On Writing

Rating:
Summary: great read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was informative, funny and interesting. More memoir than writing book, but the writing tips are to the point and don't waste any space! I especially like that the author invites you to submit a writing sample in a format he directs.

Rating:
Summary: His best work!
Review: I have read a number of Stephen King books, I find his stories great, but his writing stinks, it's far to dated. Growing up in the 80's, I can't relate to someone who continues to use the lingo he grew up with, in the 60's. I went into On Writing a little weary, but it turned out great. As a writer myself, I can relate to a lot of his stories, and some of his conflicts. I have since purchased the audiobook version, and have literally listen to it, at least a dozen times. If you write, this is a must have.

Rating:
Summary: Anxious to know what's going on in his mind?
Review: Any one who has read a considerable deal of his books must know the feeling. How the hell does he do it? I wonder what goes on in his mind... This writer has fascinated me time and time again with his intriguing stories.

With this book I finally get an answer to some of these questions. I particularly like the first part of the book where you get a hold of the person Stephen King and the events that brought him to this present day. The setting in which he wrote the books, his state of mind and of course all the circumstances influencing his writing are so interesting to read...

He does his readers a big favor by sharing this information and I thank him for that.

The second part is a good lesson a person can do with what he wants to do with it. You do not necessarily need to be a potential writer to be interested in this stuff. As anybody tells his or her story from time to time you can learn from the best in what way you will have the biggest impact. And for all those who have said once:"I would like to write a book sometime" but you have never felt the real urge to do so, be aware,you might find yourself writing the first lines soon.

Rating:
Summary: Generous Helping from a Master Chef & Storyteller
Review: I'm not generally a fan of the horror genre, but when I read Stephen King it's the telling, not the tale, that keeps me lapping up page after page.

In this, his book on the craft of writing, Stephen (after reading this book I feel like we're on a first name basis) opens the book on his early life, some of which will leave you howling. (After readng the farting babysitter story I called at least three people and read it aloud to them, although I never made it through the passage without breaking up.) But it's not just his past that he writes about, it's about the guts of a writer, how they work, what works for him. What might work for you.

This is a three course meal. You get a glimpse into his early years, a healthy portion of easily digestible writing advice, and a reflection on a writer's life, including his recovery from a horrible accident that left him in agonizing pain.

Have you ever consumed a satisfying dish and afterwards wondered, "What was that seasoning?" You can't quite place it, although it is familiar. (I could have said vaguely familiar but after reading this book I have become an adverb nazi). Well, I finally figured out what it was. Sprinkled throughout the book, Stephen King makes references to his wonderful wife Tabitha, who has supported him in a multitude of ways (including an alcohol and drug addiction intervention) throughout his writing history. She is the main ingredient in his success. It has been her unwavering love and belief in him that has given Stephen King a reason to keep writing.

Thank goodness for the ones who believe in those who dare to call themselves writers. Thank goodness for us that Stephen King found Tabitha.

Rating:
Summary: Writing as horror story.
Review: Stephen King has written another non-fiction book. This one is on writing. How it's done, how it works. How he works. So, how does he do it? It's fair game to think King sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in return for success after success. It wasn't that easy for King. Success came from flat-out, unrelenting, grinding effort.

King is always compelling as a writer of horror fiction. It turns out that the life of a writer has its own horrors, and King doesn't flinch from them. Working in a laundry, boiling maggot-infested sheets might have snuffed out a weaker spirit. It simply fed King's resolve, along with a few of his plots.

He comes to this task as teacher with important things to say, and none of it is boring. His message to writers is simple: first read--a lot. Then write--a lot. And do it every day and be honest. It's much harder than it sounds.

King uses the same techniques that keep his readers up too late reading his fiction to involve them in wanting to be good writers. He writes a compelling book about that craft that is less mystery than, at times, drudgery. Using examples from his life, his work, others' work, he shows that there is no magic, no need to sell your soul. Just do the hard work of writing and do it every day.

So why does King start and close his book with personal stories? Writers, more so than other professions, live their work. Walt Whitman wrote that he went out every day and became what he saw. The personal narrative makes real the middle portion of King's book that describes the writer's tools and how to use them. Without the personal context, the book would be weaker, more pedantic.

The book has a few flaws. King is still in love with elipses, and he uses them generously. He spends a lot of time focusing on his wife, but only as a helpmate and never as a novelist. In the section about theme, a good definition with some examples (as he did in other sections) would have made it a bit more clear.

As this book, as in others, King knows what he's doing. On Writing is a good read and a great textbook.

Rating:
Summary: "Double feature" memoir
Review: This work is both a wonderful "conversation" with Stephen King and great gentle advice for aspiring writers. You'll find this book encouraging without sugar-coating the difficulties -- after all, writing IS work. But King shows you that it is also the joy of creation that you can and should have fun with. King's writing is so smooth, so consistent that I found I was halfway through this book in short order. Plenty of humor! Much of the book is biographical. King fans who are not personally interested in writing ought to read this for the insights it will bring to his other works. I note how appropriate the cellar doors on the cover -- those who read "Bag of Bones" will "get" this.

