Books On Writing
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - First Part is Great, Second Part is So-So
The first part of the book is great. It's a free-wheeling largely chronological autobiography with some great insights. The end of that section seems a bit rushed -- like there was a deadline to meet. I wish it could have gone longer.

The second part is more for the experienced writer, not the general public. Although I do like reading about writing (some of Tolkien's stuff is eye opening) but this got dry really fast.

Overall, certainly worth trying out.

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Rating: - Instructional, beautiful, invaluable.
I've been away from writing for many years and thought I'd start with King's book to get me back into the swing of things. It worked. (I may not be writing to publish, but I am writing--and that's always the first hard step.)

King includes myriad practical tips and techniques for buckling down, staying focused, and pay attention to what's important. King's use of his own experiences as examples of what to do--and what not to do--make the work both personal and moving. His candor is refreshing and his delivery is effortless.

There are two (related) areas I wish he would have addressed in much more detail, since his focus is on the language of writing: cadence and word order.

Stephen, if you're out there, why is cadence so important, and what characteristics determine how it affects the reader?

And why does the title of my review ("Instructional, beautiful, invaluable") have a different effect than, say, "Beautiful, instructional, invaluable?" Is it just that we interpret order to be an indication of priority?

But beyond these two narrow areas, King's work is a one-of-a-kind treasure that I will return to time and time again for help and for moral support.

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Rating: - Another Side of Stephen King
In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Stephen King says that we must come to writing in almost any way but lightly. We may be angry or exhuberant or jealous or anguished. I repeat, as does he, we must come to the craft any way but lightly. This is a side of Stephen King I have neve seen before, and I like it. The book is a wonderful guide to the art, to the craft of writing. My book is new, but is already earmarked and looks worn with age, as all great books should. All true devotees to the craft of writing, all who know that the demands of writing are great, should own this book. It is a revelation.

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Rating: - Don't wait for the muse...show up every day
I don't even read Stephen King books. I don't like horror books as I have nightmares - but I know Stephen is a writing legend so this book was fantastic to read.

He writes in that "real person" way that makes you feel he is not some writing super-hero that just creates a bestseller out of nothing. He is to the point in his advice, but behind it is his story. How he and Tammy came from nothing, how his drug use crushed him, and how his accident changed the way he sees the world. He knows the power of story.

Some top pieces of advice from the book:

- Close your door and make a serious commitment to write. Don't wait for the muse to come. Show up every day and "sooner or later, he'll start showing up, chomping his cigar and making his magic"

- Write what you love to read. Don't write in a genre to make money.

- If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write.

- He writes by finding some characters and then putting them in a situation. They often surprise him by what happens.

- Write your first full draft with no input. Then let it rest for 6 weeks or so "like bread dough between kneadings". You will find it much easier to kill your darlings after a rest

- Revise for length. 2nd draft = 1st draft - 10%

- "Do you need someone to make you a paper badge with the word "Writer" on it before you can believe you are one? God, I hope not."

Great book!