{"id":210,"date":"2017-05-29T13:30:07","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T17:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=210"},"modified":"2017-05-29T13:30:07","modified_gmt":"2017-05-29T17:30:07","slug":"on-writing-a-memoir-of-the-craft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/29\/on-writing-a-memoir-of-the-craft\/","title":{"rendered":"On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"by Stephen King
\nPocket Books \u00a9 1999, 2002
\nISBN 9780743455961
\nMass Market Paperback, 320 pages, $11.19<\/p>\n

The \u201cKing\u201d of horror fiction got his start just like most other writers: trial and error and a lot of persistence. Growing up in Maine, surviving high school, thriving in college, then working a day job, raising a family, and writing in his office-slash-laundry room, he nonetheless found time to pen and submit numerous tales. For years, he worked limited success until Carrie<\/em> stormed the wall of rejections and came away victorious. Since then, he has made quite a name for himself and, after decades of roaring success, he has a few tips to offer up-and-coming writers.<\/p>\n

King\u2019s own writing process is almost pure \u201cpantser\u201d. He eschews plotting. In fact, he feels plotting interferes with the creative process and kills the excitement a writer feels for the story when it\u2019s fresh and new in her mind. Oddly, reading this bit struck home for me. About a month before reading On Writing<\/em>, I\u2019d had a great idea for a literary tale of an old, old man, shortly before his death, remembering his life in a full-circle way. But I wanted to make it as realistic as possible, so I spent a whole month creating his family tree, lining up his ancestors and where they all lived and what life was like there, so that the \u201chistory\u201d could ring true even for people who today live in that small town. By the time I read King\u2019s book, my enthusiasm for the old man\u2019s tale had waned somewhat. I\u2019ll still write it, but I\u2019m wishing now I\u2019d done it when it was still a bright flame in my imagination.<\/p>\n

There is so much to recommend this book I can\u2019t begin to share it all. If you\u2019ve ever read anything by King, you know his style is distinct. Personally I find it comfortable, accessible, believable, and this one is no exception. There is a clear theme throughout the narrative, which is full of applicable anecdotes. My favorite bit was perhaps his treatment of rejections. As a young writer, he put a nail in the wall of his bedroom, onto which he impaled each \u201cno thanks\u201d form letter. So many accumulated over time that the nail would no longer support their weight, and he had to move the whole setup to his desktop. I loved the idea so much I may adopt it for myself!<\/p>\n

King does make a handful of very helpful suggestions, but for the most part he does not tell the writer \u201chow to do it.\u201d Instead, he encourages her to find her own process. I found this very refreshing, especially since I\u2019ve tried others\u2019 processes and find that they don\u2019t always work as I\u2019d hoped. Of his few \u201cmandates,\u201d one is that an aspiring writer must<\/em> use (or at least know and understand) proper grammar. He even recommends excellent sources for reference.<\/p>\n

Part memoire and part craft book, this is King\u2019s own story. From childhood all the way through the auto-pedestrian accident that nearly took his life, he talks about the obstacles he overcame, the weak points he had to work through, and how writing enriched his life. To get a peek inside this creative master\u2019s mindset on writing, to see where his ideas came from or what sparked breakthroughs during writer\u2019s block or even how he edits his own work was truly inspiring. I first read On Writing<\/em> as a library loan. Long before I finished it, I knew I wanted\u2014no, needed<\/em>\u2014my own copy; I purchased it before the loan even ran out.<\/p>\n

This is a book I will read again and again, not just because I enjoy King\u2019s style, but because as an aspiring writer, it will serve as an excellent learning tool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Stephen King Pocket Books \u00a9 1999, 2002 ISBN 9780743455961 Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages, $11.19 The \u201cKing\u201d of horror fiction got his start just like most other writers: trial and error and a lot of persistence. Growing up in Maine, surviving high school, thriving in college, then working a day job, raising a family,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-3o","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":79,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/05\/going-with-the-flow\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":0},"title":"Going with the Flow","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"February 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As I said last week, my initial foray into writing fiction was flawed. In the science fiction market, the genre for my first novel, acceptable manuscript word count tops out at around 120K as a maximum for a first-time author; mine was greater than 800K and still going with no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":139,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/03\/26\/an-education-in-craft\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":1},"title":"An Education In Craft","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"March 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"That first summer I worked with Paula on editing my manuscript, I read more than I wrote. Some of the books I read were helpful, and still sit on my shelf for future reference or inspiration. But the three that really stood out for me were Larry Brooks\u2019 Story Physics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/09\/puzzling\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":2},"title":"Puzzling","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a huge jigsaw puzzle fan. Oh, it\u2019s been a while since I put one together on my kitchen table; I seem to be too busy doing something else these days\u2014writing. You know the drill. Worldbuilding, working out plot, defining and enlivening characters who you then \u201cput up a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Puzzling-300x200.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":875,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/06\/25\/the-long-long-wait\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":3},"title":"The Long, Long Wait","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"June 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"So you submitted your work to a magazine or agent or publisher, and now the long, long wait begins. Every day, you check your e-mail (maybe multiple times) or dash to answer the phone. The time drags out, passing so slowly it feels like it\u2019ll take forever for that editor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/laptop-3087585_1920-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1049,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/17\/the-blissful-pen-confessions-of-people-who-write\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":4},"title":"The Blissful Pen: Confessions of People Who Write","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in the early 80s I took a college class taught by award-winning writer Robert P. Arthur. I remember Bob as a big guy, not just in a physical sense with his tall, broad-shouldered self, but with his overall presence. He filled a room, that man. He expected\u2014and inspired\u2014a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Faery.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Faery.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Faery.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Faery.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2145,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/08\/lessons-from-a-late-night-e-mail\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":5},"title":"Lessons From a Late-Night E-mail","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"November 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year during 2019's NaNoWriMo (https:\/\/nanowrimo.org) I penned an entire medical sci-fi\/ecofiction manuscript\u2014Enthe\u00f3phage\u2014in thirty-seven days. In the months following, and with the help of many wonderful medical experts and beta readers, I honed the manuscript into a complete, focused tale. In mid-August of this year, I decided to submit the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}