# Stephen King's "On Writing"



## thedarknessrising (Mar 18, 2014)

Earlier this year for my English class, we had to read and annotate Stephen King's _On Writing_. It was a fantastic book.

While the first half told Stephen's story and why he started to write, the latter half was a guidebook on _how_ to write. This guidebook is the best writing source I own, and I always have it with me. 

If you're struggling to form a story, or you're stuck in your story, or you just want a good read, I recommend _On Writing_ by Stephen King.


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## Z Six Mystic (Mar 22, 2014)

I agree. Having just finished it, I was impressed with the author's frankness. The advice he gives comes across plainly but polished by so many years of experience. Some of it isn't what we want to hear but I thought it'd be best to take heed the superstar.

Recommended!


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## Steerpike (Mar 22, 2014)

Yes, it's a worthwhile book for anyone who wants to write for a living. King did a very nice job with it.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Mar 22, 2014)

It's one of the few books I've read more than once.


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## LadyKatina (Apr 23, 2014)

I love the way it's part memoir, and part instruction manual. Because writing is so threaded through the rest of a writer's life. Your stories inform _your story_, and vice versa, KWIM? Also love his toolbox metaphor. Helps me attack editing and revisions with the right mind frame. 

I also find that it pairs nicely with Steven Pressfield's _The War of Art_,  which is more about living as a writer than it is about writing, but _On Writing_ provides a nice case study of what happens to your writing when you let your life get discombobulated.

Aside from that, _Self-Editing for Fiction Writers_ is my must-have, take-it-on-a-desert-island writing guide. Which was co-written by Dave King, who I think is actually Stephen King's brother.


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## Chessie (Apr 23, 2014)

Yes, its a fantastic book! I appreciate how organic his writing process is. He's very down to Earth and inspiring.


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## Asura Levi (Apr 24, 2014)

I have the book on my kindle but haven't start reading yet. 
Talking about it, where the hell is my kindle..? (lol)

Will, mostly definitely, probably, well, very likely, read it.


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## Julian S Bartz (Apr 28, 2014)

Reading it at the moment and definitely enjoying it. He has a very refreshing way of giving advice. Blunt but not arrogant.


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## Mythopoet (Apr 28, 2014)

It's been a few years since I read it, but I remember it being a huge influence on my attitude. His story was compellingly told and it was reassuring to see how even a mega super star of fiction struggled for a long time to reach success. 

Two bits of his writing advice really stuck with me. The first was about the writer's toolbox and how a good writer fills his toolbox with every tool he can. Meaning that you should not eliminate any technique or element of writing fiction from your toolbox, not even adverbs. 

The second was about how necessary it is for a good writer to also be an avid reader. I really believe that. If you're not reading stories, you'll never learn how to write them well.


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## Kristene Collins (Jun 3, 2014)

So many people have mentioned this book to me recently. I'm going to have to pick up a copy. Not a big King fan, though I like a few of his books, but there seems to be a consensus that this book is a go-to for writing mechanics.


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## Penpilot (Jun 3, 2014)

Kristene Collins said:


> So many people have mentioned this book to me recently. I'm going to have to pick up a copy. Not a big King fan, though I like a few of his books, but there seems to be a consensus that this book is a go-to for writing mechanics.



If you're looking for writing book mechanics, this probably isn't the book for you. This book, for me at least, is more about the process, the mind set an author has to take to make it in the industry. The book is about King's personal struggles as a writer and how he persevered and the lessons he's learned along his journey from each failure and success.


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## Kristene Collins (Jun 3, 2014)

Penpilot said:


> If you're looking for writing book mechanics, this probably isn't the book for you. This book, for me at least, is more about the process, the mind set an author has to take to make it in the industry. The book is about King's personal struggles as a writer and how he persevered and the lessons he's learned along his journey from each failure and success.



Aha, good to know. Thanks for the clarification!


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## JamieMaltman (Jun 20, 2014)

*On Writing* was definitely a great spur for me in moving forward in my writing career. I'd always avoided reading King because the cover of *Pet Sematary* freaked me out as a kid, and *It* pushed me the rest of the way from merely disliking clowns to actively avoiding them. But after reading On Writing, I gained a lot of respect for him, and went on to love *The Stand*(super extended original author's cut version, no less), and am enjoying *The Dark Tower* series. 

It's not much for nuts and bolts, and he's anti-plotting in general, so I got more balance and helped find my groove by reading some plotting evangelists (like Larry Brooks' *Story Engineering*), just for the contrast.


