Book Review

by

Marc L. Prey

On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft

by

Stephen King
 

If one approaches Stephen King's writing memoir, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, expecting to discover the secrets to writing hugely successful best sellers, it will likely lead to more than a little disappointment. For there are no sure-fire secrets exposed by Mr. King within its pages; yet, the volume manages to leave the reader with a greater appreciation of the author and a deeper respect for the craft of writing.

Coming in at a fast-paced 288 pages, Mr. King notes early on that he purposely kept the book short because "fiction writers, present company included, don't understand very much about what they do -- not why it works when it's good, not why it doesn't when it's bad." As a result, most books about the craft of writing "are filled with bullshit," and the "shorter the book, the less the bullshit."

With this initial observation out of the way, Mr. King dedicates the first third of the volume to a rough autobiography, providing sketches from different, meaningful periods in his life along with an analysis of their impact on his development as a writer. The story begins with his father abandoning the family when he is age two, leaving his well-intentioned mother to raise her two boys as best she can.

When he is in first grade, Mr. King develops a number of health problems, eventually leading to a year-long sabbatical. Stuck in bed, he develops a love of reading, then makes his first attempt at writing stories. As he grows older, his tastes gravitate to science fiction and, as a teen, he publishes his first story, entitled "I Was a Teen-Age Graverobber." Along the way, he makes a realization: good story ideas come out of nowhere. A writer's job is not to go digging for these ideas but merely "to recognize them when they show up."

By the time he reaches his mid 20s, Mr. King has graduated from the University of Maine, married Tabitha and fathered two children. Teaching high school English and living in a doublewide trailer, he uses his evenings to write a story that has been germinating for a number of years. That story would eventually evolve into the novel that would dramatically change his life--"Carrie."

With success came alcoholism and, by the mid-80s, drug addiction. Eventually, Tabitha arranged an intervention that included the following stipulation: either get straight or get out of the house. Mr. King chose the former and has been straight ever since.

After the autobiographical section, the author engages in a relatively brief discussion of a writer's "tools". Included here are discourses concerning vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style and paragraph structure. As a former English teacher, he cannot resist the opportunity to lecture on the mechanics of good writing.

Following the English lesson is the lengthiest section of the book, and it is predicated on the author's thesis. According to Mr. King, all writers can be assigned to a particular level of a pyramid, with the base of the pyramid consisting of every bad writer who has ever put words on paper. Occupying the next level are the competent writers, many of whom can be found on the staff of local newspapers, at poetry readings on "Open Mike Night" and, of course, on bookstore shelves. The third tier of the pyramid is where the good writers -- including Mr. King -- reside. Finally, the top of the pyramid is home to the great writers, a small group of "geniuses" such as Shakespeare, Faulkner and Yeats. Mr. King concludes his thesis by declaring that, while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer and a great writer out of a good writer, it is possible -- with hard work and dedication -- to make a good writer out of a competent one.

For the author, the road to becoming a good writer begins and ends with reading and writing as much as possible. When he's working, Mr. King tries to complete ten pages, or 2,000 words, each day. At the same time, he may be reading two or three books. While he is partial to horror and science fiction, he will also read works in just about every other genre.

With respect to writing, Mr. King interprets the "write what you know" edict as broadly and inclusively as possible. Thus, writing what one loves to read falls into this category. In the end, he advises the reader to write what he or she likes to write, then imbue it with the author's "own personal knowledge of life."

Mr. King also admits that, when writing, he avoids plotting at all costs. Generally, he starts a story based upon a "what if" situation and a few particular characters, begins adding narrative and simply goes where it takes him. Of course, this journey incorporates things such as description, dialogue, characterization and theme, and Mr. King explores each of these topics in significant detail. Finally, he suggests writing a first draft as fast as possible, so that the ideas remain fresh and flowing, and he warns against allowing anyone to read the draft before its completion.

At this point, Mr. King puts aside the manuscript for a minimum of six weeks; then, with a fresh perspective, he reviews it, making corrections, changes and notes as he goes, his primary objective being to reinforce the meaning of the story that was born in the first draft. He also relies upon a formula picked up during his high school days: a second draft equals the first draft minus ten percent.

Once the manuscript has been rewritten, Mr. King allows his wife and a half dozen other trusted souls to read and comment upon it. He finds readers especially helpful when it comes to determining whether the manuscript is paced properly and whether it contains a satisfactory back story.

Mr. King wraps up this section of the book with comments regarding research (it belongs in the background), writing courses and seminars (not worth much) and securing an agent and getting published (perseverance and market research pay off).

The last section of the narrative details Mr. King's near-fatal accident and his efforts to heal and write again. Although it was difficult for the author to resume his writing routine after the accident, once he did he found writing to be one of the better medicines available to him.

With his memoir complete, Mr. King provides the reader with a going away present in the form of a rough draft of the opening passage of a fictional story, followed immediately by a reprint of the passage complete with the author's editing marks and corresponding explanations. This exercise is useful in tying together many of the thoughts and ideas set forth earlier in the book.

At a slim 288 pages, the book is an effortless read and can be easily digested in only a few sittings. It serves to provide an interesting peek into the life and mind of one of the most successful authors of the modern era and may also prove inspirational for those seeking to follow in his footsteps, albeit from a distance.