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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

On Writing

On Writing On Writing by Stephen King

My review


rating: 4 of 5 stars
Stephen King's personality appeals so very much to me. I like his brash forthrightness, his meaty language, his emotional immediacy and wisdom about the human (particularly the American human) condition. But I sometimes can't take all the supernatural violence in his novels. So it was such a pleasure to dip into this book and read about King's rather hardscrabble but loving upbringing in industrial towns throughout new england, his philosophies on the writing process and his very sweetly-enduring love for his wife, Tabitha.

From his vignettes about being a young teenager and writing zombie stories that he sold to his classmates you really get such an incredible sense that this was his destiny.

It also helped remind me, in my secret life as an aspiring fiction writer, to really work on chopping out my adverbs and passive constructions in my work. And he stresses the importance of really prioritizing your work, having a good space to work in and treating yourself as though your writing matters, all of which are really crucial elements to success, both on a personal and professional level.

All in all, as good as it's cracked up to be!

View all my reviews.

Anyone have a rec for another good King novel to read? I'm tempted by Salem's Lot and Carrie.

1 comment:

  1. I agree! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book, and how useful I found it. I've only read a few of his "actual" books. They were page-turners, but they left me cold overall - and were mostly forgettable once finished.

    My favorite book on the subject of writing is Brenda Ueland's "If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit." Have you read it?

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