This is a book that talks about the craft of writing from a master craftsman who has written more than 50 bestselling, novels. He has also written many novellas, short stories, essays, and articles.

In this book King describes his life, his writing and how to improve both. In King’s case, the writing career and the personal life are tightly intertwined, which makes reading more interesting as the book is replete with personal details and anecdotes as it is with knowledge and wisdom that one gains through extensive practice of one’s craft. King’s passion for life and writing shines through each and every page of the book.

The book is divided into 5 sections—C.V., What Writing Is, Toolbox, On Writing, and On Living: A Postscript. It also has two appendices—Door Shut, Door Open (an example on editing and rewriting) and A Booklist (a list of books recommended by the author).

The fist section—C.V.—contains King’s childhood memories and his growth as a writer from a novice teenage writer to a novelist while struggling to make a living. It contains glimpses and snapshots of King’s childhood, teenage, and youth. King describes how, his mother, brother and he struggled to meet the ends with his mom’s paycheck and how he became interested in writing and what sort of writing he did during his childhood, and teenage and how it influenced him. It describes, when and how King met his future wife and how they fell in love and are still in love. The section ends when King’s writing career is poised to take off—he has published a few novels, had become a drug addict and got out of addiction and has realized that “Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way round.”

In the second section—What Writing Is—King tells you that it is telepathy. He then goes on to explain his theory. In the section named ‘Toolbox,’ King uses the analogy of a toolbox and its contents to explain the skills needed for a writer. The cardinal principal is that the more one practices the better his writing becomes. To quote the author, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.” King’s toolbox for writers contains tools like vocabulary, grammar, hard work, and so on. He gives some general rules about his likes and dislikes, what is good and what is not (avoid passive voice, eliminate the use of adverbs, etc.), but points the readers to Elements of Style by Strunk & White for more on grammar and usage.

The fourth section titled ‘On Writing’ is the heart of the book. This is where King explains the intricacies of writing—writing fiction. Readers get advise on how to create an environment that promotes writing, how to get ideas for writing, how to begin the story, how to develop the characters, how much details is required, why it’s important to tell the truth, how to prevent writer’s block, how to edit and rewrite, how to find a select group of reviewers, how to handle criticism and so on. It also has a section on literary agents and how to find them. This section, like all sections of the book, is full of anecdotes, real world examples, and experiences.

The final section (On Living: A Postscript) is about his accident that nearly killed him in 1999. He was hit by a van during his morning walk. He had chipped his spine in several places, had multiple fractures on both legs and hip and almost bled to death. He survived and slowly got back to his life and completed the book—On Writing—which he had just started before the accident.

According to King, “Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.”

This is one of the best books on writing you will ever find. It teaches you a lot of things not only about writing but also about life. King never assumes the role of a teacher; he just tells his story and shares his impressions and his opinions. But in that process, he imparts a lot of knowledge and wisdom to the reader. This book must be on the desktop of every writer—novice and accomplished, beginner and expert. When you are stuck, when you need inspiration or motivation, read this book and you will find what you need. I recommend this book to all writers.

Book Details:

• Author: Stephen King
• Publisher: Scribner
• Year: 2000
• ISBN: 0684853523
• Cover & Page Count: Hardcover, 288 Pages

You can order online at Amazon.

Copyright © Braintree Books. Reproduced with permission.

Since its first publication in 1976, On Writing Well by William Zinsser has become a classic guide on writing nonfiction. It has sold millions of copies and still is the number one book on writing nonfiction. According to New York Times, “On Writing Well is a bible for a generation of writers looking for clues to clean, compelling prose.”

The book has four parts in addition to an introduction, a bibliography and an index. The first part—Principles—contains seven chapters and deals with important aspects of writing like how to write clear, simple, and concise prose, the need and importance of reviewing, editing, and rewriting, how to avoid clutter, the importance of mastering the fundamentals, how to identify your audience and write for them, how to find the right words and where to find them, and so on. This section contains one of the most useful advices of this book:

The point is that you have to strip your writing down before you can build it back up. You must know what the essential tools are and what job they were designed to do. Extending the metaphor of carpentry, it’s first necessary to be able to saw wood neatly and to drive nails. Later you can bevel the edges or add elegant finials, if that’s your taste. But you can never forget that you are practicing a craft that’s based on certain principles. If the nails are weak, your house will collapse. If your verbs are weak and your syntax is rickety, your sentences will fall apart.

I’ll admit that certain nonfiction writers, like Tom Wolfe and Norman Mailer, have built some remarkable houses. But these are writers who spent years learning their craft, and when at last they raised their fanciful turrets and hanging gardens, to the surprise of all of us who never dreamed of such ornamentation, they knew what they were doing. Nobody becomes Tom Wolfe overnight, not even Tom Wolfe.

The second part—Methods—deals with threes topics: unity, the lead and the ending, bits & pieces. In this part Zinsser explains one of the most fundamental truths of writing—“You learn to write by writing.” The first chapter in this section deals with the importance of unity—unity of pronoun, unity of tense, unity of mood, etc.—and why it is important to choose one unity and stick to it. The second chapter discusses the importance of leads (beginning) and ending. The author illustrates the various methods for writing captivating and interesting leads. He also tells us when and how to stop for maximum effect. In the chapter titled ‘Bits & Pieces’ the author deals with the correct usage of verbs, adverbs, adjectives, qualifiers, punctuation, and more. This is one of the best chapters of the book.

Part III (Forms), deals with the various forms of writing. The forms covered are nonfiction as literature, writing about people, places, yourself, science and technology, business, sports, arts, humor, etc. Each chapter gives valuable advice on how to make the writing interesting, how to find the right tone and mood and tips and techniques that the author has learned in his long and diverse writing career.

The fourth part—Attitudes—deals with issues like how to sound natural, how to handle fear, how to find confidence, and how to enjoy the writing process. It also discusses why it is important to write (at least during the initial stage of each writing project) without thinking about selling or getting published. According to the author:

Writing is related to character. If your values are sound, your writing will be sound. It all begins with intention. Figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it, and work your way with humanity and integrity to the completed article. Then you’ll have something to sell.

The chapter, A Writer’s Decisions, deals with the different decisions that a writer has to make during the writing process. With clear examples, the author illustrates how to create the leads, how to organize the content, what to include and what to omit, how to end, and so on. This part also has a chapter on how to write family histories and memoirs. The final chapter of the book is about how one becomes a writer, the importance of editors, and how to work with editors to improve the quality of your work.

This is a must read for every person, irrespective of the amount of writing he does. It should be a constant companion of all writers. The amount of wisdom, wisdom gained from years of practicing the craft, is invaluable and will help every reader to become a better writer. I strongly recommend this book to all and I end with another quote from the book:

Living is the trick. Writers who write interestingly tend to be men and women who keep themselves interested. That’s almost the whole point of becoming a writer. I’ve used writing to give myself an interesting life and a continuing education. If you write about subjects you think you would enjoy knowing about, your enjoyment will show in what you write. Learning is a tonic.

Book Details:

• Author: William Zinsser
• Publisher: Collins
• Year: 2006 (30^th Anniversary Edition)
• ISBN-10: 0060891548
• ISBN-13: 978-0060891541
• Cover & Page Count: Paperback, 336 Pages

You can order online at Amazon.