Rating: 
Summary: The truth about fiction
Review: Tell the truth when you write fiction. This is one of the many important points that Stephen King makes in On Writing. This book also tells the truth about writing. It doesn't matter where you sit or how many friends you have in New York, good writers are people who love writing and have the drive and respect for their readers to do it well. I've never read any other Stephen King book, primarily because I'm squeemish, but I've very glad I read this one, twice.
Rating:
Summary: King lays it on the line
Review: Prospective novelists and fiction writers, the King of Pop Fiction has spoken! This book should be right on your shelf next to Strunk and White, another writing manual that King references often in the pages of On Writing.King speaks authoritatively on his subject - as well he should, with volume after volume of best-selling fiction to his credit. And his advice is simplicity itself: Read a lot. Write a lot. Avoid superfluous adverbs. Avoid passive construction. For those familiar with the territory, nothing here is radically new, but King states it clearly and with vigor. The beginning of the book is a fascinating, funny look at how King's own career took flight. He speaks candidly about his youth, his addictions, and his career, giving much credit to wife Tabitha for her contributions to both his writing and his sanity. King saves the most harrowing prose for the book's closing chapter, where he describes in detail the accident that almost took his life, and the role his writing has played in his recovery. Like, love or loathe his fiction, you'll find a wealth of solid advice in this little book. Would-be writers: avoid at your peril. A gem. Buy it. Read it. Then read it again. What are you waiting for?
Rating:
Summary: Knowledge from a Master
Review: Whenever a newly released copy of Stephen King's latest work finds itself in my hands, I feel like I am visting an old friend. Every tale brings new characters and new places (most of them small towns in Maine) but regardless of content, it is always vintage King. On Writting is no different. Half revealing self reflection and half instruction manual for the aspiring writer, this book sparkles through and through. King's ability to tell a story roars to life as he recounts memorys one after another, from childhood adventures and loves that would shape the man the world knows today, to his shockingly candid look at his adult alcohol and drug abuse. His text book on writing (no pun intended) is the most fun you will ever have learning and would be a great help and inspriation to any one with a yern to tell a story on paper. Once again, Stephen King has made me hateful to turn that last page. Visit again sometime soon, Steve. I love the company!
Rating:
Summary: As good as it gets!
Review: King's new book is an outstanding writing manual, although King himself will be the first to say it's not a "manual" at all. It's like driving across the country with the best writer in the univerwe and having a bull session about his life and writing. Two great things: one, King not only shows you examples of bad writing, he tells you WHY it's bad. Two, he shows a blue-pencil job he did on his own story. The minor changes make an incredible difference in the readability and flow of the story. This book is a brief autobiography plus a treatise on what ails much of the world of writing today. And, if you've ever attended writing seminars or taken college classes in the subject, you will know his complaints and jabs are right on. I only wish the book could've been 500+ pages. You'll LOVE it!
Rating:
Summary: On Writing
Review: A humorous read about the writing life and living. If you're looking for insight, some exceptional laughs, and a solid introduction to the value of living rather than existing...you'll LOVE this one!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on Writing
Review: This is a must read for aspiring and experienced writers. The first part of the book is a memoir which provides a funny, sweet, recollection of King's life growing up, and then the struggles he faced to get published...Carrie, his first published novel was actually the fourth novel he wrote. (The first three were eventually published). The second part of the book provides a writer's "Toolbox" and clear, challenging advice to writers to strive to be their best no matter where they are in talent or process. King's advice will inspire every writer to work harder and smarter.
Rating: 
Summary: He who can...teaches
Review: We glimpse the teacher King used to be, when he tries to explain how he does, what he does so well. Those students were lucky to have a teacher with passion. You will learn a lot about the writer and some about the man. One gets the feeling the autobiographic material was reduced by more than the suggested 10% in this second draft. The story of how he faced his demons could still be out there, but the privacy he desires is evident. You will be rewarded, whether you write or love to read. I discovered I was almost a character in Green Mile. Good job.
Rating:
Summary: Stephen King is like marzipan
Review: Stephen King books are like marzipan for me--they look and sound so great that I always forget not entirely enjoying the last one. In the case of this book, he has the same great humor with an additional dose of frankness that I really admired, and yet I still found my mind wandering. This book has all the familiar Stephen Kingisms, some great, some irritating. He establishes his punchline words early--such as "Pow," the word his fat babysitter used to say when she sat on 4-year-old Stephen's face and farted. One thing comes out from the early writing--King's life was as tortured as any of his characters'. But this book is not a self-pittying tome of "poor me's." King makes his own mind an open book as he tries to explain how he does magic both to the reader and to himself. This is a great book if you like King's special brand of literary marzipan. I did not like it as much as his last piece of nonfiction--Danse Macabre, but it is certainly worth reading. It is also a valuable read for those trying to enter the writing world--like me. It shows that those who have succeeded and made it to the top still suffer the same insecurities that plague us at the bottom.
Rating:
Summary: A popular author lets us in on "the secret"
Review: ...and the truth is, there's no big secret to the work of writing. Stephen King's autobiographical handbook on the craft is both entertaining and informative, especially to those of us who aspire to be novelists. I'm probably one of the very few people on the planet who until yesterday had *never* read a Stephen King book, and I polished this one off in a single day. Now I might have to go back and read some of his fiction just to see his writing patterns in action. King's familiar tone here sounds a lot like a column his buddy Dave Barry would write, and why shouldn't it? He can even talk about the 1999 car accident in a reflective manner. The most helpful tips about writing and editing I picked up from this book are: (a) avoid using adverbs at all costs, and (b) let a finished book manuscript sit in a drawer for 6 weeks before going back to edit it. I'll keep both ideas in mind as I finish writing my own novel. Thanks for the guidance, Stephen. If you'll notice, I used only two adverbs in this review -- "especially" and "probably." I believe they're necessary; if you feel otherwise, could you let me know? :-)
Rating:
Summary: This is What Writing Is All About
Review: I read the autobiographical part of this magnificent book with my heart in my throat, and resolved to read the rest over and over again. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Stephen King. My writing will never be the same.
| 