Rating:
Summary: It's about honesty.
Review: I looked forward to picking it up whenever I had to stop reading for a while. Although I'm not a fan of his fiction, it was interesting to read about this writer's life and many of his struggles and triumphs.

To his considerable credit, Mr. King wrote much of this book while in physical pain and he appears to give his readers an honest, unvarnished look at his life and his experiences with writing. The theme of honesty, both as it is delivered in this work and as discussed in the context of writing, makes it well worth reading.

Unfortunately, there's no getting around the fact that it's sloppily written, full of unnecessarity profanities (he's a writer; can't he do better than shock value?) and there obviously wasn't too much time spent analyzing the first draft and teasing out more than a straight narrative of events. Retentive types can even have an exciting time finding the misspelled word (hint: it's a proper name) and noting the repeated improper use of ellipsis, which takes some of the credibility out of the grammar lecture section. King's devotion to and appreciation of his wife is touching and genuine, though the book jacket says she's also a novelist and I was left wondering why this fact wasn't given at least a little more ink.

Despite how hard he has worked at writing, his admitted lack of confidence even now is well, frightening. This was a valuable lesson to me in itself. Even when I wished he'd done some things differently, the theme of honesty and King's willingness to open himself up to us were so consistent and refreshing I just didn't want to stop reading.

If you're looking for a book to help improve your own writing, this contains some very good and unique pointers and quite a few you will have heard before. If you liked Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, you'll like this; it's the same wonderfully encouraging, life-is-messy look at the whole process and King will very likely inspire you to believe in yourself and your own vision more than you already do; he's a master at dealing with self doubt.

It's good; I just wished he'd spent more time on it.

Rating:
Summary: Forming Associations
Review: I have just finished Stephen's book on writing. I cannot say stongly enough how enlightening and inspiring I found every word. The book is not merely a how-to. Instead it is a picture of an author. His struggles, his successes, and his triumphs are so apparent on every page. More than that, I did not feel as though I was miles and miles from Bangor reading words written three years ago. I felt as though I was sitting in Stephen's den, office, back hallway, and he was sharing the elements of his life with me.

I devoured with relish each page and took mental note of all advice. I associatiated with many of Stephen's writing methods. I wanted to hug him and tell him I was so glad to know he survived such a devastating accident and returned to his family, his intimate family and his reader family. What's more, I made a firm plan to do what I have evaded for so long. WRITE!

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Summary: On Writing's Secret Service
Review: Words can describe the magic of the man who is... Stephen King. No! I take that back, not a man, an extraordinary legend who put the 'w' in writing. A King fan or not, an aspiring writer cannot go without this masterpiece. On Writing combines his life with his craft. It tells of his joys and struggles of youth in such description as Angela's Ashes or This Boy's Life, in a couple of paragraphs. Such is King's simplicity that you'll wonder why you never wrote a story before. I first started reading King when I was ten (somebody had left a paperback copy of The Shining on an airport bench when I was going on holiday- I simply decided to start reading it and page by page became more entranced by King's superb brilliance- and have never looked back). I am now thirteen and have purchased over thirty copies of his stories. Ask a general bystander -I prefer to call them King Virgins- on a street if they have heard of the legend, and they will shudder and the first thing that will come to their minds will be: HORROR. Not so. Many of King's novels are in fact general. Many of his best have not been horror, i.e. Different Seasons (including Stand By Me, a personal favourite, and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption), The Green Mile, the Dark Tower series, Bag of Bones and such. Remember; Heroes live forever, legends never die. Stephen King can only live on and on doing what he loves. He is an artist in his own profession, a sheer perfectionist. No one can or should say otherwise. He is an artisan and a genius. Read and be amazed.

Rating:
Summary: "How To" with Chutzpah
Review: "You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair-the sense that you can never completely put on the page what's in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page ... This isn't a popularity contest, it's not the moral Olympics, and it's not church. But it's writing damn it, not washing the car or putting on eyeliner. If you can't take it seriously, we can do business. If you can't or won't, it's time to close the book and do something else. "Wash the car maybe."

This quote pretty much sets the tone for Stephen King's "On Writing," a very candid and very entertaining book on the art and craft of writing fiction.

And who better to write this book than a superb and prolific writer who has sold about a kazillion copies of his works.

"On Writing" is a different type of "how to" book because it has heart and substance. It's written in King's unique - sometimes hilarious, sometimes gritty - voice, a voice that offers sound, no b-s advice. As a bonus, King offers some autobiographical insight into his career, which has been influenced by incidents ranging from his childhood babysitter sitting on his face to the recent, horrendous accident that almost claimed his life.

This is the first book that Mr. King struggled to write after the accident. It's just one more reason to be glad that this master storyteller is still with us.