On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

English language

Published March 9, 2010

ISBN:
978-1-4391-5681-0
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4 stars (151 reviews)

"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.

53 editions

Mientras escribo

2 stars

Esté libro de Stephen King sobre el oficio de escribir me ha parecido tan interesante como triste.

El autor se muestra sincero a la hora de revelar sus trucos de escritor y los pasos que le han llevado a su abrumador éxito de ventas. Es un tipo inteligente y se expresa con sentido del humor en todo momento. No pontifica y resulta humilde, a la vez que demuestra controlar los resortes del mundo editorial.

Sin embargo, y aquí viene la parte triste, también parece un manual para convertirse en el perfecto escritor de best sellers: esos autores de estilo claro, preciso, de buen ritmo, que manejan un argumento trepidante que van dosificando con inteligencia. El problema es que a muchos todas estas cosas nos resultan tan positivas a priori como anodinas en el fondo.

Me resulta especialmente peliaguda una parte en la que pone como ejemplo de buena práctica de …

Review of 'On Writing' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Jeg har aldri hatt spesiell interesse for Stephen King, verken typen eller forfatterskapet. Det har nok med at han skremte vettet av meg med Firestarters en gang på 1980-tallet, og siden har jeg ikke hatt behov for å lese noe av ham. Før nå. Denne boken var helt grei gjennom første del, som var en slags CV over hans tilblivelse som forfatter. Men så løsnet det. Han ble mer personlig, og handlingen som det å skrive er, ble mer nær, og plutselig ble det en interessant bok likevel. Nå er Stephen King en litt mer aktuell forfatter, og 23.11.63 står på leselista mi.

Excellent!

5 stars

I have never read a Stephen King book in my life but I enjoy reading about writers' experiences with their craft. This book was wonderful. Part memoir, part nuts-and-bolts practical advice, it was thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. So much so that now I'm waiting on a couple his fiction books at the library. Who knows, maybe I'll turn into a fan?

Fun and occasionally insightful but not exactly what I was expecting

3 stars

I thought I was signing up for, well, you know, a book "on writing" by Stephen King. Turns out that's only a small part of it. I've never actually read any of King's novels but I did enjoy reading about his career and how he got to where he is. If you're a writer looking for advice who's less interested in King's career, you're better off just googling quotes from the book. There honestly aren't a whole lot.

More a memoir than a how-to-write guide, but

4 stars

It's probably the closest we'll get to a proper memoir out of a very interesting & likeable guy, who's utterly unique in the publishing world.

Regardless of whether you are a fan of his actual output or not, you can't question his consistency, and as far as his style and approach to writing, he keeps it simple and straightforward, which for a beginning writer is really useful. And like all Stephen King works, it's an easy read that keeps moving.

Review of 'On Writing' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

El maestro del género de terror explica cómo escribir prosa, desde el léxico y la gramática hasta la estructura (o falta de ella) de una novela, precedidos por una breve autobiografía que termina en el momento en que publica su primer best-seller.
Ni soy fan de King ni tengo ningún interés en escribir; sin embargo, lo he leído con atención, encantado con el tono que adopta para aconsejar, y para justificar los consejos, tan cercano a pesar de no tener que demostrar ya nada. Muy recomendable.

Review of 'On Writing' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I bought a copy of this book when it first came out on paperback (I didn’t have hard cover money back then) and it sat unopened on my bookshelf for years, even traveling with me during my wanderlust years of trying “to find myself.” I finally donated it because…well, who was I kidding? I was never going to write. And I didn’t think about it again.

Until Christmas of last year when some random librarian posted a picture of her niece who received “On Writing” as a gift. She was so engrossed sitting on the floor as family members tried to navigate around her. I remembered that feeling - getting a book I always wanted to read as a gift and wanting everyone to immediately leave so I could start reading. I don’t know the girl (I don’t even know the librarian who posted it) but I hope she is …

Review of 'On Writing' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

"Li" em audiobook (portanto, ouvi). Tinha tentado ler algumas vezes, sempre esbarrava nos capítulos iniciais, meio bobos. Curiosamente, na versão em audiobook, narrada pelo próprio King, esses capítulos funcionam. São meio autobiográficos, e na voz do cara têm seu sabor. Ultrapassada essa barreira, cheguei na parte sobre escrita propriamente, que achei boa, clara, simples, no bullshit. Mas um pouco breve demais. As três estrelas são por conta disso, e de quase duas horas de material adicional no audiobook que são praticamente propaganda do filho do Stephen King. Se era essa a intenção, o tiro saiu pela culatra. Eu posso ler mais mil livros na vida, e nenhum deles vai ser desse tal Joe filho de Stephen. Mas recomendo o livro pra quem quer escrever, ou mesmo pra quem já escreve.

Review of 'On Writing' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

And absolute diamond of an audio book read by the man himself. One of the best on the subject. The sections on his life and the account of the accident that almost killed him are unmissable. Its thanks to this book that I now have my own copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, in my endless quest to improve my own grammar and readability.

Review of 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Je ne suis pas un grand lecteur des romans de Stephen King. J'en ai lus une petite dizaine quand j'étais plus jeune, puis j'ai fini par le lasser. Je ne remets pas du tout en cause la qualité de ses romans, mais le lecteur que j'étais et que je suis toujours avait alors besoin de se nourrir avec d'autres auteurs, d'autres récits.

Pourtant, je me suis décidé à lire ce livre de Stephen King, qui est souvent cité parmi les références quasi-indispensables quand on recherche des livres sur l'écriture.

J'ai été surpris par le premier tiers du livre, un peu étrange, où Stephen King nous raconte des épisodes de sa vie, de l'enfance à l'âge adulte. Une suite d'anecdotes certes sympathiques mais pas toujours passionnantes, et surtout éloignées de ce que j'attendais de ce livre.

La suite est heureusement bien meilleure, et l'auteur s'intéresse alors au coeur du sujet : …

Review of 'On Writing' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I really liked the format of the book. Part one is a memoir made up of selected snapshots from King's youth that led him to the writer he became. They don't necessarily always follow chronological order but they've got a certain logic to them that reinforces the advice that comes later. And you care. I couldn't stop reading as King went from the kid in Durham to sliding down the wall as he heard the good news about Carrie's paperback rights going for a ton, which is neatly foreshadowed in an earlier snapshot.

The advice itself also reads as a narrative, less Strunk and White and more your buddy telling you over lunch to try this thing, it's helped him a lot. Again there's a lot of the snapshots from a career going on talking about "And here's this time I had to learn this bit, so don't be afraid. …

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