On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Rating:
Summary: The King of Horror shares the tricks of the trade
Review: You don't have to be a fan of Stephen King's books (as I am) to appreciate the gems he shares about getting his start as a writer, struggling to make it, and staying at the top of the game when success--and a potentially fatal accident--came knocking. Anecdotal, motivational, and instructional, ON WRITING provides an entertaining, thought-provoking glimpse into the life of one of our most popular, prolific writers. That it's told in King's inimitable voice makes this book a true joy to read. Don't miss it! (For a list of additional must-have writing books, visit the Resources page at WriteWayPro's website.)

Rating:
Summary: Great memoir, fair how-to
Review: I'm a long-time King fan. Recently, I read his solid, somewhat literary collection of short stories, "Everything's Eventual," and was blown away by his foreword to the book, in which he talks a lot about how he has tried to stretch the boundaries of the short story, the novel and the serial novel.

If that wasn't fascinating enough, he went on to talk about how he has also tried to experiment with the marketing of his work (he goes into detail about the unsuccessful Internet-only marketing of "The Plant"). Imagine -- Stephen King, bestselling writer, talking turkey about marketing. Very interesting indeed!

I expected "On Writing" to include more of the same information about how King writes and how the books get sold. In "On Writing," King certainly talks about his process, as well as some nuts-and-bolts aspects of writing, but the book is quite personal and never goes into the business aspects of writing and publishing. That's not the point of "On Writing."

So what is the point? Well, look at the title. The book is primarily a memoir. The first section of the book is full of anecdotes from King's childhood -- the events that made him a writer. They're fun and not terribly profound, and he tells the readers to expect as much.

The section of the book that's the how-to-write section is, I feel, full of things you can read in other books about writing. King is aware of this, and keeps it short and sweet. My grammar is far from perfect, but I really could have done without the section about grammar. Does anybody read a Stephen King book for the grammar?

The value of the how-to-write section lies in the metaphors King constructs to illuminate for the reader why certain conventions of writing work the way they do; why they are important. These metaphors are down-to-earth and just might mean something to a new writer who's struggling with the basics.

The last part of the book is a wrenching account of the accident that nearly killed King in 1999. This part of the book held my interest most completely, because it was the only part that didn't already seem familiar to me. King long recovery included a writing crisis, which is why the story of the accident is included in "On Writing."

In general, I think there are better books about writing/becoming a writer/living the writing life, but this book is certainly a must-read for any King fan. I particularly appreciated hearing how King's wife, Tabitha, has been so supportive over the years (without taking any B.S., either!), and the list of King's favorite books.

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Summary: The best book on writing you'll ever read!
Review: ON WRITING is a really great book for several reasons. First, it's an enjoyable read about King's life as it relates to his writing and becoming a writer. Second, Stephen King gives clear, simple advice on how to achieve better writing. His lessons are easy to understand and make sense. I can honestly say that reading ON WRITING has helped me to write better. He teaches concepts that can be implemented immediately. And last, but certainly not least, King gives the reader (would-be writer) confidence and encourangement--what every writer cannot get too much of! The confidence comes from realizing that even phenomenal writers like he need to edit.

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Summary: An True Inspiration
Review: I am a new writer, learning the craft. I am deeply moved by his honesty, love and sincerity for writing. He has given himself, completely to the creative process, and the public. I love the parts about how his stories came to life; how his role as an artist is to present, not to shape; and all the simple and down to earth rules on writing. This is my first review on line, because the book has given a great deal to me, and I must say something good in return. Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but a little patchy
Review: "On Writing" is divided into a number of sections. The first part, what he calls his CV, is a mini auto-biography and is absolutely terrific. Focussing primarily on those parts of his childhood that have effected his writing, this provides a riveting account of his development as a young aspiring writer.

The second section he calls the toolbox - those abilities you need to have or develop in order to be a good writer. Third, and following on from this, is the actual section on writing. There is some good stuff in these two sections but there is also a lot of take-this-as-fact when it's really just opionion. I'm going to focus on two of them; my rationale for placing these in the review is that they might be enough to put you off reading it:

a) He classifies writers into bad, competent, good and genius and declares that you can make a competent writer good but you can't make a bad writer competent. (I think we can all agree that geniuses are born, not made!) This is just plain wrong. You need to understand the reasons that the writer is bad. Perhaps the writer is just too young or too undeveloped; perhaps they just need some focus; perhaps they misuse a particular part of language terribly but have good ideas. Yes, there will always be people who are bad writers and always will be but it's my contention that anyone able to read "On Writing" has got the ability to be a competent writer, whatever the current state of their written ability is.

My second gripe is his hard and fast list of what makes bad writing. He has a particular grudge against the use of adverbs when describing conversation: 'she said excitedly', etc.. OK, so that's his opinion but it isn't a fast rule. In particular one of the current genius's (IMHO) is JK Rowling and she uses them all over the place (Stephen King has commented on that in his reviews of her books too). Personally I never even gave them a second thought until I saw him mention them. I re-read a few passages, thought - yup, she uses them a lot and, *they work*.

The next section is about his infamous car (or should I say pedestrian?) accident and recovery from it. This part brought back memories about my Dad's recovery from a car crash and I thought it was a very poignant section. I must say, though, I wonder if the book suffered from this since some of the On Writing section was the first writing Stephen did during his recovery.

In summary: This is a useful book for anyone interested in Stephen King, his writing, writing yourself or just understanding the process. But, don't expect too much information about actually writing and, what there is, is a little too rigid for my liking.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiration
Review: I loved this book, being as I am a would-be aspiring writer. I flew threw this book, part autobiography, and part writing seminar. The biography was very appealing and inspiring and the writing lessons were very eye opening. I highly recommend this book.

