On Writing
by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of On Writing
Book Review: On Wriing Book Review
Summary: 4 Stars
From the very beginning of the memoir the reader feels as though King is talking directly to them. When King begins to discuss his childhood and adult life he shares with the audience his past experiences with poison ivy, his babysitter, his teachers, the year he was always sick, supporting his family and his addictions to alcohol and cocaine. All of which in some way inspired him to write. As King talks about each of these memories it enables the reader to reminisce about past experiences that are similar to his. As his life story unfolds King talks about a writing job he was given in high school and an interesting message his editor told him. The message was to write with the door closed and rewrite with the door open. Which is a method King uses to this day. Soon King is married and has children and his battling his addictions with alcohol and cocaine. While King was battling his addiction he wrote three novels that symbolize his addictions; Misery, The Tommyknockers, and The Shining. He also says that there is one book which he barely remembers writing, Cujo. King battled his addictions for six years. At the end of his short but honest autobiography King shows how his life experiences helped him evolve as a writer. In the second part of the memoir King begins to discuss the lessons of writing. In this part King becomes the teacher and the reader becomes the student. King's first lesson about writing is how one approaches it. He says that writing can be approached in many different ways and with many different emotions, such as nervousness or excitement. Bottom line, whatever the emotion is, it is reflected in the writing. Then King teaches one of his most valuable lessons; the writing toolbox. He says that every writer should have a toolbox just like every carpenter has a toolbox. On the first shelf of the toolbox should be vocabulary and grammar and on the second shelf should be well- organized paragraphs. In the end, King explains good writing is about letting go of fear and affection. Throughout the remaining of the memoir King explains how to build strong characters, theme, the organization of a paragraph and plot, which King happens to distrust. One of the most valuable lessons that King teaches in his memoir is that a writer isn't made but a writer can only be created through life experiences and hard work.
Overall On Writing-A Memoir of the Craft is definitely a book everyone should read. Throughout the books entirety King keeps the reader sitting at the edge of their chairs with his humor and brutal honesty. But through his humor and honesty King is still able to entertain and inspire anyone who reads his memoir.
Book Review: Enjoyable but a little patchy
Summary: 4 Stars
"On Writing" is divided into a number of sections. The first part, what he calls his CV, is a mini auto-biography and is absolutely terrific. Focussing primarily on those parts of his childhood that have effected his writing, this provides a riveting account of his development as a young aspiring writer.The second section he calls the toolbox - those abilities you need to have or develop in order to be a good writer. Third, and following on from this, is the actual section on writing. There is some good stuff in these two sections but there is also a lot of take-this-as-fact when it's really just opionion. I'm going to focus on two of them; my rationale for placing these in the review is that they might be enough to put you off reading it:
a) He classifies writers into bad, competent, good and genius and declares that you can make a competent writer good but you can't make a bad writer competent. (I think we can all agree that geniuses are born, not made!) This is just plain wrong. You need to understand the reasons that the writer is bad. Perhaps the writer is just too young or too undeveloped; perhaps they just need some focus; perhaps they misuse a particular part of language terribly but have good ideas. Yes, there will always be people who are bad writers and always will be but it's my contention that anyone able to read "On Writing" has got the ability to be a competent writer, whatever the current state of their written ability is.
My second gripe is his hard and fast list of what makes bad writing. He has a particular grudge against the use of adverbs when describing conversation: 'she said excitedly', etc.. OK, so that's his opinion but it isn't a fast rule. In particular one of the current genius's (IMHO) is JK Rowling and she uses them all over the place (Stephen King has commented on that in his reviews of her books too). Personally I never even gave them a second thought until I saw him mention them. I re-read a few passages, thought - yup, she uses them a lot and, *they work*.
The next section is about his infamous car (or should I say pedestrian?) accident and recovery from it. This part brought back memories about my Dad's recovery from a car crash and I thought it was a very poignant section. I must say, though, I wonder if the book suffered from this since some of the On Writing section was the first writing Stephen did during his recovery.
In summary: This is a useful book for anyone interested in Stephen King, his writing, writing yourself or just understanding the process. But, don't expect too much information about actually writing and, what there is, is a little too rigid for my liking.
Book Review: The Subtitle Says it All
Summary: 5 Stars
The first chunk of this book tells King's early struggles in a delightful and often inspiring way. From his mother's early encouragement of his stories (and telling him that he was better than a copying hack)to his first novel that his wife, "Tabby," pulled out of the trash and encouraged him to finish. The problem he was having with the novel was that the main character, "Carrie," was a painful POV for him to immerse himself into. BTW, that manuscript that he was ready to toss brought in 400k in book rights back in the 70's. That part of the story, him going from crappy jobs trying to keep his family afloat and then having enough money to write full time, darn near brought tears to my eyes. The man also acknowledges that he owes it all to his wife, Tabby, his ever faithful "ideal reader."
