On Writing

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Stephen King

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

In June of 1999, Stephen King was hit by a van while walking along the shoulder of a country road in Maine. Six operations were required to save his life and mend his broken body. When he was finally able to sit up, he immediately started writing. This book is the extraordinary result.

©2000 Stephen King (P)2000 Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic Reviews

"This is the written equivalent of Delia Smith's How To Cook. And, like British home cooking, the world of popular fiction will be better off for it." (The Times)

"Not since Dickens has a writer had so many readers by the throat.... King's imagination is vast. He knows how to engage the deepest sympathies of his readers.... It is part biography, part collection of tips for the aspiring writer. In the final chapters, King tells, in graphic details, the story of his recent accident...a bizarre and absorbing story, told brilliantly by one of the great storytellers of our time." (Guardian)

Part 'How to' part Autobiographical

Would you consider the audio edition of On Writing to be better than the print version?

Yes - easier to access for busy budding writers

What other book might you compare On Writing to and why?

None, Stephen King's advice and narration are so easy to listen to and his honesty is very inspiring.

Have you listened to any of Stephen King’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, Bag of Bones, love his voice, this was a different type of book and very easy to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was very moved when he admitted and owned his alcoholism.

Any additional comments?

I love his message, writers need to understand that he wasn't born with a golden spoon. He worked very hard at some seriously menial jobs and perservered with his writing when most of us would be making excuses.

i love this book

if you want to know more about writing no nonsense style with a big grin on your face, well, look no further.

Not a fan of his genre but this is wonderful

Horror and suspense have never been my thing. I only know Stephen King's work through books that have been turned into movies.

After reading this, I'm thinking perhaps I'll try one of his stories.

I bought this book because it seems to be universally recommended by writers I respect.

Glad I did as I loved it from start to finish.

The first part, where he tells his early life story is hilarious, intimate and interesting. You get to understand why he writes what he writes. I was also left thinking I'd love to have this guy as a friend.

He narrates beautifully. As such, I'm glad I got the Audible version first rather than the hard copy or Kindle.

I found what he has to say about his craft humble, helpful and inspiring. He's at pains to dispel some of the common "thou shallts" of writing fiction, such as plotting out in advance and creating character dossiers in advance.

I won't spoil it for you by summarising the rest. All I want to say is, if you write, whatever you write, you will find this useful and uplifting. You'll also be entertained.

I'll most likely buy a hard copy or Kindle version too as there's lots of useful stuff I'd like to refer back to.

The only Stephen King book I liked

A nice conversation with the most famous american author. I don't really liked his writing but this made me want to read his early works.
I enjoyed listening verry much

Is this for you?

Is this book for you? It is about writing and we all write, don't we? Not really.

If you are a fiction writer in any form or format it is non brainer to choose this book. It will be worth two of your credits. If you are an aspiring fiction writer, it may work as a reality check on the profession you intend to pursue. It will definitely change the the way you look at authoring. So use your credit three times over without a second thought.

For non-fiction writers. I am not sure if this book would be of help other than gaining some insights and learning about "trials and tribulations" of writers in general and why not to use clichés like "trials and tribulations". You may also develop a strong dislike for adverbs after reading this book.

For someone who is not pursuing writing it may not be entertaining. It is is not one of Stephen Kings thrillers. It is also not a self development / improvement book. It definitely is not boring, but you will not be able to put most of the advice to use.

If you are into email marketing and creating web content, This book may just sadden you. It will make you look at each new request from your manager to create content with suspicion, contempt and dislike.

Don’t write until you read this

I have just completed my second novel started my third written a film script and I am in the process of writing a TV seriesx3 my work has improved immeasurably because Stephen wrote this book to help. Can’t recommend it enough

Great book!!

Great author and narrator. Listened to it twice and would listen to it again. Very helpful and inspiring for beginners in the craft of novel writing!!

Absolutely inspiring & informative!

