On Writing

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: Hey,

I read the book THREE TIMES. It is AWESOME! Stephen King is the man and the bomb. His writing is so tight and right on. I had a feeling that Carrie was sort of true to life. Also, it was interesting to know that man so famous and probably filthy rich had such humble beginnings. Also, he isn't STUCK UP now either. Any beginning writer will appreciate the encouragement he gives to us. I hope to be as prolific as he is.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most popular authors of our time...
Review: Stephen King is one of the most popular, if not the most popular of our time. And with good reason, too -- and it's not simply because his name tops the bestseller lists every time he releases a book or a whole pile of movies have been made from his work. The reason is this: he loves what he does. Writing, for him, is a way of life (as it should be for those practicing the craft).
And it is this theme of "writing as a way of life" that truly shines forth in On Writing. The book has a simple layout; the first half dedicated to Stephen's success story, the second being the book's title, the half on writing. This latter section is not a how-to guide or write-like-Stephen-King manual, but instead a mere guide to both the established and aspiring writer on how to improve your writing, Stephen showing you what worked for him and then leaving it up in there to see if it works for you. And if it doesn't, that's okay too.
It's about the craft, you see. On Writing shares stories from early on in Stephen's life and all the way through into the present, past his well-talked about car accident, and to where the author is in his life today.
I'm not going to sit here and exalt Mr. King and tell you all how great he is (I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate that). But I will instead tell you that those engaged in the art of writing, both casually and seriously, should give this book a thumb-through, maybe even a read. On Writing is inspiring, encouraging, funny, and insightful. I proudly give it a place in my top five favorite books of all time....

Rating:
Summary: Not inspiring, but well worth the read
Review: This book is divided into three parts. The first part is a memoir, interlaced with bits about King's early publishing history. The second is the writing instruction (in which he advises you to read--a lot!). The third section regards his recent accident and recovery--his climb back to writing and how writing helped him recover.

One thing that surprised me was that this book was really funny. I knew that he wrote this during his recovery, so I expected that the prose would be dry, and perhaps a bit jaded. But his sense of humor shines throughout.

I can't say I was inspired to do more writing by this book, but I flew through it in two days (a feat for me) and enjoyed every page as if it had been a novel. That's why King sells so well, you can't put his book down even when he's just talking about himself. However, he gives a lot of credit for this to his wife Tabitha, who--when he has written a particularly descriptive piece that stopped the flow--admonishes him "do you have to bore me?"

Any fan of King's should pick this up for an education into the mind of the man, and any writer should read it because you can enjoy yourself and still tell yourself you're honing your craft.

Rating:
Summary: King Speaks to the Writer in all of Us
Review: "Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open." Stephen King cuts through the B.S. and gives it to us straight. Such a welcome relief from so many other "writing advice" books that seem to be written with the book's author in mind, rather than with us, the reader/writer.

From such simple advice as "You can't write when you're dead" to "writing is at its best - always, always, always, - when it is a kind of inspired play for the writer."

I had high expectations before I read this book and I wasn't disappointed. S.King delivered at so many levels from his personal need to write, to his issues with drug/alcohol abuse, to his recovery from a devastating accident. The common thread through it all was his ability to write.

Please, before you waste your money on other writing books, pick up this one and give it a chance. You may not even want another book after reading Stephen King's On Writing.

Rating:
Summary: Substantial
Review: Starting this book, I didn't really know what to expect. Having only read a few books by Stephen King, I was -and to a certain extend still am- unfamiliar with his style, his tempo...

Finding out about someone's life to me is like reading a stranger's diary... A bit awkward at first, interesting and enchanting in the process... He makes you admire the mother's stamina and pride, sympathize with the family's misfortunes, anticipate till that very first strike of luck with the all-known happy ending... Finally going through the incident that almost cost him his life and the reading society an important source of quality...

