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On Writing
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List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $7.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Pocket
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743455961
ISBN: 0743455967
Label: Pocket
Manufacturer: Pocket
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: 2002-07-01
Publisher: Pocket
Studio: Pocket
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Editorial Reviews:
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"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't wait for the muse...show up every day
Comment: I don't even read Stephen King books. I don't like horror books as I have nightmares - but I know Stephen is a writing legend so this book was fantastic to read.
He writes in that "real person" way that makes you feel he is not some writing super-hero that just creates a bestseller out of nothing. He is to the point in his advice, but behind it is his story. How he and Tammy came from nothing, how his drug use crushed him, and how his accident changed the way he sees the world. He knows the power of story.
Some top pieces of advice from the book:
- Close your door and make a serious commitment to write. Don't wait for the muse to come. Show up every day and "sooner or later, he'll start showing up, chomping his cigar and making his magic"
- Write what you love to read. Don't write in a genre to make money.
- If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write.
- He writes by finding some characters and then putting them in a situation. They often surprise him by what happens.
- Write your first full draft with no input. Then let it rest for 6 weeks or so "like bread dough between kneadings". You will find it much easier to kill your darlings after a rest
- Revise for length. 2nd draft = 1st draft - 10%
- "Do you need someone to make you a paper badge with the word "Writer" on it before you can believe you are one? God, I hope not."
Great book!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: really good stuff
Comment: I'm not even a fan of Stephen King. I've seen plenty
of movies made from his books and most of them were
bad or stupid or both.
I have read a handful of fiction books the guy wrote.
He's easy to read - he hashes out these very human
characters well and puts them in these unusual, frightening
situations - often no-wins. You probably know that.
It's easy to overlook that King, the champion schlockmeister,
is a consumate communicator. His writing is empathic - which
is what keeps us curious and involved in the stories.
Honestly - I don't like slasher movies. Maybe King doesn't
write them but in my little brain he is inextricably tied
to the genre that scared the pants off me as a kid -
Friday the 13th, et. al.
The funny thing is that King's fiction is surprisingly
complex, rich in character and local color. When
put on the screen it is generally dull and seems formulaic -
but that is perhaps more because King's writing has
influenced all scary movies of the last 30 years.
I'm an admirer now. I'm taking writing a lot more seriously
now than I have in the last 15 years. I still think
the themes and plots of many of King's novels don't
interest me - but after reading this there are a half-dozen
or so I may track-down and read.... particularly:
-The Stand
-The Tommyknocker's (apparently derivative of 5 Million Years To Earth - which
is close to the best Sci-fi film ever, IMO, and ripped-off also in the Space
Vampires movie "LifeForce")
Oh yeah. The writing stuff. Cogent. To the point. How
to simplify and amplify the power of your story. He tells
how to defeat the Passive Voice habit, how to recover
from adverb abuse, etc... basically how to get the bad
habits out of the way so the competent writer can progress
towards becoming a good one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Impassioned instruction from the King of horror
Comment: King's passion for writing is absolute and he imparts his passion to the reader. That alone is a good enough reason to read On Writing, but this book is unexpectedly engaging and informative at every turn.
Customer Rating:
Summary: On Writing by Stephen King
Comment: This work is phenomenal. I was only interested in the craft of writing and had never read Stephen King before. Though the work is supposed to be a manual for better writing, it reads like a thrilling novel. What a surprise.
I never imagined discussions of drafts, agents, editing, grammar, etc. could be woven together with King's biography to produce an astounding, readable text on writing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Resource
Comment: Inspirational and funny. He talks about writing then goes oh by the way here's a great little tip. At first I barely noticed them. He shows what's important to him as a writer and reader as well as tells you. But even when he's telling you it's like we're having a cup of coffee together. Since its the writing rather than the subject of his books that I adore this was so much fun!! Plus, he tosses in a cool little reading list. This was the best purchase I've made for writing yet.
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