vinay87 Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 (edited) The first Stephen King book that I managed to finish/reread a dozen times is On Writing. For those not in the know, the book is mostly autobiographical, a short account of King's life that almost entirely focusses on his writing and how various things in his life helped him write as he does. It journals how he struggled and certainly holds fans and newcomers (me!) alike in rapture as it accounts the way he nailed rejection notes onto a wall with a fat nail. The latter half of the book is semi-advisory for all of us who wish to write. Whether or not you wish to write, this part is a must for any reader of fiction or a reader of anything that should be in print. Solid, stern advice from the King himself to show that writing can seem to be both simple and utterly chaotic at once. He quotes his idols, and those he deems utterly worthless. He's even given us an excerpt from 1408 and shows us how he edits books by hand. Whether you have ever wondered how "those writers write their stories" or whether you, as a writer, are down and would like anecdotes such as "James Joyce wrote just 7 words once day, which was good for him, but he didn't know in which order they went", this book is a must for you. I had never been able to get past 10 pages of any other King book for some reason until I found, and finished, On Writing. Most certainly deserves 10/10. Edited January 26, 2010 by vinay87 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Hmm, I have this on Mount TBR. Maybe I'll bump it up towards the top. Cheers, fella! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren2k Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Sounds interesting...gonna try to get hold of this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anika Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Yes, this one is really good! I read it mainly for the info about King himself, but since I also read lots of 'writing' books I found it was full of practical advise and very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lyndalouise Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I agree completely - thank you for this briliant account - I have always been a massive King fan and found it really interesting to lear a little more about the man himself. What a star! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilona Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I have heard a lot of good words on this book, and have been meaning to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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