On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and practical book for writers
Review: I read this book - my first by Stephen King - after noticing a lot of favorable reviews, and I really liked it. This book has been highly recommended in many different forums for young, aspiring writers, and I can see the reason why.

While the first half of the book is autobiographical, dealing with events that made Stephen King the type of writer he is; the second half deals almost exclusively with King's insights and suggestions on the craft of writing - from vocabulary, grammar, editing, etc., to the nuances of dialogue, description, and narration. Unlike many books dealing with the art of writing, this book has a friendlier, almost intimate approach, and King uses numerous examples from his own work and that of other writers to illustrate his points. Two of the best pieces of advice in this book are: "Write with your door closed, re-write with your door open", and "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write".

This is a very inspiring and motivating book for anyone interested in writing. King himself never stopped writing, no matter what the circumstances - the abject poverty of the early part of his life, or the excruciating pain as a result of the life threatening accident - and that is the biggest lesson in this book for writers.

Rating:
Summary: An extra tool for all writers
Review: Definately Stephen King's best Non-fiction book since Danse Macabre! The King gives you an outlook on the life of writing, and also gives you a look on how his writing career took a turn for the good and bad. He talks about what a writer should have, he shines a light on the subject of the importance of reading as a tool. This book is for ANY aspiring authors, or just great fans of the King.

Rating:
Summary: Stephen King kicks it!
Review: I am an aspiring fiction writer myself and I figured I love Stephen King's writing let learn me from him. Basically, he tells you exactly what a writer needs to get going and stay on track. The part about reading alot is definitely true but be careful not to turn reading into work. Reading should be a fun learning experience. If you are not writing anything, King tells you that you are no writer; face it you are fooling yourself. Be honest about what you really want. Stephen King doesn't hold back. He really kicks slackers butts! Watching tv all time? King asks how many episodes of a tv program must you watch to finally be fulfilled?! Well.... I enjoyed this book very much.

I recommend this book to all upcoming writers. However don't get discouraged by King's blunt style. He means well.

Rating:
Summary: Funny, practical, inspiring.
Review: You don't have to be a fan of Stephen King to appreciate this biographical look at the craft of writing. Love him or hate him, it's hard to argue with his success or deny that the man knows how to tell a story. He devotes the first part of this book to the story of his childhood and young adulthood, with plenty of trials and hilarity thrown in. He moves on to the craft of writing itself, offering in his words "no bull%@*$" about how to write a story. He ends with a harrowing look at the accident that almost killed him, along with his own list of favorite books. If you are an aspiring writer you would be well served to give this book a read.

Rating:
Summary: STEPHEN KING ON WRITER
Review: Stephen King's book "On Writing" is somewhat a biography and a writers guide all combined in one nice wrapped box. Just in this case would be considered between two cardboard book covers. Stephen King brings a very interesting but not uncommon among the American Population, in fact, it brings that unprovided light from the unfortunate children to the blue and white collared children. Which to me is a very well thought aspect that should and was considered when writing this book.
His high school career is somewhat interesting, it's not as typical as one may think, Stephen King didn't go out for sports, and instead he went to school and then to work. However, the time frame does set itself for the modern day, he'd get up at 5am and wouldn't get home till 12am. Now, he would do the common homework in school stuff, but when he describes it, he describes it in such a way that you feel like your there, right where he is at the moment. When he discusses college, you can almost sense that he was not serious about it and he wasn't, like most Americans, like myself do give a serious sense about post high school. I believe Stephen King did an excellent job researching that aspect and unitized it so it would give the correct vibes.
Now after his childhood and high school career and his college days, there is only one thing to do, and that is not to party. But in fact to settle down, Stephen King did that by actually checking out a young lady in a yellow turtleneck with a black skirt and nice panty hose. The word choice he uses shows the love that he has between his wife and himself in their relationship and now marriage is unconditional. He also mentions that starting a family is never an easy task, because of the factors surrounding work, money and stuff, just not enough time to make and rise kids. In today's hustling and bustling society that is very true, because as a society we have grown, shall we say?
He touches base on the fact that only 5 percent of writers in America only make enough to support themselves and a family, nicely. He does show fabulous proof that indeed you have to, because his first deal was only for 50 bucks, not much, but he didn't have a family then, so it wasn't bad. But then when the seventies hit and when playboy Magazine came a knocking for Stephen King to write for them, he would and the best offer he got was for $28,000 buckaroos, and of course he took it. The best deal he had ever gotten in the beginning of the times was the book he wrote, the publishing company wanted to pay him $400,000 thousand dollars to publish it, and such, and mind you, it still was the seventies. He also says when you go and write you must be committed when you are trying to make it big, it's not something for someone to go do for one day and expect to be golden. Not by a long shot and not only does that rule apply to that, but it applies to many aspects of something we call, life. To even make this so-called boring part of the book, he uses attention grabbers and such to keep the parts moving and to me, it's a good thing.
He speaks of a subject that a young guy like myself dreams about, but for many, it's a reality. Retirement and a house without the little ones, which to me, although I'm 17, it's a good thing to think about...but to some I would be jumping the gun a bit and I can understand, we all have different opinions on different subjects. By what Stephen King is talking about, it almost sounds like you need to plan for the retirement of you and your partner in crime, as soon as you leave college, which is scary. But in closing, The book, for the price that I paid was not as bad as it sounded, because if you believe the phrase" Judge a Book by it's cover" then you may not want to read this. The fact, the cover serves as a liberally sounded cover and some people don't like that. But to me you are fools, because the book is and could be considered another masterpiece by Stephen King.

