stephen King's On Writing a worthwhile read for anyone thinking about writing”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.