In honour of World Book Day, here’s a personal selection of 9 books that can help make you a better writer. And none of them have the word ‘content’ in the title…
1. Seeing things as they are by George Orwell
The best way to write well is to read great writers, and this collection of George Orwell’s best journalism is a good place to start. Orwell remains an inspiration for many writers for the unvarnished pithiness of his prose, his ability to get to the heart of a topic, and the warmth and generosity that shine through his deceptively plain style.
Orwell talked of good prose as a window – the writing does not draw attention to itself but rather gives transparently on to the thing itself. He made me realise that simple language is often the result of great intelligence…
