Recent Reads: On Writing

Stephen King's On Writing is widely touted as not only an excellent resource, but a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the writer's life and thought process. I think there is some good writing advice, but I mainly enjoyed it as an interesting nonfiction read about his life and how he came to be where he is now.

I know a lot of literary folks like to sneer down at Stephen King's proletarian writing style, but hey, us proles love it. I read On Writing super fast, faster than I'd read anything in years. I read a few other things in between, and the next book I found myself ripping through was 'Salem's Lot. I told my coworker, "I haven't gone through a book this quickly since... Well, since the other Stephen King book I read." I find his voice conversational and entertaining, his characters full and lovable, and his settings delightfully close to home. Sneer all you want, but he's still a good storyteller.

For those who've only read his fiction, even if you have no interest in writing, I think the glimpse at his life and personality is still really fun. He has some good tales about the origins of several of his books, including that first contract for Carrie that defied expectation. Very quick and fun read, I thought.