Book Review

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.

[I remember my sister, Lisa, reading this book and recommending it to me many years ago. Why did it take me so long to get around to it? Anyone who has seen my library and knows me, can take a stab in the dark. Being a King fan, I would read this sooner or later. It jumped on my radar in large part because, recently, I have been contemplating doing more book reviewing. Also, with this blog, writing is on the brain again. So, I hope this is the first of many reviews you can enjoy on this site.]

You don't have to be a writer to get something out of this short book. You can just be a King fan and enjoy it just as much. King wrote this at the time he was hit by a van in 1999. It is a bit of his life story as a writer and fans will appreciate the inside tidbits of Carrie, Salem's Lot, and the Stand. However, he does devote half of the work on writing. He recommends Strunk & Wright's Elements of Style, a book I use myself and give out as gifts to high school graduates. He even sets out a sample work schedule for writers.

King's style has always been straightforward, a reflection of a former English teacher in action. While I was reading this part, I thought of my own writing and how I compose each draft. Regardng the first draft, King advises creating it with the door closed and just get it out. This is very good advice, although with the advent of the computer, you can re-write as you go very easily. I think about how the sentences change with each draft and how I try to stick with the rules of brevity. My writing starts out with bad grammar and long sentences, but something does come out. Actually, when I began to enjoy writing in 8th grade, I created long sentences. Like King, now I am the fan of the short ones. (Well, maybe not as short as Hemingway.) All of these reflections tell me King did his job well in this book.

-Bryan