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Summary: Funny and Informational
Review: Who says Stephen King can't write memoirs too? This infact might be one of the best memoirs I have ever read. The stories he shares with the reader, will crack you up, but the best thing is that in the back of the book, there is a list of Stephen King's reccomendations, well immediately after reading this book, I went out and got some of his reccommendations and they were all great reads. King also has some helpers for aspiring writers, he also told how he became the biggest writer in the world, shame that this great man is retiring from writing, I will miss the way he wrote with such humor and horror.
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Summary: GUTSY AND A GOOD READ!
Review: SHAKESPEARE HE MAY NOT BE, BUT STEPHEN KING IS NO SECOND RATE WRITER! HE BARES HIS SOUL AND OFFERS HOPE TO ASPIRING WRITERS AS WELL AS SOME GOOD, DOWN TO EARTH, USEFUL ADVICE ON HONING THEIR CRAFT. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SECTION IS TOUCHING AND ENCOURAGING; IF HE TRIUMPHED OVER THOSE ODDS, WE ALL SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE IT! I'VE OFTEN WONDERED WHAT INFLUENCED THE MAN WHO GIVES US SUCH RIVIETING AND SPOOKY STORIES. NOW I KNOW! WELL WORTH THE PRICE WHETHER YOU ARE A KING FAN OR AN ASPIRING WRITER.
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Summary: Great Book for Aspiring Writers
Review: If you read the negative comments about this book, ignore them for these reasons:1) King never says you have to write 8 pages a day. He simply states that is what a "career" writer should aim for. He didn't start out writing that way (if you pay attention). 2) King explains that the sections about his background are there to explain his motivations for writing. This book is hardly an autobiography. 3) King is opinionated about his writing style, yes, but it sure seems to work for him. Don't be so weak to think you HAVE to follow in every one of his footsteps to write your own successful novel. If you want read this book for any reason other than your personal motivation for writing or to learn a little about King's background, DON'T DO IT. This is not a book to be judged alongside the merits of his fiction. King even states that this book is aimed more at the questions he receives at book signings, and one question he NEVER receives. Personally, I really liked the book and took away some good advice that I will consider with my writing. Give it a shot.
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Summary: Inspiring read for the aspiring writer
Review: On writing is a version of Steven King himself as a child. He talks about his mother and her jobs, plus most of the places he lived as a child. He is a fowl-mouthed writher who gets right to the point. Although, reading this book might inspire you into writing a novel, don't think it is going to happed in one day. He describes a toolbox as useful elements in the writing process. King also describes other writers in their ways of writing, such as H.P. Lovecraft, James Joyce, Harper Lee, and John Grisman to name a few. Writing is a true dedication in order to write a story you must have your mind set.
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Summary: Advice for Writers: "Kill Your Darlings"
Review: Although I still have not read any of Stephen King's wildly popular horror fiction, I was prepared to like this book. I was prepared by a preface King wrote to a story anthology by science fiction writer Harlan Ellison. In the essay King compares one writer reading another's work to refrigerated milk in an open carton at risk of picking up other flavors. On Writing is an excellent, readable, and revealing primer of the life of a modern writer, a kind of Horatio Alger story devoid of both pomposity and false modesty. Although the book is devoted as much or more to King's life's than it is to writing, the two subjects are mutually illuminating. The actual advice he gives about writing is also, when he gets to it, most instructive. It can be summarized by the phrase: Omit Needless Words. King emphasizes editing, demonstrates the economy of eliminating adverbs, and looks objectively at his own and others' work. The result is refreshing honesty and practical advice. My favorite line is about the virtual necessity of destroying a book's "best parts"-fetishized passages beloved by the author-for the sake of the novel as a whole. Because these favorite parts often act like blood clots or traffic blocking narrative flow, they must be gotten rid of. Although not his own, the phrase is fittingly macabre for a work scribed by King: "Kill your darlings."
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Summary: "Not" ON WRITING by Stephen King
Review: There is little, if anything, about how to write (on writing) in this book. King recommends reading Strunk and White's "On Style as "a classic," which is like me recommedning Shakespeare's "Hamlet" as a classic. (News?) What is interesting about his book is the way in which King unwittingly (I presume) admits that he is a second rate writer, that he is embarassed by his writing, and that he would really like to be appreciated as an "Author," rather than merely sold as a writer. He seems to intuit this distinction, and yearns for the higher title. (He spends a lot of time talking about how first rate novelists were often perceived as second rate "hacks" (King's category) during their lifetimes. And he cannot comprehend why Joyce wrote so few books! Dah.
For example, he writes that in high school and college, he took literature and poetry courses, but they weren't worth much--this attitude shows in his writing: sensibility counts. He writes, too, that his books are based on his early love of "B horror movies": this shows too: his novels are "B horror novels." "On Writing" should be retitled: "Confessions of Second Rate Writer," for the book does strongly suggest that this is how Mr. King evaluates his own work. The book tells us that he is embolden (even) to broach a serious topic (style in writing) because he is financially successful, but that there is no relationship between material success in writing and writing well (elegantly, seriously, and meaningfully). The book, then, is a good lesson in this difference, and how it can impact (even) a successful (financially) writer, a wanabe "author" of note. Financially successful writing is NOT writing well (any ad man can tell you this), and the financially successful writer is not an author and has little to say "on writing."
