On Writing
by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of On Writing
Book Review: A Brilliant Inspiration for writers everywhere
Summary: 5 Stars
If you have a dream of becoming a writer then I suggest you pick up this book. There is much to learn from this book (if you haven't picked up many books on writing already). But lets be forewarned here. This is a "Memoir" of the craft, not just a "This is how to write" book, which several people seem to overlook.
As the book begins he talks about his childhood and his adult life. "What does this have to do with writing?" you'll probably ask yourself. Then you'll remember that along with talking about the craft, he's creating a memoir. Even in his childhood and early adulthood he was a writer. The purpose of the first half of the book is for him to explain how he got to where he is today and where some of his inspiration came from. In the first half he mentions several of his books and where the inspiration for those books came from.
But the real meat is after the C.V. in which King talks about the Toolbox and truly begins what the book is about. On Writing.
The entire section on writing has helped me a lot. He has some pretty useful tips for anyone who dreams of writing. He talks about how the first important thing should be the story and to take out what isn't the story.
It's amazing how brutally honest King can be. But brutal honesty is always the greatest (and often times most helpful) truth. From reading this book I've been able to back and see what I've been doing wrong. Out go those clumsy and redundant adverbs. Out goes all that "telling". Out go the needless (and often times only flavoring) words. Through this book I've learned how to connect with the reader, as well as the text.
The book has also answered several questions about grammar, character development and even why you have paragraphs that are as short as one sentence, and sometimes even one word.
King even goes as far as to show us an unedited copy from one of his stories (1408) and the changes made to it. You'll see that even King makes a lot of errors and that he's only human.
Will this book make you a better writer? The answer is simply that it can. It won't "make" you a better writer unless you WANT to be a better writer. If you "want" to be a better writer but you're not willing to take tips outlined in this book or any other book, then you obviously don't care to be a better writer.
Now then. A lot of people think this book is nothing more than an ego trip. This isn't entirely true, but it isn't too far off. A lot of people say these tips are useless and couldn't possibly be of any use.
To those readers I ask this. Are YOU a published author? Are YOU the world's best-selling novelist? Are people standing in lines and rushing off to read YOUR books and stories? And most importantly, are you a SUCCESSFUL writer, doing what you love? If the answer to these questions is "no" then you've no right to say these tips aren't helpful. Maybe you should actually try them before you jump to conclusions.
After the writing King talks about his accident in the summer of 1999. This is perhaps my only problem with the book. It was great to hear insight on the accident and all, but the book (throughout the memoir and the craft) talks about the van several times! It's almost redundant how often he mentions he was struck by a van in the summer 1999 when on a walk in Maine.
I was also saddened that throughout the entire Memoir and craft he never mentions a thing about "The Dark Tower" series. This is often said to be one of his greatest achievements as an author but he never once mentions The Dark Tower books. He mentions "The Stand" (often said to be his greatest work). Not only did he neglect the Dark Tower series, but he also never touches base with writing as Richard Bachman. In the memoir it would've been nice if he had been able to tell us a few things such as what really inspired the Dark Tower books or even why he wrote under the name Richard Bachman for a few years.
Anyway, this is a worthwhile read. Any die-hard fan of Stephen King owes it to himself/herself to pick up this book and read it.
Book Review: On Writing by Stephen King - Review
Summary: 2 Stars
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.
Book Review: STEPHEN KING ON WRITER
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: On Writing
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Book Review: On Writing, by Stephen King
Summary: 5 Stars
So you've finally come to it: you wake up in the morning, and decide to heck with this nine to five job, bills, and a squinty-eyed boss that smells like old tobacco - you want something better out of life. You've decided to do what you always wanted to do; become a writer, and create worlds and whole universes for a living.
Great. Now what?
After such a momentous decision - and a hearty breakfast of course, writing is hard work after all, requiring a satisfied stomach - you sit down in front of your Dell, Gateway, or Apple Ibook, open Word, and begin work on the masterpiece that will make millions, stun the world, and turn your name into a household word over night.
After five paragraphs, three writing breaks, four plot changes and the inevitable writer's block, you're faced with the daunting reality that writing something coherent - much less a best-selling novel - is a lot harder than you thought.
On a burst of inspiration, you troll down to the local Barnes & Noble and find your way to the Self-Help aisle, in search of Writing Bestselling Novels for Dummies. What you encounter is a dizzying array of "how to write novels" - how to write in every genre known to man; how to write the short story, novel, novella, poetry, market your book, make an author website, and sell your book.
You grab a whole armful, settle down in one of those nice comfy chairs by the coffee shop, get a cappuccino and donut, and plug away.
Ten minutes later, the drink and the pastry were great: but now what? Most of these books are boring, hard to read, and leave you no closer to your publication dreams than before.
With the exception of such fine tomes as the Literary Marketplace, toss all those others in the trash. If you're looking to learn more about the craft of writing and the writing world, look no further than On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by fiction great Stephen King.
On Writing succeeds were so many writing "how-to" books fail: it focuses first on the `why' and the passion of writing. It does spend some time on technical issues - its advice on grammar, characterization and plot is top notch - but the memoir's main focus is the soul of writing itself.
In usual King fashion, On Writing seamlessly interweaves snapshots of Stephen King's life with the development of his craft, and while acknowledging his own success, he avoids positioning himself as a master who knows all the answers, but rather as a storyteller willing to share all he knows about telling stories to those who would listen.
On Writing is also unflinchingly direct: there is no "push-button" answer to literary success, no set-in-stone "path to publication". The process is equal parts hard work, dedication, and uncontrollable, often unpredictable doors of opportunity.
King's approach is casual, realistic, irreverent and many times knee-slappingly funny. At times his language is coarse, but if overlooked, what he's given us is invaluable: an inside look into what makes him `tick' as a writer, and an invitation - perhaps even a challenge - to look inside ourselves for the same things.
So leave the "How to Write the Western" to others, get the cappuccino and donut to go, and order On Writing from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Go home, enjoy - in some parts wince or grimace in empathy - the life of Stephen King, and begin writing what's lurking inside of you.
5 out of 5 stars
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