“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the 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.
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Violence - 1/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 3/5
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Summary
Reviewer Name : Jonathan Nicholas An interesting read. Stephen's early recollections of being locked in a cupboard by a phsychotic nanny explains a lot! His suggestion that aspiring writers should get rid of their television is of course great advice. Interesting to see some of his writing got him into trouble in his early days because the same thing happened to me. Great to read about his 'door open' and 'door closed' writing and just how a phenomenally successful writer produces so many bestsellers. I found this an interesting comment on page 78: ' I looked around the locker room with the interest of a Muslim youth who for some reason finds himself deep within the women's quarters'. The description of his battle with alcohol was refreshingly honest and surprising. He barely remembers writing 'Cujo', apparently. 'At the worst of it I no longer wanted to drink and no longer wanted to be sober, either. I felt evicted from life.' 'On Writing' is full of things he tells us not to do, but like many famous writers he can break the rules. The main tips I took from the book are brevity and honesty. Both are required for good writing. Instead of 'The meeting will be held at seven o'clock' it should be ' the meeting's at seven'. He likes the idea of writing about what you know and using similes. He doesn't really rate writing classes or seminars, and he says taking a step back from your manuscript for six weeks can give you a fresh look when you go back to it. Lots of other tips and observations all through the book. Because the book was written in 2000 it is now quite dated; the publishing world has changed radically since then with the advent of the ebook and the boom in self¬publishing. Competition is probably far more fierce nowadays. On average a successful author in the UK can only expect to earn £11 ,000 p.a. from writing, and big advances of $400k are extremely rare. But then we don't do it purely for money do we? It's a good job we don't! Jonathan Nicholas author of 'Who'd be a copper?'