This is one of my most favorite SK books ever. Not only do I love the memoir of it, I love his matter-of-fact way of telling us about writing and the publishing world. If you saw my copy of this book, I have things highlighted in it, and I have those colored divider tabs stuck on the edges of pages that particularly spoke to my needs. I have notes in the margins-- it's a mess! If there is one book I could have SK sign, it would be my beat-up copy of On Writing. And, when I found out he did the reading for the CD, I went and purchased that too, often throwing it in my CD player to listen to certain parts only--or as I did this time, the whole thing. It is not a common thing for me to purchase both book and the CD format, but in this case, I had to have it.

For those who haven't read this, it's more than a book on the art of writing. One of my Top Ten Stephen King books. ( )

Famous, famous book. Half biography and half a loose writing how-to, I found this very engaging but of little use to someone wanting to learn the craft. Like Bird by Bird and Forest for the Trees, it was more a piece of nonfiction on the lives and expectations of writers (with one writer in particular) than a book on the mechanics of plot, pacing or characterization. I liked it that way, though, as I’m fond of seeing things in the viewpoint of other writers. ( )

Anyone interested in writing must read this book whether a King fan or not. Very inspirational. ( )

I have read very little King in my time - The Gunslinger might be the only one - but he is prolific and popular but not too pretentious, so he is worth listening to. This is a book in two sections: memoirs and writing advice. The memoirs felt a little tedious, but I understand why they were included. Your life - especially your childhood - is what shapes your writing.Many writing books are either discouraging (you will never get published unless your father owns Random House) or full of shiny happy talk about creative orgasms (anyone can write brilliantly - just let it flow). King finds a happy medium between the two. While he does lay down some strict but reasonable ground rules about grammar, editing, and reading (if you don't have the time to read, he says, you don't have the time or the tools to write), he is also full of solid advice and real encouragement. This book was recommended to me as something every aspiring author should read. I concur. ( )

The best "practical" book on the writer's life that I've read. Funny, touching, interesting. I haven't really even read King's novels, but he's a no-nonsense writer who believes in hard work and learning from others, and it's a message that needs to be communicated to would-be writers. ( )

The best "practical" book on the writer's life that I've read. Funny, touching, interesting. I haven't really even read King's novels, but he's a no-nonsense writer who believes in hard work and learning from others, and it's a message that needs to be communicated to would-be writers. ( )

The best "practical" book on the writer's life that I've read. Funny, touching, interesting. I haven't really even read King's novels, but he's a no-nonsense writer who believes in hard work and learning from others, and it's a message that needs to be communicated to would-be writers. ( )

So encouraging. ( )

http://www.neonjade.com/index.php/200... ( )

This was the 3rd Stephen King book I've read, and the first that's non-fiction. I found it to be remarkably well-written, and enjoyable. He has down-to-earth, common-sense advice that come from experience, and doesn't pull any punches. ( )

In the first part of the book, Stephen King provides a memoir of his life up to the time that he became a writer. He covers events in his childhood that shaped him as a person and a writer.

The middle part of his book is where he gives a lot of great advice about writing, and even if you are only a reader, how to recognize bad writing. He says, for example, on avoiding passive verbs:

“I think timid writers like [passive verbs] for the same reason timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe. There is no troublesome action to contend with; the subject just has to close its eyes and think of England, to paraphrase Queen Victoria”

He says, instead of writing “The meeting will be held at seven o’clock“, write “The meeting’s at seven“.

Stephen King’s advice is very direct and to the point, as is his writing style. He also says,

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut”.

In the final part of this book, Stephen King relates his near fatal accident (when a car hit him while he was walking down the road), his long recovery, and how he got back into writing again. ( )

For decades, Stephen King has delighted reading audiences with his shocking tales, powerful prose and frighteningly realistic characters. In the late 90s, King sat down to pen a book on how he became the writers that his is, the lessons he learned and how others can become better writers. After several long years – and a near-fatal encounter with a van – King completed On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