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Summary: An insight into the work of someone who knows
Review: I have only ever read one of King's novels, when I was about nine years old. I don't remember much about it, only that I was scared stiff, and that reading it under the bed covers with a torch was probably not a good idea. Since then, his work has never really appealed, but this book has changed my mind - if his novels are as good as his non-fiction, they would be worth the effort.

This first third of this book is a brief background of King's life - his chaotic childhood, his menial jobs and teaching before his breakthrough, and a very honest opinion of his battles with addiction.

The main section of the book is taken up with how King writes. He writes this part as a how-to, but it can also be taken as an insight into how a successful author does his thing. A lot of how he does it differs from the traditional how-to-write guides, but it seems to work. I really like the idea of not using outlines and plots, but working on uncovering 'the fossil' as you go.

The last section tells of King's life-threatening accident. It reads as a very harrowing ordeal, but King infuses this part with the humour used throughout the book.

An interesting, funny and inspiring read for want-to-be authors and appreciators of good writing alike.

Rating:
Summary: Much more than a how to write book - Highly recommended
Review: I have to do a fair amount of writing in my job, mostly proposals, reports, etc. and I've often dreamed about writing a novel, so I was presold on the book's content. I was expecting more of a how to book - I hadn't expected it to be so entertaining and engaging. I'd read a number of his books in the past. This book really humanized Stephen King for me. It was reallly interesting learning how such a bestselling author started writing, his impoverished early writing career - and his delight at receiving his first book advance and royalty checks.

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Summary: Overbearing and preachy
Review: Stephen King,the reclusive master novelist,was the rare subject of the banner headlines in the summer of 1999 when he was nearly killed after being hit by a truck in his hometown of Maine.The backleaf to this book would have you believe that this book was entirely the result of his post traumatic event.But in actual fact you find this to be a bit of a dupe when you learn he actually started writing this in 1997,he merely completed it after the accident.This minor quibble aside,however,the book is still rather naucious.Bestowed with the title of the greatest writer of horror fiction ever,it would appear Mr King has let the commonly held accolade go to his head a little.He's served us a book that is well intentioned,fairly interesting and even fairly touching in certain parts (certain events in his life,as well,of course,as the recent accident).But all the same,it's also an ultimately rather self righteous and somewhat sanctimonious literary fest,that seems to make unfair demands on it's budding writer audience.I mean,in one segment,he asks us to give up on TV.Huh?Not likely.This coming from a guy who made a guest appearance on The Simpsons recently?!?Are we not something of a hypocrite,Mr King?I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted us to miss your big TV appearance and all.

This one particularly stands out,but there are a fair few other outrageous demands that could be mentioned.This book,by rights,should have an insurance slip attached to it.Does Mr King not owe some kind of recompense to his writing disciples should his apparently surefire recipe to success in being a writer prove unreliable?One would have suggested Mr King have invested his energies in something like an auto biography,which would have been just as interesting and most likely half less overly demanding of it's reader.

Rating:
Summary: Insights from a Master
Review: I've been a writer since I was in my teens. I've studied the craft and I have a shelf full of books on writing. This book is one of the best.

The subtitle of the book is telling. King called this "a Memoir of the Craft." He is an excellent memoirist.

The memoir part is fascinating. King tells us about his life and it's quite an interesting one. He talks about his youth, about meeting his wife, about his early years and his writing, about his alcoholism, about his near-fatal accident, all enriched with a myriad of details. This is the stuff of which of which good memoirs are made.

Throughout the book, King throws off little droplets of observation about writing and the writer's life. For example, "Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don't have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough."

That line comes amidst the discussion of meeting his wife and what she's meant to him. As someone who's been in relationships that were both helpful and not, it resonated with me. There are insights like that sprinkled throughout the book. Some of them are about writing. Others are not.

All of this is fascinating, more so because King is an excellent writer, and he conveys a lot with very little verbiage. But the core of the book is about the craft of writing. King leads into it in this way. "What follows is everything I know about how to write good fiction."

As the subtitle says this is about the craft of writing. It is about craft, not art, not inspiration, not "being a writer." It is about craft - the work of writing and how to do it well.

King lets us in on this hard-core craft focus early on. "There is a muse, but he's not going to come fluttering down to your writing room and scatter creative fairy dust all over your typewriter or the computer station."

In other words, folks, King is saying that it is up to you. Then he gets down to some practical nuts and bolts. "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

We find out how much King likes to write. We find out what his rhythm is, and how he alternates periods of intense work with lying fallow. We find out how important he thinks health and the support of his wife are. We find out where he thinks you should work.

Some of this is very directive. "You need the room, you need the door, and you need the determination to shut the door. You need a concrete goal, as well. The longer you keep to these basics, the easier the act of writing will become. Don't wait for the Muse."

While King is specifically directive on some things, his overall tone is quite different. He tells you what works for him and suggests that you might want to consider it for you.

Here's a brief part where King talks about symbolism and theme and how he gets them into his work. "Mostly I don't see stuff like that until the story's done. Once it is, I'm able to kick back, read over what I've written, and look for underlying patterns. If I see some (and I almost always do), I can work at bringing them out in a second, more fully realized draft of the story."

If you are a working writer, or if you would like to be, this is a great book to read and to return to. There is a wealth of unvarnished advice from a master writer. Of all the craft books on my writing shelves, this is the most readable book and it is one of the most helpful.

What if you're not interested in writing? Well, if you read a lot, even if you don't read Stephen King's work, but you're fascinated by the sounds coming out of that writing workshop out back, you'll find this a great read, too.