"On Writing" by Stephen King is one of the finest books written on the art of writing in the last thirty years. When I went to graduate school, there was a lot of talk about "Elements of Style," which was a fine book, but there was also a common snobbiness towards Stephen King as "a hack."

I'd ask if they ever read "The Body," "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Dark Tower Series," or "Jacob's Ladder." Of course the answer was always no, but that's another rant. "On Writing" is separated into more than one section. A large part is autobiographical, but reading this is encouraging to a young writer, and you get to see Stephen King using his story telling abilities that he describes later on in the book.

The advice is great because it's not theoretical. Every piece of advice Stephen King gives you in this book is something you can apply immediately, and he is willing to show how his first story was torn to pieces by his editor, and why that was a good thing. If he tells you "don't use adverbs," he then tells you why. There's no second guessing about it.

To me, this is critical, because he not only gives you great writing advice, but he helps you understand why it's great writing advice. This understanding will help you become a better writer overall, and help you understand your own creative process.

Stephen King also, more than theorists who write about "great writing," has the authority to describe how to write, and what to look for. He's a world wide best seller who has published horror, fantasy, science fiction, non fiction, and some of the best literary fiction that we've seen in this generation. When this man has something to say about writing, it's a good time to listen.

Even with the mantras about each writer having his or her own creative process, there are rules and pieces of advice that will help every type of writer, and it's this type of advice that Stephen King offers his wisdom on.

When you want to know how to write, you study writers. When one of the best selling and most prolific authors of our time offers what he knows about writing, you listen. This is one of the best books out there for how to write, regardless of what type of writing you're looking for. "On Writing" is a gem.

Learn more about this author, Shane Dayton.
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