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## robmatheny80 (Aug 21, 2014)

It's a good book, I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it.  It has lots of good information on the writing life.  It does bug me when SO many people ONLY recommend this book when they're asked about books on writing, like it's the most holy scripture of his holiness Stephen of house King. NAH! There's lots of other great books out there on how to write, especially for genre fiction.  This is a must on your shelf, but by no means the be all end all.


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## Incanus (Aug 21, 2014)

It was a good book.  I liked the nuts and bolts section far better than the opening half.  Plenty of good advice in here.

When I finished the book, however, I realized there was a significant problem with it.  While there was plenty of general, all-purpose advice within, I found that in the end, this book was mostly instructions for how to write a _Stephen King_ book.  That's OK, but its not what I'm trying to do.

I've read about maybe five or six of his books so far.  I'm not exactly a fan of his, but I do admire and respect him.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 21, 2014)

Incanus said:


> I found that in the end, this book was mostly instructions for how to write a Stephen King book.  That's OK, but its not what I'm trying to do.


Almost all (if not completely all) writing advice is this way. An author typically advises on what works for them. Why would it be any other way? 

They're only an expert on their own methods.


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## Incanus (Aug 21, 2014)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> Almost all (if not completely all) writing advice is this way. An author typically advises on what works for them. Why would it be any other way?
> 
> They're only an expert on their own methods.



True, but only to an extent.  I've read a good 20 books or so on writing, or its various aspects, and (to me) all of them were more general in this regard, in a more useful way.  We're definitely in the realm of 100% opinion here now though.

The bottom line is--anything that helps is good.


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## Trick (Aug 21, 2014)

I skipped the whole first half about his life except a few paragraphs. The useful half however really helped me focus. I still plot and always will because writing by the seat of my pants doesn't work for me, my mind is too easily distracted without a general blueprint. I definitely change ideas as I go along and that has been affected by On Writing. I took more away from his ideas on style than anything else but only because I felt like it worked for me in particular. I know that reading it has made me a better writer but I have not been re-created in SK's image.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 21, 2014)

Incanus said:


> True, but only to an extent.  I've read a good 20 books or so on writing, or its various aspects, and (to me) all of them were more general in this regard, in a more useful way.  We're definitely in the realm of 100% opinion here now though.
> 
> The bottom line is--anything that helps is good.


Yes, there are generalized books on craft that approach writing from different perspectives. I was referring mainly to "How to Write" books by famous authors.

Same holds true for lists of rules by <insert name of famous writer>. It's just their way, their methods.


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## Asinya (Aug 23, 2014)

Not really providing anything new here, but yes, this is the book to get. 

For myself, mainly because it was so incredibly inspiring, but the Main thing for me was actually that it made me take a look at my writing and go "You know, this is my art - this is serious, it should be treated seriously and respected, as well as nurtured and honed and supported" 

Before that, it just felt like something I did because I suck at everything else and maybe I won't suck at this. 

I could also add that I'm not a Stephen King fan, but that's beside the point. This book, I love.


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## Chilari (Sep 1, 2014)

Trick said:


> I skipped the whole first half about his life except a few paragraphs. The useful half however ...



Don't write off the first half as not being useful just because it's a memoir rather than a manual. It's worth reading, not least because it's well written. It acts as a reminder that this journey to become a great writer starts slowly, that you can't expect to break into the big leagues without a lot of hard work. But there are also little snippets, little things he says about life in general or writing, that get you thinking (or at least, got me thinking) - almost off-hand comments which, if you let them, can help change the attitude you have when writing.


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## thedarknessrising (Sep 2, 2014)

Chilari said:


> Don't write off the first half as not being useful just because it's a memoir rather than a manual. It's worth reading, not least because it's well written. It acts as a reminder that this journey to become a great writer starts slowly, that you can't expect to break into the big leagues without a lot of hard work. But there are also little snippets, little things he says about life in general or writing, that get you thinking (or at least, got me thinking) - almost off-hand comments which, if you let them, can help change the attitude you have when writing.



Yeah the first half was of more use to me than the actual writing guide. Though I'm not trying to discredit the information he provides in the guide. It's still important. However, I find that a writer's life can tell more about their writing than the actual writing, and I take advice from life stories and experiences. In my opinion, Stephen King is one of the greatest writers ever, and his experiences and stories helped me understand that writing is never about the act of writing. It's about discovering something about yourself and being someone other than who you are. We spend a lot of time doing this. For some of us, it's merely a hobby. For others, it's much more than that. It's a way of life and a means of escape. That's what memoir part taught me. And if you ask me, that's the most important lesson I took away from that book.


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## writeshiek33 (Jan 31, 2015)

from what i read he cuts the the bull from other stuff out there


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## Delwyn (Jan 31, 2015)

I loved it so much I bought the audiobook version - he narrates - awesome!


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