I’m going to just come out and say it - if you are a writer, you must read this. It is both inspirational and educational. It is typical Stephen King bluntness as well and really cuts to the heart of what it takes to be a writer and why you shouldn’t fear writing what you believe in no matter what other people think about it. Successful writers are successful because they are passionate about what they write – not because they are trying to make a buck. This is not a point-by-point how-to book on writing novels. There are plenty of those out there and most of them will bore you to tears. What King offers is a look inside his writing methods and some hard-won insight into what works and what doesn’t in the publishing world. It is divided into several sections. The first gives a history of his writing career that is so funny I was laughing out loud more times than I can count. It is also includes a painful account of the drug and alcohol addiction that nearly killed him and the loving intervention of his wife, Tabitha. He then goes into the tools that a writer needs to develop to do the things that a writer needs to do. The third section is really the meat of the text and shows the methods that King uses to develop a story from idea to finished manuscript. The final section is a very personal account of the horrific accident that nearly ended his life and how the lifelong devotion of his wife Tabitha and his writing – specifically finishing this memoir – contributed to his return to life. On Writing is a much a deeply personal memoir as it is a dialog on getting the most out of your writing. It is a book that I will read again and again as inspiration for my own writing. I recommend it to everybody, but most especially to every aspiring writer. If this story doesn’t send you to your keyboard with renewed motivation, you probably want to find a new pursuit.

One final note – my copy of On Writing was an advance reader copy. Yes, it’s been hidden away for nearly ten years and this is the first time I have read it. The strange thing is that I have no memory of how I ever received the ARC in the first place. It still has a postage-paid return card with it, too. Either way, I’m not parting with it and I will be rereading it quite often I’m sure. ( )

Stephen King, master of the macabre, tells some of the events in his life which, he says, turned him into the writer he is today. Partly autobiographical and partly good advice, On Writing is a quick, enjoyable read, that, unlike the average text book, isn't full of difficult to comprehend and otherwise useless data. King likens the process of writing to archaeology and digging up fossils... he uses "What if..." to define the situations and discover the fossils that become the novels King is famous for writing.

On Writing isn't a text book, yet, the teacher in him couldn't resist including just one writing exercise near the middle of the book. King shows the wanna-be writer a fossil and encourages that writer to explore the situation and expose more of the fossil. This is the master's technique for turning out novel after novel after novel. King claims that his novels are created from story, not from plot. King says the huge difference is that "story is honorable and trustworthy, plot is shifty, and best kept under house arrest." I think using King's advice, I will be able to turn my fiction onto a better path by using more situation, exposing more of the far too often over-looked fossils, and keeping that shifty plot where it belongs.

This review was previously published on Dragonviews. ( )

I strongly believe that this book is best on tape, since Mr King reads it and it gives you a deeper connection. I loved it from beginning to end, and it cemented his position as my writing idol. ( )

WARNING: Constant Reader ahead!!! ‘Constant Readers’ is the title King knighted his fans with. For me, it’s an apt description, as King’s books and short stories and essays have filled my life for the better part of three decades. When he published [On Writing] ,shortly after being run down by a reckless driver, it was the first indication that King was not retiring or fatally broken or permanently blocked. Hundreds of thousands of relieved gasps could be heard around the world, mine among them. I went directly to the book store and purchased a new, hardbound copy, ignoring my typical rule about finding one used or on remainder table. I have now read the book twice.

Whether you like King’s fiction or not, [On Writing] is a wonderful book. Did you really expect me to say anything else? Okay, let me try to defend my opinion. King starts out by recounting childhood memories and events, many of which will evoke a sense of déjà vu in any Constant Reader, as he’s used many of these memories to fuel his fiction. While King insists there’s no common thread running through the stories, it’s clear that the events, good, bad, and in-between, all conspired to make him the writer and the man he is today. The stories are hilarious and sad and bittersweet. From the night young Stephen and his brother darkened a full city block to the two sad, picked-on girls who inspired [Carrie] to the tireless, brutal, blue collar ethic of his mother, desperate to make their meager funds last through another payday, to King’s alcohol and cocaine addled mid-life, you’ll be hooked.

Then, King turns his eye towards the writer’s toolbox, focusing on vocabulary and grammar, relentlessly championing Strunk and White. There are a few rants, one in particular saved for adverbs and another for passive voice. Like every other author I’ve heard or read, he recommends reading everything you can get your hands on. King hammers on the simple, the basic, the spare style. If you can get by with one or two details about a character, why use seventeen. If you can get by with the first word called to mind, why thumb the Thesaurus for some substitute. After gearing up the tool-box, favoring the simple and basic forms of all of those tools, King begins to explain what writing is. For King, it is the unadulterated story, translated to the page, allowed to go where it will without any planning. Just a “What if….” carried to a conclusion.

