On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

I think Stephen King wrote this simply because he can. He knows it is a select audience that is going to read it. Those fans who don't ever care to be writers won't read this book. Well, actually they might, thinking to themselves that they might gain some secret insight into the mind of their idol. They will be disappointed. In not so many words, Mr. King says exactly the same thing himself. There is no secret to his storytelling. It just is what it is...lots of hard work.

The first part of this 280+ page book is autobiography. He expounds on a few of his life "snapshots" that may or may not have influenced particular characters or scenes throughout his collection of works. But if you desire to buy this book just to uncover those snippets of Stephen King trivia, be my guest. It will only make him more money. I think the author was only trying to open up a bit more directly to his readers--instead of doing it via a fictional charcter (which he asserts every character he has created is a part of himself) within his stories.

The other part of this book is, of course, on writing. He answers questions often asked him in book signings and semanars ("Where do you get your ideas? etc etc") as well as questions he wishes people would ask. He analogizes writers as having multi-leveled "toolboxes." Important things like vocabulary and grammar go on top of the tool box where they are most accessible. Elements of style and dialogue and paragraph structure go elsewhere along with theme and symbolism, etc. This analogy is a fantastic discription that I hope to use with my own students some day (whenever I go back to teaching). I also enjoyed the expert lessons on discipling one's self towards writing. Of course, what works for him may not work for everyone, but I think many hopeful writers reading this will find commonalities with someone who is making a living, and the rest of us doing it for now as a hobby. As he says, "you could do worse" in following some of his examples.

Some of the lessons on style and grammar could be learned in a couple of writing courses in any college in the country. However, it would would be a lot less efficient and lot less interesting. This book isn't going to give you credit hours, but it will give you helpful tips. Sometimes a car only needs a jump start, not an engine overhaul.

I could describe everything about this book that will keep it prominantly on my bookshelf (dog-eared, loaded with post-it notes and little penciled notes in the margins, no doubt), but the gist is this: If you love to write and feel you may be pretty good at it, read this book. If you just "like" Stephen King as a novelist and don't think about the intricacies of writing then go to the library. Check out this book and skim the auto-bio section and return the book after 2 weeks. You won't be bored and then someone else can use the book to do the same.

I have always held that you can extract a ton of information about a person by what they read everyday. (Ernest Hemingway vs. Robert James Waller; Wall Street Journal vs. Field and Stream etc). In the last 3 pages Stephen King submits his private reading list that have influenced him in some way in the last 3 years. Wonderful list! I photocopied it so I can keep it in my wallet so whenever I am at a bookstore I can look for a few of the titles. It WAS a boost to my ego though, when I realized out of the 100 or so books he lists, I have read about 30 of them. Nice to know that a bestselling author and myself are on a similar mindset.

Already after I finished, I began going through some of my own journals form college and looking for ideas I had started, but never finished. I have already set aside more hours to read (and turning of the TV, which he recommends) and to write. With a couple more readings of this book I may ever become encouraged to submit some stories for publication.

PS: one more thing. The last section that he wrote describing his near-death accident in 1999, when he was run-over by a van being driven by someone messing with his dog, is a real sobering account. For anyone who has thought not to continue writing due to something tragic in their life (because they don't know how to keep creative, etc) this account will tug on your heart.


Climbing out of a pidgeon-hole.   February 15, 2001
 22 out of 22 found this review helpful

First of all, I should probably mention that I had never read a Stephen King book in my entire life. I've never had much interest in horror or mystery or suspense. Naturally, I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was a little wary. Another motivation for picking up this book was the fact that I've been writing for the vast majority of my life, and I was curious to see if I was on the right track. I received 'On Writing' for Christmas and read it through a week in January.

I was absolutely stunned. Sure, I respected Mr. King as a successful novelist, and knew a little of his personal life; after this book, I felt like I'd known him personally for years. As many others have mentioned, this book is really divided into three parts: a short memoir, a manual of writing technique, and the now well-publicized accident.

The first part, "C.V.", was really glimpses into Mr. King's life, interesting little episodes that he considered life lessons or things that sparked his sense of humor. It also provides a very important part of a good writer: He grew up loving to read, and reading frequently. He also started writing and submitting his work at an early age. "C.V." paints the picture of a real-life struggling novelist: how he had to work at several different crummy (though interesting) jobs while supporting a family, a drug habit, and a hefty manuscript.

The second part was "On Writing". In this, Mr. King takes almost no credit for what he's saying. He constantly refers back to 'The Elements of Style' by Strunk & White. He also gives you, flat-out but not in a patronizing tone, what you need to succeed as a decent writer. The best way to summarize how I felt about the section as a whole is this: when he revealed that he taught high school English for several years before the success of 'Carrie', I was desperately jealous of those students. He'd teach an *awesome* class.

