On Writing
by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of On Writing
Book Review: Reading as the Foundation to Writing
Summary: 5 Stars
`On Writing' is for those of us who cannot help ourselves. Writing is in our blood and permeates our being. Writing can be a demanding mistress: expensive, calculating, time-consuming, boring at times, periodically wild and certainly insatiable. Our efforts may often be more fulfilling than the product but money and fame would be acceptable.
Mr King's brief Memoir incorporates factual and anecdotal back-story regarding his development as a Writer to be sure. But it also brings into specific relief the `why' and `what' regarding personal style and choices of genre. I still disagree (mostly) with his stance on foul language. But Stephen, being Stephen, has given me a much clearer understanding of his motivation in using such. And I can appreciate that.
There is a Tool Box, if you will, that each of us who presume to write seriously must put together:
* Vocabulary
* Grammar
* Elements of Writing Style (King is big on Strunk & White!)
* The well-written Paragraph - not the sentence - is the basic unit of Writing.
* Read a lot; Write a lot. Reading is the Creative Center of the Writer's Life.
* Novels of Worth contain Narration, Description and Dialogue.
* Distrust the Plot. People don't live by means of a Plot
* Entertain `What if' Questions.
* Locale and Texture is more important than Physical Description.
* Be Honest in your Writing.
* Do your Research.
* Revise and Polish.
Mr King speaks to us about the contents of his Tool Box, giving concrete examples gleaned from his personal reading. He adds to this some delightful jewels of his own invention to help us keep on track.
He also addresses the business side of Writing:
* Securing an Agent
* Building a Library of well-chosen reference materials
* Professional preparation and presentation of a Manuscript
There are good reasons why Stephen King is such a prolific and popular writer. He is direct, vociferous, frightfully honest, and brazenly amusing. But one attribute he owns but rarely is being subtle. In regard to the importance of Reading as being substantively basic to Writing, Mr King offers the following opinion: "Reading takes time, and the glass teat takes too much of it." So, if we presume to write, Mr King suggests that we set a schedule both deliberate and firm, remove the distractions of the day, and get to it. A great deal of Writing (anything of merit) is just plain `ole hard Work!
His book `On Writing' is at once an encouragement regarding that wonderful craft and just a lot of fun to read!
Four Stars then for Mr King. And a fair amount of applause.
Russell de Ville
06 April 2010
[After a second reading and some additional study I've got to give 'On Writing' the Five Stars. It's really quite an excellent book!]
RdV
15 April 2010
Book Review: SOME INTERESTING INSIGHTS INTO LIFE AND WRITING
Summary: 5 Stars
Up front, I have to admit that I'm neither a dyed in the wool Stephen King fan nor am I an aspiring young writer. For these reasons, I'm not even sure why I read his _ON WRITING_. However, I did read it, and I'm glad that I did.The section devoted to his youthful experiences hit close to home for me. Since I feel as if I shared a lot of his childhood angst, I found this mini-bio appealing.
I believe that _ON WRITING_ can't quite be looked at as two separate books in the way that many reviewers, both editorial and contributing, feel that it is. It seems to me that the craftsmanship portion of the book is a logical follow on to the life experiences covered in the first section. I also feel that the third section of the book, which discusses his almost fatal accident and his period of convalescence, is an integral part of the whole narrative. By this, I mean that coping with his painful recovery helped him over his "writer's block" and that forcing himself to write again aided his recovery.
_ON WRITING_ also contains a lot of information that you just don't find in most books about the nuts and bolts of writing. An example of this is his "composite" unpublished writer who recognizes the need of an agent and goes about preparing to find one the right way, i.e. first by writing, submitting, and getting, as would be expected, a lot of rejection slips -- then by not getting discouraged by these rejections and continuing to write and submit his stories -- by recognizing the importance to a beginner of the "little magazines" -- by continuing to submit, taking note of the comments on some rejection slips, and eventually getting a few acceptances -- then by parlaying these acceptances into items on a resume and using this resume to obtain a good agent. The details of how this might be done make the book valuable, even if you were to get nothing else out of it.
You will, however, get other things out of it. For instance, you'll find that adverb is a "dirty word," and that adverbs should almost always be avoided. King also reminds us that sentence structure, paragraphing, good grammar and proper punctuation are valuable tools, as are neatness, professionalism of approach, and, something he learned from an early rejection, staples are no-no's. Oh, yes, there's also the "10% rule" that you'll find interesting and valuable
I could go on, but King is one heck of a lot better at expressing these and other ideas than I'll ever be, so I really would advise the early-career writer to read _ON WRITING_ by Stephen King.
Since I'm not one of the writing hopefuls for whom the book was written, I won't worry too much if this review violates a half dozen or so of the guidelines for good writing, although I have attempted to do a competent writing job. (Also see his discussion of "Hacks" vs. "Competent Writers" vs. "Good Writers." It's another concept that I have not seen elsewhere.
Book Review: Stephen King on --- Stephen King
Summary: 4 Stars
I highly recommend Stephen King's book, On Writing; one of only two of his books I've bought, and the only non-fiction of the 22 of his works I've read since 1976.
King has a bench slot in a roster of authors (including Elmore Leonard, Amy Tan, Gloria Naylor, the late Trevanian, Sue Grafton, and Robert Tanenbaum) whose new releases I pick up if I see them at the library. I'm not a horror fan, and King is the only writer of that genre that I'll read. There is a magnetic familiarity that draws me to him, but it wasn't until after reading On Writing that I completely understood the attraction. The first section of the book is a brief autobiography that leaves you wanting much, much more.
What's not to love about Stephen King? He's a baseball fan, he plays guitar with a rock band comprised of other famous writers, he's a recovering alcoholic and addict, he grew up dirt poor without a dad, he's been married to the same woman for over 30 years, he's a philanthropist, and, most important, he makes me laugh out loud.
