On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft Author: Stephen King | Language: English | ISBN:
B000FC0SIM | Format: PDF
On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft Description
“Long live the King” hailed
Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s
On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring,
On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
- File Size: 5171 KB
- Print Length: 320 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0671024256
- Publisher: Scribner; 10 Anv edition (October 3, 2000)
- Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
- Language: English
- ASIN: B000FC0SIM
- Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,444 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #4
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Reference > Words, Language & Grammar - #9
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides - #9
in Books > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Fiction
- #4
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Reference > Words, Language & Grammar - #9
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides - #9
in Books > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Fiction
For the legions of Stephen King fans out there (which is to say a lot), the first third of the book containing his short memoir is truly a gift. One can't help wanting to read about his/her favorite writer after being transported to fantastic worlds countless times in Mr. King's prolific career. Some fans would have paid... gladly for the first 101 pages of the memoir ("C.V." he calls it), which includes heartfelt tidbits about his brother, mother and his long battles with alcohol and drug addiction.
The second part, "On Writing," is where the aspiring novelists will find inspiration. Assuming you're a serious writer (or wanting to be a published one), you'd no doubt would have read the countless manuals on the mechanics of writing. With Mr. King, you do get short lessons in the mechanics of prose here and there. What he mostly offers to the aspiring writer is the inspiration, the cheerleading, and as some have already suggested, after reading it makes you want to sit and write something. He actually allows you into his writing routine, when and where he writes, how many months it takes to write the first draft, and even how he goes about editing the second draft.
Some very original thoughts I found quite interesting:
1. Story is a fossil you find on the ground, and you gradually dig it out slowly.
2. He doesn't plot his stories. He puts "a group of characters in some sort of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free." In fact he even goes as far as to say, "plot is shift, and best kept under house arrest."
3. Write first draft with the "door" closed, and the second draft with it open.
There are truly gems here for writers, simple, direct, to the point. As always, he doesn't talk down to you.
The cover shows an inviting scene, a country house with a warm light glowing in the living room window, a set of double doors leading down to the cellar, the house lined with pink and white flowers. "Come on in," the picture seems to say. "I have a story to tell."
It generally takes Stephen King about three months to finish the first draft of a book. He began "On Writing" at the end of 1997, but put it aside a few months later, unsure how to finish it. Over a year later, in mid-1999, King decided to spend the summer "finishing the damn writing book."
The events of late-June, 1999 interfered with those plans. King spent three weeks in the hospital after he was struck by a van. In late July he decided it was time to start writing again, and it was "On Writing" that he chose for his return to work. The finished product, "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" will be released by Scribner in early October, 2000.
It was a discussion with Amy Tan while on tour with the Rock Bottom Remainders that inspired King to write this book. "No one ever asks about the language," Tan said in response to King's query about the sorts of questions that she doesn't get at author appearances. "Serious" authors get asked that but they don't ask the popular novelists who, he says "care about language in our humble way, and care passionately about the art and craft of telling stories on paper."
King opens with a lengthy memoir that "attempted to show some of the incidents and life-situations which made me into the sort of writer I turned out to be." He calls this section "C.V," as in "curriculum vitae," his list of accomplishments and job skills. Some of the story is familiar, though many of the details are new.
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