Multi-level as it is, the book is more than worth having a look; we don't need S.K. to tell us that you need talent, or that you have to work hard to achieve something... But coming from a great achiever, it simply confirms that inside each and every one of us, there's a small God hiding... I read somewhere that you can't teach someone to sing, or play the guitar, or swing a golf club... you just help them bring what they have inside them to the surface... S.K. is doing that in the most sufficient and successful way possible.

All of us believe (and so we should) that we've come to this world with a talent. That could be music, maths or literature... I still haven't found mine; but if it's writing, now I know how to do it. Hopefully I will.

Rating:
Summary: Mallowcups for Steve
Review: This is a hard sell to my Christian writer friends, but I tell them if they love me they will read it. I tell them between this and Anne Lamott's book 'Bird by Bird', you've got the best stuff on writing this planet has seen. I tell them if they want to learn, they will read it.

I'm not a horror genre fan, but this book is a handful of gold on the craft of storytelling. The truth in it has cut loose two nasty problems in my writing, problems on their way to correction. My gratefulness to Stephen King for this book is permanent.

Rating:
Summary: Useful but Non-essential
Review: On Writing has two appeals. One as a memoir of Stephen King's life, and the other as a fiction writing guide for aspiring authors. The former will be well received by rabid King fans. Desperate King wannabes will covet the latter. Both groups will be satisfied.

I was ambivalent about Stephen King's life and writing before reading the book. It's not one I would have chosen; it was a gift. I remain ambivalent about King's life after reading it. The tale he tells is done well enough, but I found little in its content to stimulate me. This is obviously subjective. As one of the world's most successful authors, working his way from poverty to fame and fortune, he has as much right to an autobiography as anyone.

As a published author at the other end of the success spectrum, I found the book's guide portion more compelling. I couldn't identify any unique trick or piece of advice, but his perspective on matters is materially beneficial to writers trying to break into the trade. He deals heavily with expectations, work habits, motivation, and many of the conventions of good writing. Although much of it is rehash from other how-to books, he does a fine job with it, offering numerous examples from his own popular books and experiences. Developing writers just can't get too much of this stuff.

Surprisingly, there were a few minor typos in the book, and I disagree with his assessment that it's fairly easy to land an agent if your writing is good. My guess is that it has been a long time since King has had to worry about that. Getting an agent is impossible with bad to mediocre writing and very, very difficult even with good writing. "On Writing" won't replace essential tools such as Strunk & White's or The Gregg Reference Manual, but it has definite value. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

Rating:
Summary: One Man's View on How to Write Fiction.
Review: King's *On Writing* consists of 3 separate books that King himself appears to recognize are not integrated into a unified whole. First he gives us his condensed life story, focusing on his work as a writer from his childhood through the success of *Carrie.* Second he outlines what he considers to be the rudiments of good writing and how he goes about creating a story. Third he describes in detail the recent accident in which, while taking his daily walk on a country road in Maine, he was almost killed by a reckless driver. Although I have never been a King fan (quite the opposite, in fact), I found this volume to be diverting and surprisingly instructive. In particular, his explanation of his "situational" technique of building a story (as opposed to the more structured technique of working from a plot outline, which King finds distasteful) was fascinating. His methods have clearly succeeded for him. One disappointment in *On Writing* was that, while he states early on that he wants to talk about "the language," he actually says little about his use of language, aside from advice about cutting fluff that can be found in any number of writing manuals. I wish he had delved into the significance (as he sees it) of his voice, combining as it does standard usage with post-60s crudity and a hint of blue-collar defensiveness.

Rating:
Summary: I owe King for writing this book.
Review: I cannot express enough gratitude to Stephen King for writing this book. It was the first Stephen King book I ever read, and it motivated me to start taking myself seriously as a writer, rather than just a hobby-ist. It's not just fluff either. A lot of King's words echo in the back of my mind as sound advice for getting your point across effectively as I'm typing on the keyboard.

Rating:
Summary: Of course!
Review: Stephen King is one of the most successful writers alive in America today. It only makes sense that he can write an excellent book about writing. If you're at all interested in writing, this is a great book to read. Buy it!