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I read this great book about 8 months ago and was wondering if anyone else has read anything really good on writing books and what their thoughts and such are on them.
King's book is a combination a condensed life story and where he got his motivation from. Along with a second part on writing tips and such. I thought of course by far his best advice is to simply go out and write and write regularly. You can't get good at writing by reading about getting good about writing and the other thing was readings lots of material and just the massive amount he has read in the past few years. He finds time by taking up extra minutes like if he goes to a movie he brings a book and reads till the movie starts or while in waiting rooms.
Overall a very inspirational read and good ideas presented. On another note he started this book shortly before his accident and finished it afterwards so you get a big insight into his experiences with that and his difficultly getting back to writing after his near death accident.
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I've read several books on writing, and ON WRITING is one of my favorite books on the subject. Another book I've found super-helpful is John Gardner's THE ART OF FICTION. King is a commercial author and Gardner is a literary author, and it's surprising how much they agree on the basics and how much they disagree about developing as a writer. Both have their quirks, but they balance one another out.
For example, both agree that the only way to learn how to write is by reading a lot and writing a lot. But they disagree with how a writer should develop his or her vocabulary. King says don't consciously try to improve your vocabulary; Gardner exhorts beginning writers to read the dictionary (actually, Gardner stole this from Hemingway). Now what's interesting is that I have to look more words in the dictionary reading King than Gardner (and Hemingway!). Go figure?
[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited May 26, 2003).]
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I would recommend another Stephen King book, Danse Macabre. While it is mainly a history of horror and related literature, King also talks some about the process of writing (there is, especially, an interesting passage in which he talks about writing The Stand). It is not as directly about writing as On Writing is, but I learned a lot about writing when I read it.
Posts: 50 | Registered: Feb 2003
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After I posted about On Writing, I went to bed and realized before I went to sleep that I had neglected to mention a great book that also has lots of lessons for the writer. It is Journal of a Novel, John Steinbeck's journal from the time he was writing East of Eden. This journal was a sort of warm-up for each day's writing, cast in the form of letters to his friend and editor. He would write the journal on the left-hand side of the notebook he used for the actual writing (in longhand, in pencil) of the novel.
I found this book quite by accident while browsing the library shelves one day, and found it to be a great description of Steinbeck's process for writing. I learned a lot about writing by reading it.
Apparently, Steinbeck's journal while he was writing The Grapes of Wrath has also been published; I haven't read it, but I imagine it would also be full of lessons on writing.
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I’ve noticed that I’ve internalized many of the tips that Stephen gives in On Writing, either because I’ve read them many times in other places or because they coincide with my own (limited) experience. So I would say it is a good book on writing.
I second Gardener’ The Art of Fiction. I especially recall his advice for beginners to rework their stories a number of times to learn the craft. This has helped me immensely with my stories, which I rewrite in some degree at least three times before sending them out. It’s always amazing how much junk you find when you reread a story.
I would also recommend Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing. The title essay gives the most compelling argument for writing something every day that I’ve ever found. Bradbury’s emphasis on what affects you emotionally is also worth learning, since touching the reader emotionally is perhaps the best way to create saleable stories.
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