On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Uno de los mejores (si no el mejor) libro que he leído este año.

“Mientras escribo” grita a los cuatro vientos el amor de su autor por el oficio de escribir. Lo tiene todo, una pequeña autobiografía, reglas y recomendaciones para aquellos que se inician en el mundo de la narrativa, una explicación de su proceso creativo, su método de trabajo y numerosas anécdotas o más bien ejemplos sobre cómo obtiene las ideas o situaciones que luego se transforman en sus obras.

Absolutamente imprescindible para dos colectivos en particular: los lectores incondicionales de Stephen King, y todos aquellos que aman escribir y anhelan convertirse algún día en escritores, si no de éxito, al menos con oficio (que no es ninguna tontería).

A phenomenal book by Stephen King.
It totally tells us about his life and how he writes his stories and how we can write our own stories.
The book is or can be used as a constant guide for writing.
Stephen king gives us permission to write and thats the most important thing if you were looking for it.
And don't forget to read a lot and write a lot.

King's love of his profession really comes through in this entertaining and helpful book.

I appreciated being encouraged, and given permission, to write by Stephen King.

Simply delightful.

As someone who has only read one of King's books (the one on JFK's assassination) and is currently not aspiring to be a fiction author, I don't think I was the target reader for this book.

Some of the writing tips from King:

* Read a lot (King reads 70 - 80 books a year) especially in the genre that you want to write in
* Write a lot. King was submitting short stories from a young age.

Note that for both of the above points, the author doesn't consider them to be “chores” but finds them genuinely enjoyable (i.e. don't become a fiction author if you don't love every minute of it).

* Have a set schedule - King spends each morning writing until he is finished
* Write in a room with the door. The room should be free of distractions, and you shouldn't leave the room until you've reached your goal e.g. 1000 words.
* The second draft should be 10% shorter than the first draft.
* Have an “ideal reader” in mind when writing. King uses his wife.
* Steer clear of adverbs and try and use mainly “he said, she said” in dialogue. The context should be what's getting your point across and thus making the additional adverbs/ different verbs redundant.
* Use active voice, not a passive voice, because it sounds better.

Ok So this book was a complete surprise to me. I read this with the #KeeperofKing group on Instagram. When it was announced that this would be Novembers pick I initially was going to skip this book but in the end I decided to read it along with everybody and I am so glad I did. I was expecting this to be like I was back in English class and while it is that to an extent King does such a good job of narrating his book and making it fun. The first part of the book is mostly about his life growing up and the last part is about the writing and his life. I personally don't want to be a writer so the parts on writing weren't helpful to me but King made it fun to listen to. I would have loved more about his life. Also I did actually learn some stuff about King while reading this. I definitely recommend this book even if like me you don't want to be a writer.

Ca “manual de scris”, nu pot spune că am învățat mare lucru, în afară de câteva generalități pe care le știam și sunt cumva logice, de câteva aspecte relevante pt piața americană de carte dar nu și pe aici și câteva idei concrete pe care le aplicam deja (în afară de “scrie obligatoriu zilnic”, mai greu aplicabil). De noutate am extras doar 2 idei, pe care o să le aplic cert la următorul meu roman (eu le-as rezuma drept “situația înaintea intrigii” și “scrie înspre viitor”). Pentru învățat meserie de scriitor, cam de 2/5 maxim. Este incomparabil mai utilă “Hero's Journey”, pe care o recomand, așa cum și mie mi-a fost recomandată de Marian Coman și mi-a schimbat perspectiva asupra romanelor (din păcate după ce deja scrisesem 2, unul si publicat - tot din păcate).
Atunci de ce 5 stele? Pentru că este un excelent roman de cel mai bun nivel SK, plin de surprize, pasiuni, greutăți, suspans, umor, amărăciune, întâmplări fascinante și memorabile, scene si situații unice dar arhetipale, ca și cu personaje la fel de vii ca intotdeaua la el: SK însuși și familia sa. În rezumat, cartea e cam 40% despre scris (fără niște reguli clar exprimate, fiecare trebuie să și le extragă) util mai degrabă scriitorilor pur începători, dar si 60% o autobiografie excelentă și fascinantă de citit. Din care, cum îmi spunea soția când îi povesteam entuziast din carte (nu fac asta cu toate cărțile, cu atat mai puțin la “manuale”), ar ieși un film excelent. Și chiar așa e - stă aici ascuns un film captivant, care sper că va exista cândva.

