On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft
 Stephen King
 (Reviewed by The Editor - Rebecca Brown)
 2000 Scribner NY USA
  ISBN: 0684853523


In 1999 Stephen King began to write about his craft & his life. A widely reported accident jeopardized the survival of both & during his months of recovery, the link between writing & living became more cruciaL than ever.

On Writing begins with an engrossing account of this author's childhood & the genius of his early ability to tell a story. With a series of vivid memories from his adolescence, his college years & then those lean years that led to Carrie, which put his name on the map, Stephen King offers us a fresh & frequently hilarious...er, perhaps wry, perspective on how a writer is formed.

I am amazed by how much I've enjoyed this master writer's opus! I've been listening to his Gerald's Game - what a gripper! I keep thinking that I must write & thank him - it has cleared up SO much of my incest issues! Then again his The Green Mile, Insomnia & The Shawshank Redemption also made profound impacts on my psyche. I avoid his hairy creature thrillers. Life is scarey enough that I don't need to terrify myself with nameless, feral figments of imagination. Stephen King's skill is that he gets our imagination into high gear! He really doesn't “scare” us - he's figured out how to make us scare ourselves! Hairy monsters under my bed(like buzzing bugs in my face!) are scarey enough without reading about them - scarey relationships with family members I can cope with! Go figure!

“Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink...and be filled up.”

In the end Stephen King offers us in: And Furthermore, Part I: Door Shut, Door Open a look at the grooming of a writer's work, I only hope writers keenly peruse these pages - it will make the work of proofreaders & editors that much simpler. It's also nice to notice that even after all these years & all his best-sellers, this author does go back & correct & re-write his efforts. That's comforting indeed!

If you've ever wondered what makes this world class best-selling author tick then On Writing will give you some clues. It is as lucidly composed & as friendly as an evening postprandrial chat with a master of suspense; it will entertain, teach & inspire even the most sullen writer! A keeper indeed!

Stephen King is the author of more than 30 books, all of them bestsellers among which are: The Shawshank Redemption, Insomnia, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon; Bag of Bones & The Green Mile.
(03/18/01)

Rebecca