On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft - Stephen King - 2000

 

Decent. I saw this on my tour of Barnes and Noble with Scott. 

I actually enjoyed the autobiographical parts of this book much more than the writing tips section. I learned that if you want to be a good writer you have to read all the time and you have to write all the time. I mean like all the time. I mean like King says he takes a book with him wherever he goes. He also writes for like 3 hours every morning and says to write at least 1000 words a day. When he got writer’s block he would go on long walks. He also says to write your first draft super fast then lock it away for 6 weeks and then take it out and get a pen and paper and edit it. He also says that sometimes you just have to keep writing even if the words are not coming to you that easily. I guess I thought writers would like write a bit, then rest a bit, but it almost sounds like a consistent 9 to 5 job the way he describes it. Like either he is reading or writing or both or he is jammed and is taking a long walk to figure out how to fix the plot. King is clearly a genius and notes that there is no real secret to writing. As far as I can tell random ideas pop into his head and he writes all the time and reads all the time so when he has a good idea he can turn it into a bestseller. The ideas come from his own life sometimes and sometimes he just thinks of them. He grew up in a lower middle class family. He never knew his dad. 

Anyways this is pretty good. If you are an aspiring writer I am not sure how much it will help you, but there are some tips. Mostly it was cool to read about his life. Apparently his best novel is called “The Stand.” It is super long, but maybe I can try to read it. He is from Maine. I am not sure what I am reading next. Peace!