In summarizing, King returns to his own life, describing his excruciating recovery after being run over. He didn’t lose the ability or the will to write but he did suffer a healthy round of self-doubt. Coaxed on by a loving wife, King finished this book and several others, many of which have been compared to his earlier, more fundamental books. The message rings clear, writing is who King is; it lingers in every nook and cranny of his life. It’s changed and helped define his life. And he believes that writing is more than just a profession or an art; it is a tool for life, one which can help you work things out, discover and process the world around you and your place in it.

Bottom Line: A great memoir, a helpful writing aid, and a thoughtful rumination on the intersection of life and writing. ( )

Stephen King's fans will be interested in how he became a writer, and anyone who wants to become a writer ought to listen to his advice. But does On Writing anything useful to say to those of us who write for fun?

Mr. King divides On Writing into two sections. The first is a memoir of his early attempts at writing, the newspaper his older brother put out as a way to make pocket money. This part of On Writing is interesting and entertaining but not particularly useful. No one can duplicate the childhood that made Mr. King the writer he is, but his account of his early career is enlightening. In the second half of On Writing, Mr. King gets serious and gives frank, useful advice for aspiring story tellers. Though story tellers are his only real concern, his advice is still useful for non-fiction writers such as book bloggers.

I'm keeping three things he suggests in mind:

1.Favor the active voice.
2.Avoid adverbs.
3.Follow this formula: 2nd draft equals 1st draft minus 10 percent.
Numbers one and two are not new--Mr. King gives credit where credit is due and faithfully discusses Strunk and White's book The Elements of Style which every writer of any sort should own. He makes his own case for the active voice and against adverbs in On Writing and it's a good one. Though after he's made it, it's difficult not to read the rest of the book looking for examples of adverbs and the passive voice. Number three came to Mr. King in a note written at the bottom of a rejection slip for a story that was too "puffy." It's excellent advice. There is much more in On Writing that a book blogger should find useful. I'm sure any writer looking to improve their own work, whatever it is, will find at least three useful things of their own in On Writing.

In fact, if you know someone who wants to become a writer, maybe your own high schooler or college student, give them this book. If they haven't read it by the end of the following week, and if they can't tell you three things they should do, then go out and buy them a guitar because they're just going through a phase and music will probably be next. If they read it and they can tell you how they intend to use the suggestions in it, then start saving tuition money and hope for the best. Who knows, they may turn out to be the next Stephen King. ( )

The advice is basic: Write a lot and read a lot. It's basically the equivalent of "eat less, exercise more." Which means that you're spared nonsense processes, tips and tricks or - heaven forbid - x number of days to a bestseller!

Of course, there's more to the book. It's a memoir that is honest about dark periods and revels in the positive things. There's a writing memoir that's honest about the books that were good and those that probably could have been better. Everything is done out in order to humanize the writing process as much as possible. Really, no tricks. Write a lot, read a lot - with demonstration. ( )

Wow, was this great, and completely not what I was expecting. About the first third of the book is dedicated to vignettes from King’s life that speak to incidents that shaped him both as a person and as a writer. It was in this part that I discovered that I wasn’t the only kid who used to copy the text from comic books into story or script form. He also pulls no punches when it comes to talking about his alcoholism and addiction to drugs. The other two main parts of the book focus on the tools you should have when you write, and then the actual process of writing. This is all followed by a post-script detailing his car accident and recovery, which happened while he was in the middle of writing this book, and which is equally as fascinating as the discussion of writing.

The best thing about this book is that King doesn’t portend to know it all. In fact, the second foreword says:

"This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit. Fiction writers, present company included, don’t understand very much about what they do – not why it works when it’s good, not why it doesn’t when it’s bad. I figured the shorter the book, the less the bullshit."

And what book blogger couldn’t echo these word?

"Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life. I take a book with me everywhere I go, and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in. The trick is to teach yourself to read in small sips as well as in long swallows. Waiting rooms were made for books – of course! But so are theater lobbies before the show, long and boring checkout lines, and everyone’s favorite, the john. You can even read while you’re driving, thanks to the audiobook revolution."

