A review by mythriser14
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

slow-paced

1.25

I was disappointed and disgusted in this book on several levels. I made sure to read the hole thing so I wouldn’t leave a half baked review on first impressions. But it sucked and I’ll try to explain why: 
  1. We spend the first third of the book in Random life stories and a strange biography I couldn’t really figure out the point of. Yes, I know it’s a memoir, but if he wants to write a memoir write a memoir, if he wants to write a how-to book, do that, but I really wasn’t a fan of reading about him throwing up scrambled eggs into his mothers shoes and turning around and talking about how you may only become “merely competent.” If you have a memoir as part of a book on writing, shouldn’t it be about writing? 
  2. When you get to the actual writing advice, it’s redundant and reminiscent of anything you might have found googling the topic. He adds nothing new except a level of crudity he passes off as humor and the entire rest of the book could have been very well left at these two lines: “good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style).“ and  “it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one.” So basically, go to elementary school and if you linger on the unlucky side of writing skills, you are doomed to be no more than merely competent. Thanks for that, Stevie. That makes all aspiring writers with imposter syndrome feel truly awesome. 
  3. The aforementioned crudeness and poor language literally gave a poor excuse of it being a part of the world and mocks those who don’t like it as being “legions of decency.” Just because it’s a thing that has become so common doesn’t mean I want it to be shoved in my face every other word either. I don’t appreciate being called “cowardly and dishonest” if I chose to write without it or dislike it in his writing. 
  4. The most interesting part of the book was the section on his car accident, but I still have to wonder about the point of it. 

My advice? If you’re looking for a good book on how to write better, go read Ally Carter’s “Dear Ally, how do you write a book” and ignore her prompting to read this one. 
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