‘On Writing’ by Stephen King
Stephen King is a man who needs no introduction. But, screw it, I’m going to give him one anyway, just in case anyone has been living under a large boulder for the past three or four decades. Born in Portland, Maine in 1947, a state he still calls home some sixty-five years later, Stephen King is probably our best living example of what you could call a born writer. Because, well, what else do you call someone who was writing and distributing their own short stories (for twenty-five cents a pop, no less) in elementary school? And what else do you call someone who was already submitting their work to magazines at the age of thirteen? Only pages into On Writing does it become clear that Stephen King has been a writer and storyteller since day one, and that every day since has been devoted to the craft. You need only step into your local Waterstone’s or other chain bookseller to see just how much King has produced over the years, and this little memoir-cum-handbook of his is indispensable, not just for King fans, but for aspiring writers everywhere. Emphasis on the everywhere.
As 2012 has given way to 2013, I’ve been having some doubts about my vocation. Its not that I’m considering giving up the ghost, not with a 79,000-word manuscript to carve up and a second book outlined (besides, I could never ‘give up’ writing, the very thought fills me with terror) but, like many aspiring writers before me, I am being plagued by self-doubt. As in - am I good enough? Will anybody want to read what I have written? Call it a crisis of confidence, call it whatever you like, but On Writing by Stephen King has gone some way towards remedying it. I own a clutch of writing handbooks, most of which I bought when I was just starting out and felt I needed a little more guidance, but the majority of them are really rather useless. Without naming names, they are not so much guides for the aspiring writer as guides to using plain English. And this should be a given, shouldn’t it? The bad writing guide epidemic is something King addresses in the foreword to On Writing: 'This is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit. 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. I figured the shorter the book, the less the bullshit.' He then goes on to recommend The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E. B. White, citing it as a notable exception to the 'bullshit rule’ and urging every aspiring writer to read it. I absolutely will.
On Writing is filled with practical tips and tools for the aspiring writer, as well as lessons that King himself has learned along the way. All of them are helpful, none of them opinion-bound. My favourite tip of his is to write the first draft of your novel with the study door shut and the second draft with it open. This may sound a tad curious, but here’s his justification: 'With the door shut, downloading what’s in my head directly to the page, I write as fast as I can and still remain comfortable. Writing fiction, especially a long work of fiction, can be a difficult, lonely job; it’s like crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a bathtub. There’s plenty of opportunity for self-doubt. If I write rapidly, putting down my story exactly as it comes into my mind, only looking back to check the names of my characters and the relevant parts of their back stories, I find that I can keep up with my original enthusiasm and at the same time outrun the self-doubt that’s always waiting to settle in.’ Duly noted, Mr King.
But On Writing is not merely a how-to guide. The former half of the book provides a fascinating insight into King’s writing career, from his childhood shorts and sketches to his first major breakthrough - selling the rights to Carrie for four hundred thousand dollars in 1973. King’s recollection of this last event is both encouraging and deeply touching; I particularly love how unable he was to comprehend just how many zeros followed the initial four. 'I hadn’t heard him right. Couldn’t have. The idea allowed me to find my voice again, at least. “Did you say it went for forty thousand dollars?” “Four hundred thousand dollars,” he said.' It is little insights like this, and there are indeed many of them, which make On Writing an inspiring read as well as a practical guide.
This piece was originally published on alisonlaurabell.tumblr.com in January 2013.