+Creative idea to deliver writing advice
-+Lots of interesting Memoiring, but somewhat distorts and distracts from the real focus of this book: on writing.
+Specific writing tips that can be applied to writing right now
+General tips that require a change of lifestyle
+Dark and sinister tone permeates certain chapters of this book
-King is a pompous and arrogant writer.
7/10
Stephen King attempts to write a technical writing book that flecked with the spice of storytelling. Overall, King achieves this task, and I think it is a creative way to present information. The story behind his life as a writer isn’t dry, and King admits it is a challenge for him to write his first non-fiction.
Though his prose and overall approach to writing about writing is creative (and engaging), the creativity distorts from the novels first purpose–becoming a better writer. King’s narrative strings a long for almost half the book. During the narrative, he drops a few hints as to how to become a better writer, but these hints are not direct, and at the very most, ambigious. Deciphering the writing tips, at least for the first half of the book, are pegged on the reader; in other words, the reader is shown a lot of story, and forced to really cog churn and decipher the “hidden code” about writing.
Even though King distorts his writing tips for the first half of the book, his book revives itself on the later half. After getting over the 50% mark, a reader will (finally) discover prose that is direct and related to writing. These tips are pretty strong. Many of the advice can applied to a writer’s wordsmith right away. King breaks down his grammar strategy, and offers several examples, creating a unified and cohesive piece of work for a writer to work with.
Not all of King’s tips are technical (and can be applied right now), instead, King insinuates lifestyle changes that are essential for a writer. These pieces of advice are also powerful, require habit in order to successfully execute, and show how dedicated a writer must be to her craft.
King recieves an applauding audience for his tone that permeates the pages of this book; he is a horror writer, and he (still) manages to write horrifically in a book about advice. It made this informative technical book read with a sense of engagement. King’s tone glued my eyes to the page, making it much more of an enjoyable read. The tone put’s King’s “On Writing” far ahead of Brande’s “Becoming a Writer” in terms of engagement.
In my personal life, I do not hangout with arrogant and pompous people, for the very reason that I aggression may ensue as a result. Modesty is an important characteristic that I find important in human beings. Unfortunately, King is an arrogant writer. His arrogance almost causes readers to stop and close the book, but I stuck through till the end. He often boasts his success, and states a lot of absolutes in terms of being a writer. For me, this arrogance really kept this book from garnering a 9/10.
Overall, this book achieves its intention, and it is a creative way to broach a somewhat dry subject. Reading technical books about becoming a better writer can be tedious, but King breaks that convention down it’s spine. King’s writing is dripping with arrogance, where at times, he reads like he’s some god of writing. King is an amazing writer,but his message in this book is distorted slightly with the creativity, and alot with his arrogant attitude. This book could be for you if you want to become a better writer and look past a pompous author.
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