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Not a fan of horror, so have read only one other book by Stephen King, although keep him on my future to-read list given his reputation as a very good writer. Also am not drawn to memoirs. Books on writing can be textbook dry reference volumes. Despite all these strikes against it given my personal preferences, I'm glad I finally started reading "On Writing." Enjoying the read, even made me smile and laugh out loud a few times.
Jorge Luis Borges best sums up this book: "A writer - and, I believe, ...more
Jorge Luis Borges best sums up this book: "A writer - and, I believe, ...more
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 m ...more
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 m ...more
4.5 stars. Really enjoyed this. Thanks for the advice, Steve! Terrific stuff. Could have done without medical details of his accident, or it would've had a 5 from me.
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This might be my favourite book on writing (I liked Annie Dillard's too) and I have never read a Stephen King novel.
First part of the book is autobiographical and that is very interesting and then in the second part SK explains how he writes. I like teachers who have very clear opinions. Hear SK: "...and one of the cardinal rules of good fiction is never tell us a thing if you can show us, instead" and "Nor do I think that physical description should be a shortcut to character. So spare me, if y ...more
First part of the book is autobiographical and that is very interesting and then in the second part SK explains how he writes. I like teachers who have very clear opinions. Hear SK: "...and one of the cardinal rules of good fiction is never tell us a thing if you can show us, instead" and "Nor do I think that physical description should be a shortcut to character. So spare me, if y ...more
I finished this quite a while ago. First of all, I couldn't read SK for years because I have, apparently :D, a very vivd imagination and had a hard time not imagining slathery creatures under every rock or house trailer and lost sleep for months after reading Salem's Lot.
So, I was wary. But, I knew he was a good writer. I took a chance on the JFK book and had a roaring good time. Thank you SK. His writing book is so very practical. He has a wonderfully distinct voice in the literary world. I do, ...more
So, I was wary. But, I knew he was a good writer. I took a chance on the JFK book and had a roaring good time. Thank you SK. His writing book is so very practical. He has a wonderfully distinct voice in the literary world. I do, ...more
I enjoyed this book, mostly for the background on his life and his books. I especially liked the story of how Carrie came to be and how it changed his life.
One of the best writing books ever1
Apr 08, 2010
Dawn
marked it as to-read
Aug 30, 2011
Curlysue
marked it as to-read
Aug 08, 2014
Tanayia
marked it as to-read
Nov 12, 2014
silly_soup
marked it as to-read
Feb 19, 2017
Joy
marked it as to-read
Nov 22, 2017
Dee
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2018
T.ScottReviews
marked it as 1to-read-non-fic
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review of another edition
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Nov 10, 2019
Jonathan
marked it as to-read
Dec 02, 2020
Christine
marked it as to-read