This is to date the most enjoyable book on writing I've read! I feel there is a lot of teaching through story in this book.

He keeps everything brief and direct. You learn about him as a man and as a writer. You see the evolution of his craft which is unique and enlightening.

I'd recommend to any writer, even if we have cell phones and ebooks now there is timeless wisdom inside these pages.

Let me preface this by saying that this is my 200th book marked as read. I wanted it to be a special one, and what can be more special that a look into the mind of the writer that has inspired me, sometimes frustrated me, and in whose works I've found an odd comfort in times of distress?

On Writing is honest, accessible and all around a great read! I knew a lot about King's life going into this but still I found myself moved by both old and new (to me) details, and the way he shared them in the way he knows how to. As for the tips, I can only hope to be able to put them into practice. I certainly feel motivated to do so after reading this book!

Many writers seem to love this book. I enjoyed it and I'm glad to have read it, but I don't know that I learned a whole lot from it. (Having said that, it did encourage me to get more disciplined about my writing day; we'll see how that goes.) I definitely liked the CV section, which is mostly memoir. The On Writing section repeats a lot of the same writing advice you're likely to see elsewhere. And it's a small thing, but there are many places where King uses “which” where he really should use “that.” For someone who is doling out writing advice, that seemed like an odd thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if no one in the world cared but me.

Je ne suis pas un grand lecteur des romans de Stephen King. J'en ai lus une petite dizaine quand j'étais plus jeune, puis j'ai fini par le lasser. Je ne remets pas du tout en cause la qualité de ses romans, mais le lecteur que j'étais et que je suis toujours avait alors besoin de se nourrir avec d'autres auteurs, d'autres récits.

Pourtant, je me suis décidé à lire ce livre de Stephen King, qui est souvent cité parmi les références quasi-indispensables quand on recherche des livres sur l'écriture.

J'ai été surpris par le premier tiers du livre, un peu étrange, où Stephen King nous raconte des épisodes de sa vie, de l'enfance à l'âge adulte. Une suite d'anecdotes certes sympathiques mais pas toujours passionnantes, et surtout éloignées de ce que j'attendais de ce livre.

La suite est heureusement bien meilleure, et l'auteur s'intéresse alors au coeur du sujet : son métier d'écrivain, sa façon d'écrire, ses conseils aux auteurs débutants ou plus expérimentés. J'ai trouvé cela très intéressant et riche en conseils que l'on peut retenir ou pas pour sa pratique personnelle. C'est en tout cas passionnant de découvrir la façon de travailler d'un auteur aussi populaire que Stephen King, avec ses dizaines de best-sellers.

The 5 other books I've read about How to Write have all been far more productive reads than this - https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3358627?shelf=writing&sort=rating

Half the book is a memoir, admittedly related to Stephen King's writing history from an early age. For fans of the author's work, this book might be a lot of fun. For others looking for writing advice, pretty much any other book will be more useful.

The amount of actually writing advice in this book can be bullet-pointed on less than a page. King admits that most of the advice is borrowed from The Elements of Style. King is also a pantser; he “distrusts plot”. Most of lessons are straightforward advice you've either heard before or will easily find when you read a real book on How to Write, e.g., “express the truth”.

King repeatedly mentions “You don't need writing classes or seminars any more than you need this or any other book on writing”. So why would he write this book? King takes 6-week breaks after finishing each 1st draft. On Writing easily could have been written during one of these breaks, as simply a way to let his mind rest and distance itself from the main project.

On Writing is personal piece King wanted to write, but ultimately will not benefit any readers looking to improve their craft. This is not the book you're looking for.

On writing by Stephen King – Narrated by Stephen King

5 stars out of 5

On writing is part memoir, part writing advice non-fiction book, a must read book for anyone who wants to know the creative routine and idea process of a writer. I listened to the audio book, narrated by the man himself and it was fascinating.

