Book Review: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King

5 stars

Plot Summary:

"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

Review:

This memoir was published back in 2000, and it has taken me this long to finally read it.  Given how much praise I've heard about "On Writing", I don't know why I haven't gotten to it sooner, but I'm happy to say it's absolutely worth the read.  I'm not very familiar with Stephen King's work (I've only read a couple of his novels) so before picking up this book, my opinion of him was just as a very accomplished and successful writer.  Also, he writes some scary stories.  After reading this book, I'm impressed by his talent and his awareness of the craft - because he has so winningly and clearly distilled what goes into storytelling.

In the first part of the memoir, Stephen King talks about his childhood and about some of the influences in his life that led to him becoming an author.  It was an interesting section because understanding his influences helped me to understand what draws me to reading and writing.  I identified with King's experiences and even his upbringing in a way.  Although he seemed more mischievous than I ever was.

There have been many reviews on why this book is an important look at a writer's experience and the unique ways in which a story is created from an idea.   I feel like I can't add much more to the praise, but I do want to talk about some specific things that spoke to me while I was reading it.

When drafting a story, King emphasized "Writing with an open door", or writing for yourself first, and then going over it again with the audience in mind.  Getting started on any piece of art can be difficult and there is freedom in just starting without worrying about what other people will think. Editing afterward will be your friend.  This brings me to another important tidbit -  the second draft should be 10% less than the first draft.  King mentioned he got this advice from another person but has taken it to heart ever since.  To me, if you accept that some of your first draft is going to be awful, then there is comfort in knowing that you will take it out later.  It gives you the freedom to be creative and not worry about being perfect the first time.

Although this book is about writing, King stresses the importance of reading, which I completely agreed with.  I love that he talked about bringing a book with you everywhere you go - because you never know when you might have a spare moment to read.  He also advocated reading in bits and pieces as well as finding time for extended reading sessions.  That is something I find myself doing often.

The book wraps up with King's account of his horrible car accident in 1999.  I was surprised he would talk so candidly about the event, but it is clear that writing about it was also a catharsis for him, and seeing that hits home another meaningful aspect of the importance of writing.

Goodreads

Book signing - Shea Serrano, all-around good dude

Shea Serrano is truly a renaissance man for our generation: he writes about sports for The Ringer, he's topped the New York Times Best Seller list twice with books about rap music and basketball, and his newest book discusses his love of movies.  But it's not simply a discussion of film that makes his latest work - Movies (And Other Things) - so great, but rather the way in which he presents his passion.  He's more interested in engaging in thought-provoking conversation than simply stating his views.  It's what has drawn me to his work, both in print and on social media.

I first became aware of Shea Serrano's wit through his increasingly popular Twitter account, which he uses not only to talk about sports but also to shed light on issues that have a profound effect on him.  In a time in which it's common to see naysayers tell prominent figures to "stick to (insert day job)" - sports, in Shea's case - he has used his platform to spread positivity AND encourage his followers to do so as well.  Those followers, collectively known as the "FOH Army", have embraced the philanthropic efforts Shea has put forth and done so with great pride, raising money for a group of worthwhile causes.  How refreshing to see an artist use his talents for good, and I only regret not discovering him sooner.

Earlier this month, Shea was doing a book signing at Skylight Books in Los Feliz: I had to be there!

As mentioned, Movies (And Other Things) puts a unique spin on film writing by avoiding the standard long-form analysis of the medium, opting instead for a series of movie-related questions posed by the author to precipitate insightful and often humorous discourse.  These questions - such as "Who's in the perfect heist movie crew?" and "Who gets it the worst in Kill Bill?" - are specifically designed to incite debate, based on hypothetical means while also being grounded in hard fact.  His appearance at Skylight Books was framed as an extension of the book: in a unique turn of events, Shea himself served as the moderator of his own Q&A, posing a series to questions to two of his Los Angeles-based colleagues from The Ringer (Jason Concepcion and Mallory Rubin, co-hosts of the Binge Mode podcast), which included "What movie lawyer would you want to defend you if you were on trial for your life?" and "Which movie death hurt you the most as an adult?"*

For nearly an hour, the three writers defended their answers with great dedication and charm, thoroughly entertaining the large crowd that had packed themselves into the cozy bookstore.  As an added bonus, the incredibly talented Arturo Torres - who has illustrated each of Serrano's books - was also in attendance, and took part in the book signing.  Charlene and I were lucky enough to have been situated not too far back in the line, as I nervously anticipated meeting these two artists.  Should I just get my book signed and move on?  Should I ask for a picture?  Should I try to start a brief conversation, and if so, on what topic?  After careful consideration, I had my answer.