I loved King's autobiographical way of sharing his experience. It was a huge encouragement for someone such as myself starting out as a writer. I'm definitely going to be listening to this a second time through. I wish you all the best of luck as you embark on the journey. Thanks Mr. King for being so personal!

great value listen

said everything an aspiring writer needs to hear and covered most questions I had and wondered about

A master story-teller even when it's a non-fiction

I enjoyed listening to this a lot for the simple reason that Stephen King speaks about his craft in a non-technical manner. What makes it interesting and inspiring is that the stories he shared are real and they give you a glimpse (and sometimes front seat viewing) of his personal life - his passion, vulnerability, drive, lessons learned and other things that make him the prolific and successful writer that he is today.

He also came across as being his authentic self when he narrates the book. He didn't come across as pretentious. This appeals to me a lot as it's not often when I experience an author speaking to me from his heart when their words are actually in written form.

This has become one of my few favourite audio books so far.

Great personal insight

A rare thing - a modern writer, a great to many, willing to stop and reflect on his success, share his thoughts AND read it himself for the audiobook version. On Writing is part autobiography, part discourse on creative writing read engagingly by the author throughout.



Don't be put of by the autobiographical element if all you are after is creative writing tips; likewise, don't be put off by the tips if your interest lies in King's life story. The two work well together.

Brilliant

I listened to this a number of times over the years before I began writing myself but have just revisited it having become an author with a few books under my belt and therefore some experience to help put King's book in context.
I don't agree with every last word he says and some of the advice on publishing is naturally dated, but this is a brilliant book and I recommend it wholeheartedly to any aspiring author. Or, in fact, any author at all.

Genius

Would you consider the audio edition of On Writing to be better than the print version?

I have both the print and the audio version and there are benefits to both. The print is useful as a quick reference guide but the audio is just a brilliant and engaging story and guide to writing

What did you like best about this story?

The insight into Stephen King's mind as well as the tips on writing. It made me want to start writing and also left me in awe at his ability to construct the perfect phrase.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I loved reading about the ideas for his books, how one simple idea would slowly transform into a long novel.

Any additional comments?

Utterly brilliant, exactly what an audio book should be, if you are on a long journey or doing a task long tedious task you can get yourself lost in the words of Stephen King, this audio book helped a 3 hour drive up the motorway fly by.

Autobiographical and a manual for writing

The narration by King himself is great, once you get used to his slightly unusual tone. This guy knows about writing and it is a fascinating insight into how King writes. I listened to this in part, a large part to be honest, to get my own writing going again. In some respects this was pretty hard as some of kings advice i struggle to see how I could follow, however many of the tips I could see myself following. The main thing is the sheer love King has for writing is so obvious throughout, and that I found very inspiring.

Great book for "would be" writers.

The american accent grates after a while and the narration is wooden and lacks fluidity, but the content is sharp, inspirational and extremley valuable for novice writers. The pace is acceptable but so many of his tips and words of wisdom could do with a pen and paper at the ready to capture this valuable information. Perhaps audible could consider providing a summary of key points for customers who have purchased a book? This is not the first time that I have been listening to a great book whilst driving, with no opportunity to record detail and ended up frustrated at the loss of specific information that would be very useful to my personal development!!

Essential read for any writer

This was my first audiobook experience, and I couldn't have chosen any better. Pure magic!

Not a King fan but this is excellent

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely, this is well thought out advice from one of the most successful writers of our time.

Any additional comments?

I've not read much Stephen King but I have no hesitation in recommending this audiobook.

It provides many, many useful writing tips and advice and if you are writer you cannot fail but to gain something from it regardless of your experience level.

You only have to look at the number of writing courses and text books which quote from this text to see how valuable it is.

Superb

Works great as a good read or a guide to writing. Everyone told me it would be great. It was actually better than that. Very, VERY useful.

FANTASTIC

Essential listening / reading for any would-be writer. He's a revelation. I was expecting dark and morose, but he's a wonderful narrator and a generous author. Get it.

Memorable and Inspiring

The most memorable thing about this book was its honesty - Stephen King allows us to see through the window of his life to get a glimpse of the man and the writer. The most inspiring aspect of this book was the permission it provides to those of us who aspire to write but doubt ourselves. Stephen King, thank you. Thank you for the permission to try, permission to fail, and permission to try again. You are an inspiration.