On Writing – Stephen King

Scribners, 2000
I picked this up at Border’s sale table. Good ol’ sale table. This book had just been discussed in the most recent issue of The Believer, and so for $4 I got it. Came home and damn near read the thing in one sitting. Understand I was a big King fan when I was a teenager, but I gave up after the bloated “It”.
Here, King gives us some tips on writing, but the first half of the book is really his autobiography. It’s a good read–King no doubt has the page-turning knack–and the writing craft section is fair. He doesn’t pretend that everybody reading the book can be a successful novelist, but he does preach dedication and obsession. “Throw the television out,” is one of his first suggestions. I agree with him there.
As I plow my way through my film script, I took a lot to heart. It was just the break I needed.