Rating:
Summary: More than just a memoir!
Review: Begun in 1997 and finished in 1999, On Writing is a memoir in which Stephen King talks about the craft of writing and his life as a writer. It begins with him talking about some of the events that helped to form him into a writer. Most of the memories that he shares are from his early adolescent years, college, and the years before and after Carrie, his first major novel. He then moves on to the tools of writing, such as grammar and vocabulary and the questions he gets asked at seminars as well as those he wishes he got asked. He offers advice about adverbs, character development, revising your work and a lot more. He concludes the book with a short chapter about his accident and how writing didn't save his life; it just made it a brighter and more pleasant place.

I think that On Writing is a really great and useful book. King really knows what he is talking about since he has been writing for a long time. Also he isn't afraid to say what he wants to say. For instance, he believes that adverbs deteriorate a story, so he comes right out and says, "Adverbs, like the passive voice, seem to have been created with the timid writer in mind." Some people may not like it, but he feels that he has the experience to be blunt with his advice if he needs to be. I really liked this book and I couldn't find anything wrong with it. I would recommend this book especially to Stephen King fans and aspiring writers, but I think that most anyone will enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: King's Best Non-Fiction
Review: King has shown his great work, and how to put together your own work. He talks about his early life, and his high school. Then, he goes on to great metaphores. He talks about his first book "Carrie" and how he made his first dollar. This is a great book for anyone interested on writing a fiction story. I would highly reccoment using this book, as a tool to start off. King shows his knowledge in the subject, and it has shown. He is a best selling author that can put any other memoir to shame.

Rating:
Summary: On Wriing Book Review
Review: From the very beginning of the memoir the reader feels as though King is talking directly to them. When King begins to discuss his childhood and adult life he shares with the audience his past experiences with poison ivy, his babysitter, his teachers, the year he was always sick, supporting his family and his addictions to alcohol and cocaine. All of which in some way inspired him to write. As King talks about each of these memories it enables the reader to reminisce about past experiences that are similar to his. As his life story unfolds King talks about a writing job he was given in high school and an interesting message his editor told him. The message was to write with the door closed and rewrite with the door open. Which is a method King uses to this day. Soon King is married and has children and his battling his addictions with alcohol and cocaine. While King was battling his addiction he wrote three novels that symbolize his addictions; Misery, The Tommyknockers, and The Shining. He also says that there is one book which he barely remembers writing, Cujo. King battled his addictions for six years. At the end of his short but honest autobiography King shows how his life experiences helped him evolve as a writer.
In the second part of the memoir King begins to discuss the lessons of writing. In this part King becomes the teacher and the reader becomes the student. King's first lesson about writing is how one approaches it. He says that writing can be approached in many different ways and with many different emotions, such as nervousness or excitement. Bottom line, whatever the emotion is, it is reflected in the writing. Then King teaches one of his most valuable lessons; the writing toolbox. He says that every writer should have a toolbox just like every carpenter has a toolbox. On the first shelf of the toolbox should be vocabulary and grammar and on the second shelf should be well- organized paragraphs. In the end, King explains good writing is about letting go of fear and affection. Throughout the remaining of the memoir King explains how to build strong characters, theme, the organization of a paragraph and plot, which King happens to distrust. One of the most valuable lessons that King teaches in his memoir is that a writer isn't made but a writer can only be created through life experiences and hard work.
Overall On Writing-A Memoir of the Craft is definitely a book everyone should read. Throughout the books entirety King keeps the reader sitting at the edge of their chairs with his humor and brutal honesty. But through his humor and honesty King is still able to entertain and inspire anyone who reads his memoir.