Heeding King's advice on the craft, I have rewritten the above two paragraphs four times. You may wonder how they scanned before I rewrote them, but I don't remember. That's the beauty of the backspace key: perfect amnesia. I know for certain I removed all the adverbs.
Besides offering a bestselling author's opinion on style, grammar, structure and plot, On Writing answers some of the questions King has been asked thousands of times by interviewers and fans, such as how he gets his ideas ("situations"), how he maintains his work ethic, what he thinks of the publishing business, what are his underlying themes, how autobiographical are his characters, and what constitutes "good" and "bad" writing. The book mainly deals with fiction writing, but his instructions can be applied to any type of storytelling, even blogging.
Despite my substantial investment of time over the years reading King's work, I never researched his background or kept track of his press. Since reading On Writing, I've become extremely curious about all things King and have been scouring the Net for information. I read all about the 1999 hit-and-run accident that nearly killed him, his other television and movie projects, and the reviews of his newest novel, Cell, that I definitely intend to read.
On Writing made me want to know more about Stephen King. It made me understand why books I would ordinarily eschew were irresistable to me. It made me want to read more of his work, possibly the Dark Tower saga; and it inspired me to try my hand at fiction. Considering that King wrote most of this book somewhat reluctantly while recovering from his injuries, it still had a pretty big impact on me. Except, I can't kill all the adverbs. (Inside joke - read the book!)
Book Review: Excellent memior and style advice!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to say, I didn't know what to expect when I began reading Stephen King's On Writing. I've never read any of his books, despite the fact that we share the same last name (we're not related... that'd be kind of awesome, though). I really don't like anything of the horror genre. If I read any of his books, I'd probably be up for weeks with nightmares. So I was quite happy to find that this memoir wasn't frightening at all.
To say the least, it was interesting to learn about King's life growing up, especially with a backdrop familiar to me. The fact that he lives in Maine only makes his story that much more relatable. I liked seeing his struggles publishing as a teenager and how he finally became successful. I also had no idea he'd been a drug addict or an alcoholic - it was surprising to see how much his life affected his work during that time.
The "Toolbox" and "On Writing" sections were more exciting than I expected. I found myself learning while being entertained. King used excellent examples for all of the grammar bits, some of which had me laughing out loud - surprising since though I'm quite the stickler for grammar, it's notoriously boring. The lessons on adverbs and dialogue were especially helpful. I liked having an inside look at the way he works, especially since he's so successful. I didn't agree with all of his ideas, since writing is different for everyone, but I still appreciated them.
I most enjoyed learning more about King's style in the "On Writing" section. His suggestion to "read a lot and write a lot" actually comforted me quite a bit. Ever since I can remember, no one has understood why I like to read and write in my spare time. It's good to know that it's for good use. I also liked how he explained his method of writing with the periods of the door being open and closed. At first, his stage of putting the manuscript away for a period of time confused me, but I suppose for editing purposes, it is good to look at it with brand new eyes. I just don't know if I'd be able to hold myself back.
King's opinion on writing classes and seminars discouraged me a bit, since I'm going to major in creative writing at Farmington. I understood his point - you certainly don't need a writing class or a major to be a writer. That doesn't make me any less willing to major in writing - quite honestly, I wouldn't know what else to do with myself. I just hope it won't be as much of a waste of time as King seems to make it.
The "On Living" section was a bit horrific. If anything, I'll certainly be more careful next time I'm walking anywhere. It was a good, self-reflective way to end the novel. Overall, the manuscript was an entertaining read. I'd recommend it to anyone who is an aspiring author.
Book Review: Excellent Tool For Writers
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my favorites authors, Lolita Files, told me I should read this book. After reading it I see why. Now, I have read a few of King's books, but this is nothing like any of Mr. King's stories or characters.
In "On Writing" you will learn so much about the craft of writing. I think this is an excellent tool for any writer, whether you're published or not. In this book I realized the very nature of writing often isolates us from the outside world; and from making contact with kindred souls who understand the writing life all the more important.
In "On Writing" King teaches you everything on writing: both, growth and progress on how to deliverer a powerful story with a strong original plot, showing vs. telling, creating strong dialogue, character development and so much more.
It's a little slow, well very slow, in the beginning, where he takes you all throughout his childhood to his battles with alcohol and drug addiction. It's not a memoir; it's just telling how he was created for writing.
For a person like me who enjoys reading all genres, (including works from authors like Stephen King himself, Alice Walker, Zane, Donald Goines, Jackie Collins, Noire, Toni Morrison, Eric Jerome Dickey, K'wan, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Walter Mosley, Donna Hill, Tracy Brown, R.M Johnson, and T. Styles just to name a few. Okay, I know that was a lot, but the list only goes on:) I now have a better understanding of why I'm attracted to reading from people who's telling totally different stories, in totally different genres. If not reading this book I would have never understood that. It's not the genre, its story and how it is shaped to capture me into reading it.
In this book, what I am now calling a "writing tool" Stephen actually takes you on a tour of his mind. I found the secrets he shared very interesting about how he writes and edit his work. (I don't know how true it is, but I heard that he doesn't let any editor go near his work.)
If you're a writer or aspiring writer this book is a perfect one stop solution for you. I suggest before enrolling in a creative or fiction writing class read this book first. Although the beginning is kind of slow, once it gets to the actual "On Writing" part I guarantee you'll find yourself amazed. King walks you through everything you need to know about writing in a very straight forward direct way.
Again, if you're an inspiring writer and trying to pen a manuscript, or even finished with your manuscript, I suggest this book to you before you start shopping your work around.
Also, I just want to share, my English professor recommended I read "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott next. She says it's just as good as this book.