Popular authors who've written books about books and writing.

The first author that comes to mind is Steven King & his book On writing It is a well-written, interesting book, helpful for those readers who want to be writers. Danse Macabre Steven King's book on horror and gothic writing is a little gold mine of information on this genre and discusses how it is handled by various authors.

Jane Smiley's 13 ways of looking at the novel was interesting, but she could have said it in a shorter version.

Larry McMurtry's Books is ok. Many authors who were popular "back in the day" wrote such books. Would these be helpful?

I like Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing.

I second Steven King's book - it's wonderful!

Terry Brooks and Janet Evanovich both have ones as well. I like Brooks', but as much as I enjoy Evanovich's books, I didn't like her writing book as much.

I just finished King's book yesterday (review pending). It's excellent!

I recommend Anne Fadiman's second book Ex Libris: Confession of a Common Reader, which I am re-reading now, because I wasn't writing reviews when I first read it.

Her touchstone shows up red; don't know why....

She has become my favorite author.

On a slightly different tack, William Goldman author of The Princess Bride also has a series of books about screenwriting - Adventures in the Screen Trade and its sequel Which Lie Did I Tell?. He tends to big-note himself rather, but I like the insight into movies.

I've been meaning to buy King's On Writing for ages, even though I've never read any of his books...

#6> I too get author touchstones in red. All the time. I've given up trying to use them; I assume it's an error (that they can't match what I've typed with what is in the database) because the touchstones never actually appear.

Novelist Michael Chabon has a book out about books and writing. It's called Maps and Legends: Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands.

I haven't read it but I hope to do so soon.

Vladamir Nabokov's Lectures on Literature.

Here's a review

Rita Mae Brown's Starting from Scratch
Andrew Lang's (he of the vari-colored Fairy Books) Books and Bookmen

Margaret Atwood has a nice volume called Negotiating with the Dead.

I wonder if anyone is familiar with Sheilah Graham and a College of One. (Sorry, touchstones are sluggish)

She was F Scott Fitzgerald's "girlfriend", whom he educated.

I really enjoyed Maps and Legends, although it doesn't really focus on writing, more like storytelling as a whole and themes and genre, etc...

#9 - Lectures on Literature I read a little of this book on Google. I was really drawn to it. OK, got to find a hardcover copy.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I love her communities of characters. I always enjoy my time with her.