In the semi-autobiography On
Writing: A Memoir of a Craft, Stephen King turns his attention to the
process that he has yielded in this craft, which provides the definitive
statement, not on writing itself, but on what it means to Be Stephen King.
After the dramatical accident which happened to him in 1999, the writing was a
struggle, at first. But soon Stephen King found that writing was like a
soothing balm for his injured body. In this way, King suggested that writing is
a part of life that should not be the centre of life, but a support to it that
all writers should embrace.
The Value of “On
Writing”, which is the link between the Person and the Writer
The value of King’s memoir lies instead in
what it tells us about the inescapable interweaving between The Person and The
Writer, both in the formative years and in sheer crisis, from which emerges not
just writing, not only fiction but — yes, I’ll say it — literature.
The Stephen King’s
“On Writing” is divided into three sections.
On Writing: A Memoir of a Craft is a part biography and part collection of
tips for the aspiring writer.
• In the first section of On Writing,
Stephen King writes about his childhood and young adulthood, relating stories
that made him the writer he has become. It is a series of recollections of the
milestone events that led King from a childhood spent in grinding poverty to an
adulthood where he fared not much better, but during which he developed his
single-minded determination to be a writer.
• In the second part of the book, King moves
into the craft, explaining the mechanics of writing, offering advice and
insight into a successful career that has worked so well for him. He deals with
the nuts and bolts — the well-tempered sentence, the importance of
dispassionate revision, how to blue-pencil yourself without getting hurt, how
to deal with rejection. How to write, mainly.
• The last part of On Writing remains
the author’s account of how writing - and the primitive urge to write - saved
his life after the accident, which happened to him in the summer of 1999. In
the final chapters then, King tells, in graphic detail, the story of that,
going deeply into it. When he was hit by a blue Dodge van that summer, he
thought he might never write again.
The First Part of
“On Writing” is about How to be a Writer
As the section plucks seemingly unrelated
incidents from King’s early life — the wild teen years, the lean-and-hungry
novice years that ended with Carrie, King’s ascent in the bestseller
lists coupled with his descent into alcoholism and cocaine addiction.
A picture emerges of the unique symbiosis
between King and his words — not the adage about writing what you know, but the
harmonic convergence of life-experiences that led him inexorably into doing
what he does.
Most books on the business of writing flog
the reader with the point that to be a writer, one must write, but what King
says is, instead, to write, one must be a writer.
The Second Part of
“On Writing” is about How to Write
King has nothing much to say about writing
that isn't obvious. "In my view, stories and novels consist of three
parts," he explains with professorial solemnity: "narration,
description, and dialogue." He warns us: "The adverb is not your
friend."
He advises writing behind a closed door:
"It is your way of telling the world and yourself that you mean business;
you have made a serious commitment to write and intend to walk the walk as well
as talk the talk."
The Third Part of
“On Writing” is about How Writing Can Help You to Survive
It is this section that pulls the plough, the
central section dealing with the accident of all King’s life, which happened to
him in the summer of 1999.
In June 1999 he was near his home in Maine,
taking his usual four-mile stroll along a rural route. Unexpectedly, a blue
Dodge minivan lurched over the hilltop, out of control. It was driven by a
local man called Bryan Smith.
King notes, casually: "Smith wasn't
looking at the road on the afternoon our lives came together because his
rottweiler had jumped from the very rear of his van into the back seat area,
where there was an Igloo cooler with some meat stored inside. "Smith
thought at first that he had hit "a small deer".
Stephen King felt as though writing were an
essential aspect of his life, but that writing was not his life. When Stephen
King was hit by a blue Dodge van in 1999, he thought he might never
write again.
However, during his recovery, Stephen King's
wife, Tabitha, suggested that he get back to work. Tabitha set up a workspace
for Stephen King in their home's back hall.
At first, the writing was a struggle, but
soon Stephen King found that writing was like a soothing balm for his injured
body. In this way, Stephen King suggested that writing is a part of life that
should not be the centre of life, but a support to it that all writers should
embrace.
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