On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
On Writing: A Memoir
of the Craft by Stephen King
There
was a time in my life when, even though I was a huge Stephen King fan, I was
not at all interesting in reading this memoir about writing. I was in high
school when this book came out and I remember seeing it at the bookstore, being
intrigued, flipping through the pages, and then putting it right back on the
shelf. I didn’t want a memoir. I wanted horror. I wanted something that would
give me chills up and down my spine or nightmares. I was young and I can see
now that I simply didn’t appreciate King or his writing. Now, after 2013 and
the adventure that was reading all of his novels in their order of publication,
I fully appreciate him and the universe he has created. I consider him to be a
master storyteller that encompasses much more than the horror genre and I am
ashamed of the child I was and how easily I dismissed this amazing memoir. I
mean seriously it’s a book about Stephen King and how he writes! What was I
thinking?
In
retrospect everything happens for a reason. I was ready for On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft now
and can share with you my thoughts. King decided in his memoir to give you a
brief history about himself and how he developed his style and became a
successful writer. He talks about his upbringing, his relationship with his
mother and brother. He candidly talks about his wife and their relationship, including
their struggles early on. King also talks about his addiction to drugs and
alcohol and how said addiction affected his writing and his family. Cujo,
a novel I enjoyed but found to be one of his most desperate and haunting, King
barely remembers writing because of his addictions. Reading his candid
reflections on life proves that he is human, has faults and has had to overcome
obstacles to succeed. He shares all of this to be encouraging. It works.
The
rest of the memoir focuses on how he writes and what works for him. It may not
work for everyone, which he repeats throughout this section, but it works
pretty well for him. And he is pretty damn successful! I’m not in the middle of
writing a novel but if I were (or when I do try) this is definitely the book I
am going to read before I set forth to conquer the literary world. Why? Because
everything he says is practical and makes sense! “If you want to be a writer,
you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no
way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” That is just one
essential lesson that he reiterates throughout and it makes sense. King talks
about everything from his creative process, his character development, grammar,
vocabulary and even getting a literary agent. He wrote a crash course on
writing filled with sensible tidbits that you may need if you want to be a
writer.
In
conclusion, if you like Stephen King read this book. If you want to be a writer
read this book. If you like to read, then read this book. I loved it. It’s full
of humor, honesty and it makes you think and consider what it takes to be a
writer. I thoroughly enjoyed it and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
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