Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’

 
Well, it’s pay day, and what will I treat myself with after I’ve paid the bills, bought the shopping, topped up the ‘leccy’ and bought the latest round of birthday cards/presents?  I know; a book.  I usually buy two or three a month, often from the bargain bookshops, but sometimes, just sometimes, I’ll push the boat out and go into a ‘proper’ bookstore and treat myself to something priced as the publisher intended, something that will put a little money into the author’s coffers.  After all, they wrote the thing.

I’m a big fan of King, I think that’s a given.  I love all his early works and have read them all up ‘til the more recent four or five.  I know ‘On Writing’ is pretty old by his prolificacy, but so many people on here kept mentioning it, so I thought I’d give it a go.  I’ve often steered well clear of books claiming to teach you how to write; you either have it or you don’t, that’s my motto, and apparently, Mr King doesn’t disagree; his book doesn’t fall into that category at all.  Sure, you can learn how to become better at the craft, but the actual writing and the joy of such is instilled from a very young age.  The storytelling, as a means of ‘telepathy’, as he likes to call it, is something that stems from nature, not nurture.  That’s how I read what he was saying, anyway.

I am currently being swept away by this book.  I’m only 200 pages into it, most of which has been his background, his biography, but that was read in one sitting of three hours.  Never before have I been so captivated by his words.  He speaks with the voice of someone who is totally devoted to his craft, whilst admitting that even he doesn’t know how he does it, or even that he has any ‘bullshit’ words of wisdom to pass on to others; he only mentions two books on writing that he deems as required, nay, suggested reading, and they are devoid of said bullshit, in his opinion.

I knew I loved that man for a reason.

(The above was a thread posted on a writing workshop site – the following are the replies to that thread.  As you can see, a lot of the people here really loved the book, and some have even been inspired to buy it because of some of the posts.  I urge anyone with even a passing interest, whether you like horror or not, to buy this book.  It is totally awesome and well worth the effort if you want to become a better writer.)

 

“It's the best book on writing I've ever read, in my opinion, and I've read a few. It's also the only one I've read at least five times”….F Lee Miller

“Yeah, I read it, and enjoyed it, a while back. At the time I remember he got a fair bit of flack out of it by talking about the guy who ran him over, but I don't think he says anything there that’s unreasonable considering the fucker ran him down.
I think there are possibly better books in terms of teaching you how to write (if any of those books can even be classified as 'good' anyway), but On Writing is by far the most entertaining one. It’s nice to come across a 'how to write' book by somebody you've actually heard of, as well.”…Paul Jeffries

“My mother in law gave it to me as a gift the day we met. I'm not a fan of King's novels by any stretch, but On Writing is one of the most practical and honest books on writing that I've ever read.  Even if you're not a writer, it's good reading. That man can tell a story.”…Blacksunshyn

“This book was a gift to me as well. I read the entire thing in days. It is amazing. It is like getting a lecture with a lot of great stories wrapped around it, told by that one really cool teacher you had in high school, who didn't treat you like some "dumb kid".  Definitely recommended reading!”…Sugardaddynevada

“This book was what gave me the idea to try and write something myself...I highly recommend it.”…TravisT

“Yeah I read this book at the start of the year and it really helped me. Just to read about his writing life as a kid was really helpful too, along with the tips about actual writing. Probably the most useful was the rule about writing the first draft and then rewriting over again etc. This helped me to actually start my novel and get the first draft finished, so it was pretty useful. While some of his stuff may be a bit opinionated, he's knows what he's doing.”…Roller

“The day I die I will have to have this book surgically removed from my person.
I have read the biography once and the "Tool box" section about twenty. It is a really good source for learning the basics in writing and it sits by my lap top like a bible on a bedside table.  I advise anyone who enjoys the craft (whether you like horror or not) to buy it.”…gutbucket

“Not a single negative comment on this book! On the strength of this thread I've ordered a copy for myself. BTW it's available in paperback here in Canada for $10.”…Walker

 

(Typos have been amended to respect the attention to detail I put into my site….lol)