For many years, fans have asked Stephen King those obligatory questions that every writer gets. “Where do you get your ideas?” “Why do you write?” “How long does it take you to write a novel?”
After years of writing bestselling fiction, Stephen King finally offers fans the answers to those very questions as well as providing aspiring writers with a map to writing well crafted fiction in his autobiography/writing guide, . Though King has offered insight into the horror genre before with his non-fiction release, Danse Macabre, On Writing is truly the first time that King has allowed readers access into the world of his writing, as well as his personal history.
Part autobiography and part writer’s guide, King regales his readers with not only the story of how his writing came to be, but also of how he became a writer. Detailing both personal highs and lows, King gives fans and readers an inside look at the life of a bestselling author.
And it’s all here. The drugs. The bouts of depression. The missed deadlines. King recounts it all with as much fervor as he recounts the tale of an apocalyptic world gone mad with the Superflu as he did with The Stand. Yet, despite the lows, there’s no remorse in King’s voice as, like any good writer, he realizes that the conflict within one’s life sweetens the story and provides for a greater payoff.
King also pulls no punches when it comes to his own personal pet peeves within the realm of the written word. “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write,” he explains. You’ll quickly learn just how true to his word he is as he languishes praise on his own favorite writers.
There is no recipe for a magic potion within the covers of . There’s only no-nonsense, sharp and sobering words of wisdom and King is quick to dispel the myths associated with both writing and of being a bestselling novelist. Writers who are looking for the next step by step how-to book on writing will no doubt be disappointed. But those writers who have spent long hard hours in the trenches will no doubt appreciate King’s honesty and brevity.
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