Not only did I find inspiration here, I’m sure I picked up a few tips along the way. And even more respect for Stephen King. ( )

A good read for any writer and fans of Stephen King alike. It's full of useful information that goes way beyond write everyday and read a lot. I especially like that it went into the revision process, even though only briefly. For me, writing is easy, revising is torture. ( )

This book is a curious mix of King's memoirs and some of his thoughts on what helps to make a successful writer. It was an odd book for me to pick up, since I have not read a single Stephen King book (a fact of which I'm obscurely proud!) However, I am rather in awe of the fact that he consistently churns out best-selling doorstop novels, and I figured he would have interesting things to say about how to write.

I was not wrong at all - he wrote very easily about the dos and, more crucially, the don'ts of writing, and I was fascinated by some of his methods. The idea that he often proceeds into massive novels with no more than a 'what if?' scenario is, frankly, amazing.

The problem was that I ended up far more interested in the memoir aspect of this little book. The snippets of his life - covering humorous escapades with his brother; his fight against alcoholism; and the course his published career took. I would have liked to read far more of this.

In fact, I concur with a number of the other reviewers - this book didn't know whether it was an autobiography or a 'how-to' manual on writing, and suffered as a result. I do think that either could have stood up to being a lengthier book in its own right.

Overall, a neat little look at the craft of a writer, but King does not say anything new and certainly doesn't say anything more enlightening than you can find for free on any decent author's website these days. ( )

On Writing is two very different books rolled into one. The first is more of a memoir, with King recalling early life experiences that ultimately led to his becoming a writer in the first place. Disconnected from this section, yet part of it, is the epilogue, where King addresses the accident that nearly took his life, and the part finishing this book played in his professional recovery. The other part of the book is mechanics -- some of it is what to do, but good portion more is what NOT to do. I could almost hear my own editors echoing his words; everything he said not only rings true, but also can't be said often enough. And rarely does one hear it put in such elegant prose..."don't DO THAT!" "Cut that shit out!" Not only is he very encouraging towards anyone who really wants to make a run at it, but after hearing King describe the nuts and bolts of "the craft," it becomes apparent why himself and other bankable authors churn out consistently high quality work.

While King is quick to admit there is no magic bullet to becoming a good writer (and, in his opinion, it is not possible for a truly bad writer to learn to be significantly better, nor is it possible for a good writer to become great...however, it is possible for a decent writer to become good), there are two inescapable truths he does harp on. A writer has to write, and just as importantly, a writer has to read. King suggests that one will learn more reading a bad writer than a good one, to which I laughed, thinking, "but Uncle Stevie, I learn more about writing from reading you than I do any other author!" But he adds that it can be a terrific morale boost reading someone who obviously has reached a measure of success (they are published) while knowing you can do better.

I think Stephen King has a lot to say on the art of writing, and would have liked to have seen this part of the book expanded to make it a dedicated volume. He was a former English teacher, so he is classically educated on the subject, although I think his style better communicates the basics than your typical college composition class. I also think his autobiography would be worth a look (his life is no Jack London, but well-lived in any event), and would read that as a separate book. For all of his success, it didn't seem like King was confident that his fans would like either, so it all ended up in a single volume. Hopefully he'll be with us a lot more years and reconsider both in time. ( )

An excellent look at writing as a craft, as Stephen King's life. It isn't a magic "get published" tell-all, but definitely interesting to aspiring writers, and King fans alike. ( )

A book that should be on the shelves of any author, January 9, 2009

I enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it, especially for aspiring writers.

'On Writing' is not your ordinary, boring, english how-to manual. It is a book written by a successful author (who started off as an unknown himself), who gives the reader tips on writing a good story... their story.

Throughout, we learn of Stephen's past which not only keeps our interest but allows us to relate to him as a person - not just another successful, unreachable author. He has endured problems in his life, much as many of us have, and through each one he has conquered and improved as a person and as a writer.

As an author myself, I personally like the quick, to-the-point tips that he gives, as well as the encouragement for all of us to keep writing. After all, he is 'the great Stephen King'... he could just as easily give us a tip or two and then hope that he stays at the top forever. Instead, he encourages company at his desk of success, and notes that he enjoys reading our books just as much as we enjoy reading his.

I found Stephen King's 'On Writing' an enjoyable read and one that should be on the shelves of all authors.

J.R. Reardon
author, 'Confidential Communications' ( )

Steven King tells about how he started writing, why, the time it took to get published, and his philosophy of what it is to be a writer. These stories are every bit as engaging as his novels. A second part of the book provides tips on writing well... since reading this I have been much more aware of my use of adverbs. ( )