On Writing by Stephen King: Best Selling Writer Gives Advice

So you've finally come to it: you wake up in the morning, and decide to heck with this nine to five job, bills, and a squinty-eyed boss that smells like old tobacco - you want something better out of life. You've decided to do what you always wanted to do; become a writer, and create worlds and whole universes for a living.

Great. Now what?

After such a momentous decision - and a hearty breakfast of course, writing is hard work after all, requiring a satisfied stomach - you sit down in front of your Dell, Gateway, or Apple Ibook, open Word, and begin work on the masterpiece that will make millions, stun the world, and turn your name into a household word over night.

After five paragraphs, three writing breaks, four plot changes and the inevitable writer's block, you're faced with the daunting reality that writing something coherent - much less a best-selling novel - is a lot harder than you thought.

On a burst of inspiration, you troll down to the local Barnes & Noble and find your way to the Self-Help aisle, in search of Writing Bestselling Novels for Dummies. What you encounter is a dizzying array of "how to write novels" - how to write in every genre known to man; how to write the short story, novel, novella, poetry, market your book, make an author website, and sell your book.

You grab a whole armful, settle down in one of those nice comfy chairs by the coffee shop, get a cappuccino and donut, and plug away.

Ten minutes later, the drink and the pastry were great: but now what? Most of these books are boring, hard to read, and leave you no closer to your publication dreams than before.

With the exception of such fine tomes as the Literary Marketplace, toss all those others in the trash. If you're looking to learn more about the craft of writing and the writing world, look no further than On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by fiction great Stephen King.

On Writing succeeds were so many writing "how-to" books fail: it focuses first on the 'why' and the passion of writing. It does spend some time on technical issues - its advice on grammar, characterization and plot is top notch - but the memoir's main focus is the soul of writing itself.

In usual King fashion, On Writing seamlessly interweaves snapshots of Stephen King's life with the development of his craft, and while acknowledging his own success, he avoids positioning himself as a master who knows all the answers, but rather as a storyteller willing to share all he knows about telling stories to those who would listen.

On Writing is also unflinchingly direct: there is no "push-button" answer to literary success, no set-in-stone "path to publication". The process is equal parts hard work, dedication, and uncontrollable, often unpredictable doors of opportunity.

King's approach is casual, realistic, irreverent and many times knee-slappingly funny. At times his language is coarse, but if overlooked, what he's given us is invaluable: an inside look into what makes him 'tick' as a writer, and an invitation - perhaps even a challenge - to look inside ourselves for the same things.

So leave the "How to Write the Western" to others, get the cappuccino and donut to go, and order On Writing from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. Go home, enjoy - in some parts wince or grimace in empathy - the life of Stephen King, and begin writing what's lurking inside of you.

5 out of 5 stars