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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This has to be one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time! Instead of just drilling things into your head, he actually teaches you his process and does so in memorable ways with stories from his life that stick in your mind long after! I absolutely recommend this!
Insightful guide to one writer's process. Very interesting anecdotes of King's personal life and childhood. Great for anyone interested in creative writing, not for its tips but for its story.
I highlighted so much of this book. So inspiring. I truly loved it. Every writer should read this.
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Hmm. It's not getting 5 stars, as I would consider it more memoir than craft. It is a great book overall, though. The tone he writes in is quite personable and funny; it makes me want to read his works, something I never thought I'd be interested in. King is a proponent of "write a lot, read a lot," which is similar to other well-established authors (I'm thinking Le Guin here especially). If I were to summarize King's advice it'd be something like: the "closed door" policy for the first draft, discovery writing vis a vie "uncovering a fossil," and figuring out, then writing for, your Ideal Reader. There are some agency-advice bits which I'm ignoring b/c it isn't relevant etc.
Oh, my final thought was that I think Brandon Sanderson misrepresented King in his 2025 lecture series. Sure, King is a discovery writer but leaving it at "if King outlines his story, he feels as if he's written it already," I feel, does King a disservice. Maybe there's a point to make about "discoverers" vs. "outliers"-- a dubious confusion as to how the hell the other one is able to write anything at all.
Oh, my final thought was that I think Brandon Sanderson misrepresented King in his 2025 lecture series. Sure, King is a discovery writer but leaving it at "if King outlines his story, he feels as if he's written it already," I feel, does King a disservice. Maybe there's a point to make about "discoverers" vs. "outliers"-- a dubious confusion as to how the hell the other one is able to write anything at all.
If only every successful fiction writer would publish a book of their life around writing (and most of the best of them have I suppose), then we’d all be a lot better at focusing and getting some words down. They would all give us the same disclaimer though - that it really does all come down to the individual in terms of desire and capacity for reading and writing in general etc.
I enjoyed everything that Stephen King had to say about his tendencies toward descriptive writing, dialogue, drafting (door shut, door open - great concept), grammar, symbolism, and theme, to name a few.
Even though the book can seem a bit disjointed in its flow, I found each part of the book enjoyable (the actual memoir, the ‘toolbox’ of mandatory writers skills, and the tips for writing) and that any bad review here is pretty harsh - he does explain that he had the first draft in a drawer for months and was brutally run down by a van and had to figure out whether or not he could write again. So he done not bad.
I enjoyed everything that Stephen King had to say about his tendencies toward descriptive writing, dialogue, drafting (door shut, door open - great concept), grammar, symbolism, and theme, to name a few.
Even though the book can seem a bit disjointed in its flow, I found each part of the book enjoyable (the actual memoir, the ‘toolbox’ of mandatory writers skills, and the tips for writing) and that any bad review here is pretty harsh - he does explain that he had the first draft in a drawer for months and was brutally run down by a van and had to figure out whether or not he could write again. So he done not bad.