I was most impressed by the last section of the book, where he explores his painful memories of the accident and his slow road to recovery. It literally wrenched my heart when he talked of his wife setting up a table in the stuffy hall that he sat at to write for the first time. It was obvious that writing is more than just a business occupation--it's obvious Mr. King has a true passion for the craft.

I applaud him for it--such people come few and far between.

Read this book. You won't regret it.


Very little information on writing here!   October 11, 2000
 20 out of 52 found this review helpful

This is one of the few times when, after reading a book, I have felt compelled to come here and rate it. I give On Writing 1 star, simply because that is the lowest rating I am allowed to give.

I'm not a hardcore Stephen King fan, but I have read a lot of his books. It is therefore not his 'popular fiction' that I am criticizing, but rather his writing memoir.

There is actually very little information about WRITING in this book. The first third of the book is taken up by Mr. King's childhood, and the last third of the book is taken up by his accident. If all Mr. King wanted to do was to describe the minute details of this accident and his great courage in moving on with life, perhaps he should have waited for someone else to write his biography? As it is, PATHETIC is the only word that comes to mind.

The few tips on writing included in the book may provide some interesting conversational material (eg. did you know that Mr. King once wrote a book in one week?) but are otherwise useless. Is this book directed at aspiring writers, or at 1st grade children learning how to form words? Mr. King seems to think they are both the same; I have to disagree.

Mr. King wonders why people don't ask pouplar fiction writers about the 'language' in their books. Funny that someone who writes about his 'cataclysmically smashed hip' should ask that question.

It is not the tips on writing that stick in my mind after reading this book, but rather the lack of respect Mr. King has for his readers. I'd say Mr. King failed in his attempt to 'not waste my time'. But of course, I don't believe that was his real intent: selling us the book and making more money is probably closer to the truth.

If you're interested in Mr. King's life story (but not in his writing because alas, there's not much on that!) read this book. If, however, you're interested in books on writing, give Room to Write and Writing Down the Bones a try!


Instant Classic   December 2, 2002
 20 out of 21 found this review helpful

Stephen King has produced what I believe will long be considered one of the greatest instructional works on fiction writing. If you are an aspiring creative writer, there is no excuse - you need this book.

"On Writing" is divided into two sections. The first comprises a series of essays, relating everything from his childhood to the publication of Carrie. This is entertaining writing within and of itself, and really shows King's ability to engage a reader. In the second section King tells us what he's learned in a lifetime of being one of the world's top writers. This is what you're paying your money for.

Unlike the many other books of this sort I've read, "On Writing" doesn't pull any punches and isn't afraid to state it plainly. King has something that most other instructional writer's don't have - about 8 zillion sales to back up anything he writes - and therefore isn't afraid to tell us that "the road to hell is paved with adverbs" and "it's impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad one." There are several examples given of both good and bad writing, laced with King's observations on many of the authors he has read over the years.

I can't recommend "On Writing" high enough. This line alone was worth the price of the book - "...You must not come lightly to the page..." - and it's only a fraction of the wisdom you're sure to encounter.


"How to write like Stephen King" (his real "On Writing")   October 22, 2000
 19 out of 47 found this review helpful

Be a child in the fifties. Fall in love with "The Twilight Zone" and its writers and many other greats of the time. Watch all the great sf and horror movies and TV shows. Haunt the paperback racks. Read especially Richard Matheson's stories, novels,watch his screen and TV writing. Acknowledge he is your great inspiration. Then steal the bejesus out of him and so many others. Too many examples to list here.Wait for the next generation. Steal from older better writers your current young readers are rarely familiar with or haven't heard of. Rip off, badly, Rod Serling's "Odyssey of Flight 33", among others, piece it into "The Langoliers." Have plane passengers in time warp say things like "this is just like that Twilight Zone." Of course it is, you scmucks, that's where King stole this from. Tack on a Theodore Sturgeon story to this--and another bestseller. Take, among so many of his rip offs of Matheson, the sixties story, "The Distributor", couple it with Charles Beaumont's "The Intruder" and you have "Needful Things." Steal and trash an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", warp it with ridiculous plot turns and trash "Old Joe Cotten" in the process. How sad so many of King's readers will never read the real works, of which his is a very pedestrian rehashing. Whenever anyone asks King if he has gentle feelings, he says time and again, "Yes, I have the heart of a nine year old boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk." That is an outright steal from Robert Bloch, a far better writer who was hurt so much of his life by con artists. Why Matheson does not call King on these things baffles me. How Harlan Ellison, whose brilliant creative fearless mind is an encyclopedia of all he's read and who is eager to nail re-treads doesn't lambast this rather glumpy writer also is very puzzling. How King can do this, especially to his prime inspiration, Matheson, make a ton of money off work that is stolen,seems to lead one to expect a great lack of conscience. Oh yes, Stephen hasn't ripped off, to my knowledge, Matheson's "The Shrinking Man". Tabitha did that with her first novel, "Small World."