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Title: On Writing by Stephen King ISBN: 0-7434-5596-7 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.62 (528 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A teacher who's actually done it.
Comment: I have never read Stephen King's work, but being an aspiring writer, I bought this one simply because the reviews were too good to ignore.
I'll add to this pile now.
The biographical first part is written in a smooth and flowing style that keeps you turning the pages late into the hours. It details King's journey to becoming a published author, as well as his battle with substance abuse. All the humour, heartbreak, and hardship shine through to inspire anyone who is unlucky enough to want to write.
The second part contains the truth about the craft. The work, sacrifice, and the suggestion that writing is something you just might *not* be able to do. In addition, it contains helpful sections pertaining to building good writing habits, things to avoid, exercises, etc. There are some things I don't agree with, such as avoiding adverbs if possible, but it takes nothing away. The information in this part of the book is something you'll be hard pressed to find anywhere else. To some, it'll be ugly, to those who really do want to write, it'll be comforting to know that everyone doing it is fighting the same battle.
The third part is King's view on his close brush with death and how it's affected his life.
The two "And Furthermore" sections at the end contain a fully corrected piece of fiction that is an invaluable lesson, and a recommended reading list.
If you want to be a writer, buy this book. Whether you read King's work or not.
Rating: 5
Summary: If you don¿t have time to read, you don¿t have time to write
Comment: The book opens with something that can best be described as King's first attempt to his memoirs. Starting with the description of what he thinks are his first memories, he guides us through his youth of poverty, a time in which he started to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. In a colourful narrative he deals with the darkest period of his life, showing that nothing can steal away his energy to prove himself. When he is financially at his lowest point, a first success as an author is about to happen: the publishing of Carrie.
In the second part of this book Stephen King opens Fazza's writing toolbox. Not to give you a textbook version of a "Creative Writing" course, but simply to share his enthusiasm with anyone who dreams of becoming a writer. But that is not all. In a friendly and almost intimate way he shows you the nastiest pitfalls of the craft: adjectives, passive sentences, dialogue, grammar, etc... Then he shows you his opinions on plotting, 'colourful' language, the theme of a story and much more. The list of topics he is willing to address is far from complete, but he certainly covers all the things he thinks are of importance (or the topics of which he has something interesting to say, that is...).
This book is inspiring and enriching for everybody who has at some point tried to write a story (or even a novel). After reading this book you just cannot stop the urge to take some paper and start writing. If you ever need to pump-up your motivation to write, read this book! You will not be disappointed. And never forget: "If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write."
As an extra bonus you get the complete story behind Stephen King's live threatening accident in midyear of 1999, when he was run down by a blue van. This book was serialized in the New Yorker.
Rating: 4
Summary: Personal tips from a mainstream writer
Comment: "On Writing" is divided into two parts - the first part is an autobiography, the second part is the part on writing per se. Part 1 consists of 112 pages, and part 2 consists of 199 pages. On top of that, there's some forewords (actually three), the story about Stephen King's accident and the recovering part of it, an example short story with critisism, a recommended reading list, and finally a competition winning short story.
What distinguishes "On Writing" from other books about writing is the personal style, in which Stephen King doesn't care about the formality of writing; he is more concerned with the reality of what it is to be an author. Somewhere he gives some advice as to how many pages one should strive to write each day if writing is to be taken seriously. He also says that it's neccessary to write each day of the year, and to read an awful lot, to keep the inspiration coming and the writing style clean and polished. King also writes about techniques: conversations, splitting the text into paragraphs, and other similar useful, practical, and essential techniques every writes oughts to know. Some of the advise is a bit off-topic, and the writing is also a little to confused, but that also makes it less tedious to read.
The book is only useful to beginning writers; the tips are simply to obvious for someone who have been writing for more than one year. And I don't agree with all of the advise, but that's also the point: sort the relevant tips out so that it fits your needs. Overall, I think the book is based too much on personal experience, though it's nice sometimes to step out of the formality of step-to-step guides or whatever's out there.
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Title: The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, Roger Angell ISBN: 020530902X Publisher: Pearson Higher Education Pub. Date: 15 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman ISBN: 068485743X Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 20 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Bird by Bird : Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott ISBN: 0385480016 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne, Dave King ISBN: 0062720465 Publisher: HarperResource Pub. Date: 16 February, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: On Writing Well, 25th Anniversary : The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William K. Zinsser ISBN: 0060006641 Publisher: HarperResource Pub. Date: 18 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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