The time had come and I approached the table: I assumed Shea would be spending enough time talking about movies throughout his book tour, so I opted to talk sports.  I knew that he was an avid WNBA fan and followed the Las Vegas Aces, which prompted me to ask about Dearica Hamby's insane buzzer-beater from the 2019 playoffs.  What followed was a brief but pleasant anecdote about where he was when that shot went down, and how he was glad there wasn't a camera watching him at the time.  The two men signed my book (Arturo even added a drawing), posed for a quick picture and I immediately made room for the next fan.

It was thrilling to get to hear Shea Serrano speak, and even more so to meet him and share a moment.  I can't recommend his work - and his Twitter feed - enough, and I can only hope more people discover his fantastic talents.  However, I get the feeling that may already be the case, as I learned that Movies (And Other Things) just became Shea's THIRD book to top the New York Times Best Seller list - do yourself a favor and check him out!

*While pondering what to ask Shea before having my book signed, I considered answering these two questions to see if he thought they were good choices.  His original answers during the Q&A were Elle Woods (from Legally Blonde) as the movie lawyer to defend him, and King Kong (from the 2005 Peter Jackson remake) as the death that hurt him the most as an adult.   For me, I would choose Vinny Gambini (from My Cousin Vinny) to defend me, with the death that hurt me the most being Ellie Fredricksen (Carl's late wife from the Pixar film Up).

Book signing - Lang Leav, poet/author extraordinaire

A few years ago I came across some quoted pieces by Lang Leav and fell in love with her beautifully elegant and spare style of writing.  Her style can bring emotion to life so effortlessly.  I own a couple of her poetry books and go back to them occasionally to delve into their sentimental joys.  Recently I discovered Lang Leav was going to do a book signing at my local Barnes & Noble to promote her latest YA novel release, Poemsia, and I had to go!

The event was held on a lovely Sunday afternoon - perfect to spend some time at the bookstore and then go for a nice dinner and a movie after - I wish more book signings were on Sundays, it's nice to not have to deal with traffic getting to the bookstore after a day at work.  Anyways.  The group of fans at the signing were all very devoted and enthusiastic.  I enjoyed how much anticipation and glee there was for when she finally walked out.  And I felt pretty gleeful as well.  She seems unassuming and quiet in real life - with a soft New Zealand or Australian accent (not sure which) and that was a surprise to me - I didn't realize she lived in New Zealand now!  

After Lang greeted us, the discussion moderator asked some questions about the inspiration for Poemsia - Lang was working on another novel (one that was more of a dark thriller) when she got up for some water in the middle of the night and her partner Michael spoke the word "poemsia" in his sleep.  She woke him up and told him what he said and he gave her permission to use it, as it had inspired a story for her.  Lang said that she often gets asked by fans for advice on becoming a poet and author and in a way this novel is her answer - in an interesting fictional format.  But apparently there are a lot of life lessons to be learned, and knowledge about the nature of the business in this book.  I am very intrigued!  I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but I'm sure I'll post a review of the book here when I do.

Of course, the talk also covered her poetry, and when it came to audience questions, people wanted to hear her inspiration for her various works.  My personal favorite "Sea of Strangers" came up, and she even read the poem for the group.  It made me so happy!  She was also asked what poems of hers were Michael's favorite, and she said the ones about him - in particular, "Sundays with Michael."  Although her favorite about Michael is called "Stowaway."

After the discussion and reading from her novel, the book signing commenced - she was able to spend time with everyone, and there were quite a few people who had her other books to sign as well.  When it was finally my turn to go up, I wasn't sure what to say being a little starstruck, but she asked about our plans for the rest of the day and I love that she had a question ready for any tongue-tied fans!  After that, I asked about her plans and my much more outgoing husband told her that when we first met, I had asked him to record audio of himself reading one of her poems ("Sea of Strangers") just for me to listen to sometimes.  It really is such a beautiful poem.

Here's our photo!

I so enjoyed the book signing and if you haven't heard of or read any of Lang Leav's works I highly encourage you to check it out!