During the first piece, we find out that his brother, Dave, who seems to be trying to find his one "true north," always gets King to be a part of his latest "super duper" projects. Reading about Dave, one may notice the similarity between King and "Bow Wow" in his short story, "The End of the Whole Mess." Hell, one notices a lot of bits of his childhood are wrapped up within his stories when you read this book.
In the last piece, although it doesn't give you the nuts and bolts of writing fiction as there are plenty of other books dedicated to that, he does give his opinion on the essential process and how he manages it. As he freely admits, his personal process may not be for everyone as many writers have different opinions on things such as drafts, character profiles, and the like, his opinions are most definitely helpful as an inspiration to those who think they may find joy in the art and craft of fiction writing. As King puts it, a fiction writer must dedicate themselves to both reading and writing in order to succeed and I would suggest this be one of the many books that you add to your library. He makes it worth your valuable time and money even if you are not a big fan of his fiction. Personally, I have ALWAYS loved his short stories.
And yes, I am what King calls "constant reader." Enjoy the read :)
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And if you read this review, Mr. King, I would like to give you my opinion on why "The Stand" is an all time favorite of some of your fans. The stand is unique in that it is several short stories that converge to create a novel. The pacing, the POV changes, and the combination thereof are brilliant. Of course, I'm sure it helped that you "killed [some of] your darlings" to make it manageable. You told the damn stories and you did it well :)
Book Review: A Gift Worth A King's Ransom
Summary: 5 Stars
Stephen King's "how to" book, "On Writing..A Memoir Of The Craft", is not your average, run of the mill "how to" book. It reads like one of his novels. What I mean by that, is that it is a page turner. It is the most captivating refrence book I have ever read. If you have ever even had any kind of inkling that you may like to write, or if you already know you love it, by the time you finish this read, you'll be highly motivated to do so. And what's more, you'll have a great idea of how to get started, and with some great advice from one of the masters. The book is geared mostly toward the writer of fiction, but even non-fiction writers will benefit greatly.
Mr King, opens with information on his own background. His memories of specific events from his life that inspired the type of stories he writes(wait till you read where the inspiration for Carrie came from), were enlighting and inspiring. Then on to the "Tool Box" section. The mechanics. Vocabulary, Grammar, Dialouge, and other very important tools of the craft are discussed at length. In "On Writing" you'll get lots of creative advice as well as practical. Read, read, read and write, write write is something King can't seem to say enough. He has even given the start of a story for you to add on to.
He tries to answer the FAQs, and gives some pretty good information on finding an agent and getting published. He also includes a list of books that will give you a nice background for different writing styles.
You can also find this book here:On Writing - so check for best availabiity and deal.
Stephen King's love of writing is contagious. He has given the budding writer a gift. It's a gift worth a King's Ransom....go for it!....Laurie
also recommended:Pulp Writer: Twenty Years in the American Grub Street -
The Writer Within You: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing and Publishing in Your Retirement Years -
and - The Spirit of Writing: Classic and Contemporary Essays Celebrating the Writing Life (New Consciousness Reader)
Book Review: Stephen King Style
Summary: 5 Stars
When one of the best selling authors writes a book "on writing" you make it a part of your collection. Stephen King is a name synonymous with fictional horror writing. But he also wrote a non-fiction book "On Writing" published in 2000. I had to read it. I was not disappointed.
"On Writing" is part memoir and part how I write. It is delivered in Stephen King opinionated style as only he can write it. Stephen King gives tidbits of his life before hitting it "big" and actually getting paid to write. I did notice a lot of beer was included in his early years. Tall boys and writing what a combination! It is nice to read about a very successful author and how it all started for him. They called him Stevie back in those days, but today he is Mr. King. Well, Stephen anyway.
Stephen King started writing this book in December of 1997. It was published in 2000. For him it was a long process. He had to put it in a drawer to hide or marinate, which is not a bad thing he explains. There was a well-documented accident in 1999. Stephen writes what he accounts about the accident. (What he remembers anyway.) I say he is a lucky, lucky man. Stephen's writing account about this accident is well worth the price of the book.
Stephen King gives plenty of his opinion on other authors. Good and bad. But gives the reasons why he feels so. "Great authors are not made, but born" Stephen says. Good authors can be made, like himself. I think he categorizes himself in the good section.
The majority of his writing process is credited to William Strunk's "Elements of Style." Translated with these statements, "The adverb is not your friend" and "It's always about the story." These statements are interjected into many sections of the book. Writer wannabes can take heed to many of his writing habits, I said slowly.
Stephen compares his process of writing to a toolbox. There are many levels in this toolbox. Drawers can be taken out and interchanged. But there should be at least four levels to your toolbox. The top levels include vocabulary and grammar. Style is next. The next levels could include pace, narration, description and dialogue. And many more levels, depending on the author's need. Stephen gives his view on each of these levels. You ask, what about plot? Well, Stephen's opinion on plot is included in the book. Like his novels, I can't give it all away in one review or book!
The most important advice, "Read a lot, write a lot."