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Summary: A MUST for any king fan, or anyone interested in WRITING!
Review: Aspiring writers or curious people in general, this book is superb. To find out Stephen Kings life BEFORE we knew him is a treat to be cherished. What I really connected with were some of his experiences in school (His teachers, a girl who gets made fun of constantly) because we've ALL been there. The fact that some of his characters, like CARRIE, were made in part about the girl mentioned above, was breathtaking. To know that not ALL of his writings take place 100% from his dreams, but that its actually a mixture of all of life's experiences. I couldn't put this book down. IF you are a king fan then you will love it. I personally got a question answered when he described that he DOES get hate mail from fundamentalist christians and the like who tell him that because of his GOD GIVEN talent, he will burn in hell. Keep writing Steve, we've been with you all the way!!!!
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Summary: On Writing : A Memoir of the Craft
Review: A major New York Times bestseller in hardcover, this remarkable volume begins with autobiography, where every writing career begins. A series of vivid, telling memories from childhood, adolescence, college & the struggling years leading up to publication of his first novel, Carrie, provide readers with a fresh & often very funny perspective on the formation of his own character. King then proceeds to the basic tools of a writer's craft, how those tools can be sharpened & multiplied through use, & how the writer must carry them with him always. He then takes the reader through crucial aspects of the writer's art & life, offering practical & inspiring advice on everything from plot & character to work habits & rejection. The book ends with a discussion of the accident in June of 1999 that almost killed him, & the crucial role writing has played in his ongoing recovery. This trade paperback edition will feature a new introduction by the author.
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Summary: Marvelous
Review: ON WRITING is better than I thought it would be. It's marvelous. I finished it in less than two days. In the First Forward, Stephen King observes that popular novelists are never "asked about the language" when queried by admiring fans. Thus, he states: "What follows is an attempt to put down , briefly and simply, how I came to the craft (of telling stories on paper), what I know about it now, and how it's done. It's about the day job; it's about the language." In the first hundred or so pages, King shares his experiences growing up in Maine and Connecticut, his marriage, his struggles as a novice writer, and his drug and alcohol problems. King intends this section not as an autobiography, but as a curriculum vitae. It ends with the assignment of the paperback rights to CARRIE, his first novel. In the next 150 pages, the author describes how he performs his craft. He explains the "tools" of writing (vocabulary and grammar), the creative environment (the room, the door, the determination to close the door, and the music - Hard Rock in King's case), style and formatting (paragraphing, narration, description, and dialogue), and the final stretch to a finished piece (drafts, editing, and proofreading by a trusted friend - wife/author Tabitha in King's case). The final few pages, in a way, are the most interesting. It's Stephen's account of the road accident in 1999 that inflicted multiple fractures to his ribs and lower body, and the effect the mishap had on his writing. Ironically enough, he'd half completed this book at the time of the incident, and he had to struggle to come back and finish. Though King was once a high school English teacher, ON WRITING is in no way pedantic, but chatty and informal. It's a book straight from the author's heart, and it shows. "Don't wait for the muse ... This isn't the Ouija board or the spirit-world we're talking about here, but just another job like laying pipe or driving long-haul trucks. Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon or seven 'til three. If he does know, I assure you that sooner or later he'll start showing up, chomping his cigar and making his magic." The author's first rule for good writing is that the writer must read a lot. Well, I do that - constantly. Perhaps I can improve my own poor scribbling. In this review, I've followed his advice; I've kept the paragraphs short and avoided use of passive sentence construction. That's something, at least.
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Summary: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING AND THE AUTHOR
Review: This is two books in one really. The first half is an autobiography, in which the author recounts his life from childhood to the present day, explaining the motivation for his writing along the way. The second part goes on to give the lowdown on writing, covering the nuts and bolts of the craft in detail: from grammar and dialogue, to plotting and structure, pinpointing the pifalls to watch out for that will spoil your chances of success. Writers of all stripes can learn something from this inspirational book, told in King's typically breezy style.
I was thrilled to interview Stephen King a couple of years ago when I was a magazine writer. As a fan and aspiring author myself then, I found him kind and generous with his time and advice. For anyone starting out as a writer, I really recommend Stephen King On Writing as essential reading for learning the craft. Also try to get David Morrell's Lessons From a Lifetime of Writing, which is a similar book and just as good. And never give up trying to get published! Let me leave you with a question I asked Stephen King in my definitive interview about his writing life that appeared in many publications around the world.
WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED OUT AS A WRITER DID YOU REALLY NAIL REJECTION SLIPS ON YOUR BEDROOM WALL?
Stephen King: 'Yeah, I did. But I don't think of that period of rejection as a dispiriting time. In a way I was learning my craft publicly. My writing wasn't right at first. Little by little I started to see what was wrong with it. The rejection slips would start to come in but sometimes someone would write on the bottom: Not bad, try us again. So I could see that I was making some progress. I understood that it was a process of learning that took time, but knew that success wasn't going to happen overnight. I'd keep circulating my manuscripts and when I finally started to sell I was delighted.'
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