Book Review- On Writing

I have read a few "how-to" books on writing novels, (some really excellent ones like Bird by Bird and Writing Down the Bones) and was always ironically looking for instructions on what to write about, and how to actually start. Years of reading on the subject got me nowhere, but recently something strange and wonderful happened. A novel sort of just poured out of me... as if by magic. Now while I had a rough first draft out, I had no clue on how to actually go about editing and creating a second draft, despite knowing what changes I wanted made. My masterpiece felt like a house of cards with great big gaps in the middle that I knew I wanted and needed to fill, but instead I felt like I was being consumed with what felt like writers block. I went on to Amazon.com in the hopes of finding a book that could help me out and that's what I found On Writing.

On Writing, a memoir of the craft, is written by Stephen King who is best known for his sci-fi/horror genre of work like Carrie and The Green Mile.While I have never even read anything by him and have no intentions of writing about aliens or poltergeists, the reviews on Amazon seemed promising and the best part of the book was that it was short. After all, I needed to get back to my own writing so needed a quick read and fix. What I was met with however, was great writing, extremely useful tips and a very motivating life story.

The book is split up into three parts with the first being about the writer's life right from his earliest memories to now. A boring autobiography this is not. There are short chapters that literally capture memories from King's life and are beautifully written, sometimes being laugh-out-loud funny to having some poignant moments that had me teary eyed. The second part is actually where the tips on writing are to be found. The third part talks about the writer's brush with death, when a driver ran him over while he was out for a walk. Again, I have never read any of Stephen King's work but reading On Writing really made me want to.

You don't have to be a writer to read or enjoy this book, but if you are a writer, I really suggest you pick this one up. This is one of the best books on writing that I have ever read. There are many handy tools present here, and ones that I could actually use and I wish I'd read the book before. One of things he keeps stressing on is "writing with the door closed" which not only means writing away from distractions, but not sharing your work with people till the entire thing is complete. I was sending out my work, chapter by chapter, to well meaning friends, and all the issues I have now are actually an outcome of that. In terms of my dilemma, he actually advises shelving the first draft away for six weeks before coming back to it, so by default my taking "time off" was actually just what was needed. I will be taking some more time to destress and get back into reading before I face my work again.

Again, if you do like to write, I cannot recommend this book enough. However, if you are a fan of Stephen King's work, want to know more about his life or just want to read some literature about the life of an author, I'd highly recommend this be your next book. A great, great read and one that I'll be referring back to in later years for sure.
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