Rating:
Summary: On Writing
Review: In Stephen King's, On Writing, he discusses how he starts writing, his life, and trashes many writers in the process. King is probably the only writer who wrote on writing that hasn't been so boring. He writes this book as if he is talking to you one on one. He doesn't tip bi toe around the point he gets to it and tells you as it is. King tells of how to write in two ways one only being memorable. The toolbox. In the toolbox section King tells that writing is a toolbox and that grammer and vocabulary should be the frist level and the second layer is just made up of sentence structure, verbs, etc. King then tells of writing and says that he hates it when what to be writers says that they have no time to read was great. To many so called writers say that they have no time to read when in reality that time they just wasted saying that they could have been reading. Another favorite part is when he tells of how he came about Carrie by an inspiration of a friend talking about periods and Carrie being two girls he knew in high school. I thought that it was amazing that Carrie never would have happened unless his wife hadn't stepped in and told him to finish it. Like everyone says behind every man there's a woman and behind Stephen King was his wife who helped him throughout all his turmoil's in writing and life. When writing The Shining King never realized that the main character was him an alcoholic teacher. Once King got rid of his dream desk and got a new one to place in the corner his life improved.
King may have had an interesting life, but how he tells you how to write is great. King discusses many things such as what type of room to write in, to set goals, and even down to where to place your desk. So if one should follow his advice then they should have a pretty decent start at a writing career. King uses his teaching skills to teach you what he believes and has done to become a good writer, but what I think is awesome is when he places the best of the best at the top and says that they are a rare breed, that the decent writers are below the great writer, and then comes the bad writers who will never become good writers unless they work hard for many years. By King telling a person about how to write he sets up guidelines for the person to help them succeed in their career. He uses authors as examples of what to do and what not to do. The one that is most memorable is when he talks about John Grisom books. King states that Grisom is an author who only wrote looking to make a fortune. I found this surprising that he didn't approve of Grisom stories. Now I have never personally read his books, but people says his books are great, and they have been made into movies like Kings books has. I personally am not realy looking to be a writer, but if I ever want to then I'll really read King's book and follow his advice.
Does this mean I would recommend King's writing book? YES! King makes you know how to write in a short easy book. It might be a little to long, but he gets to the point quick, though sometimes King can take his sweet time at explaining some things, but he tells it like it is. Even though he is a teacher one would expect him to boring and talk for a thousand pages. Anyways King isn't like that, at times I wished that I could have been in his writing (English) class, for he must have been a great teacher to learn writing from. To any aspiring writers I would highly recommend this book due to it's great writing and author alone. King was a smart writer who read all the time and wrote continuously even when his life was hectic. He may be a workalcholic, but that's an example to follow and can help future writers. Personally I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to read this book. First it's written by Stephen King, one of the best writers in the 20th century and if you like his novels why wouldn't you like his writing book.

Rating:
Summary: On Writing by Stephen King - Review
Review: On Writing by Stephen King starts out as a slight autobiography but then slowly leads up to all the details about writing and becoming a writer. He goes into detail about childhood instances, plagiarizing as a kid, going to high school, getting in trouble with the school newspaper, working terrible jobs while trying to make it as a writer, marrying his wife, having children, and finally becoming a successful fiction writer. All the while, he shows how certain things in his lifetime have helped him to become the writer he is today. On Writing can be seen as two books in one. He, at first, writes about himself, and then writes on the basics of writing. He slowly, but surely eases from one to the other with grace. He sets the reader up for a quick, fast-paced lesson on the basics of writing and how to become a writer, not a great writer, or a good writer, but just a writer. If a person wanted to know strictly how to write and what Stephen King had to say about writing they could pretty much skip the entire first half of the book without missing much. The first half is for those who have the extra time and want to read about things that went on in Stephen King's life that influenced his writing and wanting to be a writer. The second half is written in a clever manner that makes it easier to actually learn about writing rather than get bored with it and throw the book out the window (which is something I felt like doing many a time because I don't find books on writing interesting, but that's just me) King's use of crude language and funny stories helps to keep the reader involved and awake. The language kept the book real and made it believable that it was from him, about his actual life and wasn't written by another person, in a nice, nobody will be offended way.

I overall didn't enjoy the book. The first half of it was quite entertaining I will admit. Reading about experiences of a person's childhood is always entertaining. But once King got into the fundamentals of writing, it started to dull out. I never found books on writing to be that particularly interesting, so this was no exception. The basics of writing don't throw me into frenzy. So I wouldn't recommend this book to a person who wants to read a random book by Stephen King. I would recommend this book to a person who is trying to learn the basics of writing though. This book is definitely a must for a person wanting to become a writer or at least add to their writing. Stephen King hasn't written just a step-by-step handout for people to become bored with. He goes into detail about parts of writing: narration, description, and dialogue. He sights what makes a writer. He makes it clear that it is impossible for a bad writer to become a good one, and that it is also impossible for a good writer to become a great writer. But he states that a mediocre writer can become a good one with the right discipline and the will power. If you want to become a writer, and want to do what it takes to become a writer, than you will succeed. In order to be a writer, King states that you must read a lot, and write a lot. Whenever you get the chance, read. Whether it is at home in your free time, or in a line at the grocery store, or at the gym while you're on the treadmill, you should read. Reading, he believes, is one of the best things a person can do. The more you read, the more you know; and you know what they say, knowledge is power! Stephen King gives it to the reader straight; he gives his opinion and fact, which is the best combination for a book. The second half on writing is split up into sections that makes it even easier to follow and continue with. The book really works as a learning tool for the reader and isn't tedious and boring. For any aspiring writer, this is a must for their collection. The greatness in Stephen King's horror and mystery books has crossed over into an articulate and humorous book on helping the average man or woman to become the best writer they can.