I prefer not to give away too many of the books ideas, however, if you are creative in any way you will most likely find the ideas within this book useful to your creative process. If you are interested in learning the amount of work that goes into creating a novel, you will also find this a mind opening read. As previously mentioned this is also part memoir, you find out how Stephen King began writing (at a very young age) and how that continued into high school then adulthood. A must for Stephen King fans, but also, I believe a must for anyone interested in the creative process involving novels and the application beyond.

Great book. It's a autobiography/tools for writing book. Its easy to read and doesn't lecture you on what you should do to be a writer other than write.

After hearing so many people rave about this book, I foolishly assumed it would be impressive in some way. It wasn't. I mostly skimmed the second half because it seemed like such a waste of my time; another reviewer mentioned this is for people who want to write like Stephen King and I have no desire to suffer that fate.

Second time reading this. The “advice” is gold.

Reread this and found it much more enjoyable the second time around.

So, I read half of this 2010, and the rest of it today. :-D Sometimes it takes a long time to finish a book.

I love Stephen King. I like his writing. This book, even though it's more or less a book about writing, it's also biographical, so you might enjoy it even if you weren't after advice on writing.

3,5/5

Stephen King is often referred to as a master of his craft and On Writing only serves to reinforce that fact. His lifelong dedication to the art of writing is what radiates past all the anecdotes and advice that are so graciously imparted in this text; that and his deep love for his family, which really made me smile.

Whilst SK's humour often peeks through in his fiction, it took this autobiographical work for me to fully appreciate just how funny he is. I was absolutely howling at points, and moved to tears at others. A rollercoaster of a book, and exactly what a book that teaches you about writing should be like, IMHO, reinforcing the point that there is no magic formula to help you write a good book, and there's no secret idea bank that successful authors have access to and you don't. Good writing is a product of hard work, patience, and practice.

Una gran obra, más para los que nos gusta Stephen King que para quienes empiezan en el oficio de escribir.

Me ha chocado solo un poquito que King defienda descaradamente su falta de esfuerzo en -por lo general- los finales de sus libros, (su ya conocido punto débil) y también me he quedado con ganas de saber cómo se creó It.

Por lo demás una muy entretenida biografía y una clase magistral de escritura. ¡A poner en práctica!

Precise rating: 2.5 ⭐

Part memoir, part writing advice, part storytelling about recovery from being hit by a van (!) A great read, and I loved how down to earth he is. I was pleasantly surprised by his view that stories sort of tell themselves - you're discovering them as you go and sharing them with the world. Reminded me a little of the ideas in Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic. His writing advice was more general/applicable to fiction for obvious reasons. If you want specific pointers pick up the Elements of Style.

For the record, I've never read, nor do I intend to read any of his books. Not my thing. But the man is a household name for a reason and I enjoyed reading about how he got to where he is. It's in the same vein as Scott Adam's How to Fail book - an average guy who works really hard to get really awesome at what he does and finds success. If you hear enough stories like this you'll begin to understand what is meant when people say “you make your own luck.”

I haven't read too much of King's work, but I know enough about him to find him interesting, and I've always wanted to write something and have never really pushed myself to try, so I figured this would be a fun read.

It's a great mix of autobiography and advice on how to write. Because of how prolific and successful he is, King has so many examples and stories at his disposal using works that most anyone is familiar with to showcase what he had learned while writing and how the aspiring writer can learn from it too. Even without the Writing Guide trappings, I think he tells some excellent stories here, and that extra layer just makes it all the more engaging.

I listened to this via Audiobook from the library, which King himself narrates. He can be a bit monotone, but it definitely adds some weight to the whole thing, especially in the more personal moments. His story of his wife tearing up after he told her that Carrie had been successfully sold four a large sum of money really got me.

When I started this book, I thought it would be more of a “memoir of the craft”, but was surprised to see it's much more of a memoir of King himself. His own rise an author from nothing to one of the biggest names in writing.

I loved the individual stories of hard work, coupled with a mission to just write. From selling short stories to other kids while in school, to submitting to magazines, Kind wrote and wrote and hustled. It would have been easy for him to give up, but he had so much he wanted to say that he couldn't not write.