On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

When you're a national bestselling writer, I suppose it's only a matter of time before you have to sit down and share with your fans how exactly you got to where you are, and the steps you took to make that happen.  Even if it's all predicated on bullshit, at least it's something to get people off your back for awhile.

By now we all are aware that I am a huge follower of Stephen King, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that I have made my way through yet another one of his books.  I promise to branch out on my next literary adventure, but please just stick with me through this latest review of King's non-fiction book, "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft."  I have been wanting to read this book for years, so when I came across the title in Brused Books a couple weeks ago I didn't hesitate for a second before pulling it off the shelf.

The first half of the book describes King's childhood, his early dabbles in writing stories, and his struggle in the early years to get published.  The first 100 pages or so of this book I absolutely devoured.  I felt like I was being given backstage access to one of the greatest shows in the world and could finally see how everything came together.  We all wonder certain things about people we admire.  How did get to where they're at?  Were they always so talented?  What were they like when they were younger?  King's mini-biography is something I'm sure a lot of his readers had been waiting for for decades, and he finally delivered.  What makes it even more fantastic is that it's the author telling the story, not a ghost writer.  This makes the whole experience that much more authentic.

The second part of the book King delves into the nuts and bolts of writing.  How to use language, how important grammar is to a writer, how to pace your story, and so on and so forth.  Creative writing classes all over the country discuss these things day in and day out, concluding with one concrete rule that King echoes in this book time and time again.  The only way you will become a good writer is by writing.  You can read all the books you want on how to write, attend as many workshops as possible to have your work critiqued (a process which, surprisingly to me, King doesn't think is as useful as many people think), but in the end you have to make the concious effort to write.  Every day (at least in the beginning), with as little self-critiquing and deleting as possible.  King also talks about the writing process, and the importance of getting through a first draft alone in a closed off room, not sharing your story with  the world until it's time to start revising.  I like this rule, and it's one I'm now going to start incorporating.  King states that by sharing your story with people before you're even through a first draft opens your writing up to questions and critiques before the story has had a chance to work itself out.  You need to let the story come from you, at least to start with, before you bring in outside opinions and suggestions.

In the last part of this book, King discusses an accident he suffered in 1999, when he was struck by a car and nearly killed.  "On Writing" was published in 2000, while King was still in recovery from the accident.  He finished the last part of the book when he was finally released from the hospital and going through the never-ending ordeal of physical therapy.  I remember when this accident occurred, but never really knew the extent of King's injuries, or how difficult it was for him to start writing again after it all happened.  This was a really touching narrative of his experience, which I'm sure plenty of people have asked and wondered about.

I think this book has done a couple things for me.  For starters, it has shown me that there really isn't a trick or magic formula to good writing.  It's all about the basics, and good old fashioned practice.  The struggles that King recounts from his early years just goes to show that everyone has to start somewhere.  I guess if you're willing to do the work and put in the time, you hopefully will get to experience a payoff.  I say hopefully because writing is not a guarantee in any way shape or form, but possibility exists in every completed draft, which in itself is pretty exciting.  Secondly, I was encouraged by the fact that the ideas for King's books all stemmed from a basic "What if?" question.  Nothing more, nothing less.  What this means to me is that when you sit down to write, you don't have to have the entire story planned out and every detail of the plot solidified.  This often holds me back in my own writing, but what I got from King is that over-thinking and over-planning can unintentionally smother what could potentially be a great story.  In other words, loosen up a bit and let the chips fall where they may.

Since this review is now almost as long as the book itself, I'll close by saying if you like to write, read this book.  If you like Stephen King, read this book.  If you just like to read in general, read this book.