Audiobook Review: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the best authors in the world. He has written more than 100 books, short stories and novellas in almost all genres out there. I experienced many of them as audiobooks, including 11/22/63, The Stand, Under the Dome, Pet Cemetary, Salem’s Lot, the Dark Tower series, the Mr. Mercedes Trilogy and many others, but the one that will live forever in a special part of my heart is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I will try to the best of my abilities to describe in this article what I gained by trying this book, but the gift is priceless…
I picked it up after I finished Carrie and just before I started The Dead Zone because I loved all the stories Mr. King told me over the years and hoped to glimpse how they came to be. I guess that you can say that I am on a Stephen King listening spree and you’ll be right, but I almost never read or listen to non fiction and I devoured this one, treasuring every word spoken directly to me by the author.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is absolutely amazing. If you are a Stephen King fan and want to learn more about him, about his life, his childhood and how he became the best-selling author he is today, this one will make your day. But, this part memoir, part writing manual is much more than that.
We, the listeners, find out how hard was life when Mr. King started out. How he discovered his talent for writing, how his love for storytelling grew with every book he read and every movie he watched, as well how we all need to want to tell a story in our own way, with our own words. All we have to do is to want to write…
I don’t want to even try to give anything away from what I discovered while listening to On Writing because It can’t be put into words. I decided to read this book as I wanted someday to write my own novel, as I have a few ideas that, I think, might be interesting enough, ideas that are clashing in my head for a few years and demand attention.
What I can express into words is that while I was listening to Mr. king telling me that all I need to do is to close my door on the world, boot up my Mac, keep in mind a few simple rules, well defined and argumented with examples in this work, the story will resolve, the characters will spring to life, the world will color itself And, guess what? Exactly that thing happened. I started writing, I began telling my story. What will come of it, when it will be done, if it will be published are just some questions that will get their answers in time, but the most important thing is that I give it my best while I am at it.
I consider the audiobook version of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft to be the best narrative experience as the author talks directly to you. He makes you think, he makes you laugh, or cringe, but he always encourages you to start, to keep on going, to always be better. I consider Stephen King a great narrator as well, enjoyed his performances of many of his works, Needful Things coming to my mind as the most recent that I tried, and his delivery for On Writing is perfect!
If performed by any other person, even the best of the narrators out there, this experienced would have not been as personal as this one is, as read to you by its author… Not to many authors are good narrators, but Mr. King has all this figured out.
Thank you, Mr. King, for writing and for teaching us how to do it on our own! With your treasured advice and with my soon to be wife’s support, I am writing constantly… and I think that is exactly what your objective was when you wrote this book, to help people take their first baby steps in this medium.
I highly recommend On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft written and performed by Stephen King to those aspiring writers out there that are searching for advice on how to get started and to those fans that want to know more about their favorite author.
Publisher’s Summary
“If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.” Here is Stephen King’s master class on his craft.
On Writing begins with a mesmerizing account of King’s childhood and his early focus on writing to tell a story.
A series of vivid memories from adolescence, college, and the struggling years that led up to his first novel, Carrie, offer a fresh and often funny perspective on the formation of a writer. King then turns to the tools of his trade, examining crucial aspects of the writer’s art and life, offering practical and inspiring advice on everything from plot and character development to work habits and rejection.
King was in the middle of writing this book when he was nearly killed in a widely reported accident. On Writing culminates with a profoundly moving account of how his need to write spurred him toward recovery, and brought him back to his life.
©2000 ©2000 Stephen King, All Rights Reserved; (P)2000 Simon & Schuster, Inc
Victor Dima
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