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| On Writing | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephen King
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.85
You Save: $4.14 (52%)
Buy New/Used from $3.70
Avg. Customer Rating:  (827 reviews)
Sales Rank: 737
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0743455967
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743455961
ASIN: 0743455967
Publication Date: July 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 First Part is Great, Second Part is So-So December 14, 2008
The first part of the book is great. It's a free-wheeling largely chronological autobiography with some great insights. The end of that section seems a bit rushed -- like there was a deadline to meet. I wish it could have gone longer.
The second part is more for the experienced writer, not the general public. Although I do like reading about writing (some of Tolkien's stuff is eye opening) but this got dry really fast.
Overall, certainly worth trying out.
 Instructional, beautiful, invaluable. December 5, 2008
I've been away from writing for many years and thought I'd start with King's book to get me back into the swing of things. It worked. (I may not be writing to publish, but I am writing--and that's always the first hard step.)
King includes myriad practical tips and techniques for buckling down, staying focused, and pay attention to what's important. King's use of his own experiences as examples of what to do--and what not to do--make the work both personal and moving. His candor is refreshing and his delivery is effortless.
There are two (related) areas I wish he would have addressed in much more detail, since his focus is on the language of writing: cadence and word order.
Stephen, if you're out there, why is cadence so important, and what characteristics determine how it affects the reader?
And why does the title of my review ("Instructional, beautiful, invaluable") have a different effect than, say, "Beautiful, instructional, invaluable?" Is it just that we interpret order to be an indication of priority?
But beyond these two narrow areas, King's work is a one-of-a-kind treasure that I will return to time and time again for help and for moral support.
Another Side of Stephen King November 22, 2008
In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Stephen King says that we must come to writing in almost any way but lightly. We may be angry or exhuberant or jealous or anguished. I repeat, as does he, we must come to the craft any way but lightly. This is a side of Stephen King I have neve seen before, and I like it. The book is a wonderful guide to the art, to the craft of writing. My book is new, but is already earmarked and looks worn with age, as all great books should. All true devotees to the craft of writing, all who know that the demands of writing are great, should own this book. It is a revelation.
Don't wait for the muse...show up every day October 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I don't even read Stephen King books. I don't like horror books as I have nightmares - but I know Stephen is a writing legend so this book was fantastic to read.
He writes in that "real person" way that makes you feel he is not some writing super-hero that just creates a bestseller out of nothing. He is to the point in his advice, but behind it is his story. How he and Tammy came from nothing, how his drug use crushed him, and how his accident changed the way he sees the world. He knows the power of story.
Some top pieces of advice from the book:
- Close your door and make a serious commitment to write. Don't wait for the muse to come. Show up every day and "sooner or later, he'll start showing up, chomping his cigar and making his magic"
- Write what you love to read. Don't write in a genre to make money.
- If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write.
- He writes by finding some characters and then putting them in a situation. They often surprise him by what happens.
- Write your first full draft with no input. Then let it rest for 6 weeks or so "like bread dough between kneadings". You will find it much easier to kill your darlings after a rest
- Revise for length. 2nd draft = 1st draft - 10%
- "Do you need someone to make you a paper badge with the word "Writer" on it before you can believe you are one? God, I hope not."
Great book!
really good stuff October 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm not even a fan of Stephen King. I've seen plenty
of movies made from his books and most of them were
bad or stupid or both.
I have read a handful of fiction books the guy wrote.
He's easy to read - he hashes out these very human
characters well and puts them in these unusual, frightening
situations - often no-wins. You probably know that.
It's easy to overlook that King, the champion schlockmeister,
is a consumate communicator. His writing is empathic - which
is what keeps us curious and involved in the stories.
Honestly - I don't like slasher movies. Maybe King doesn't
write them but in my little brain he is inextricably tied
to the genre that scared the pants off me as a kid -
Friday the 13th, et. al.
The funny thing is that King's fiction is surprisingly
complex, rich in character and local color. When
put on the screen it is generally dull and seems formulaic -
but that is perhaps more because King's writing has
influenced all scary movies of the last 30 years.
I'm an admirer now. I'm taking writing a lot more seriously
now than I have in the last 15 years. I still think
the themes and plots of many of King's novels don't
interest me - but after reading this there are a half-dozen
or so I may track-down and read.... particularly:
-The Stand
-The Tommyknocker's (apparently derivative of 5 Million Years To Earth - which
is close to the best Sci-fi film ever, IMO, and ripped-off also in the Space
Vampires movie "LifeForce")
Oh yeah. The writing stuff. Cogent. To the point. How
to simplify and amplify the power of your story. He tells
how to defeat the Passive Voice habit, how to recover
from adverb abuse, etc... basically how to get the bad
habits out of the way so the competent writer can progress
towards becoming a good one.
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