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If only King had applied his own advice to 'On Writing'. The first half of that book is nothing but tales of Uncle Billy Bob and what real men do in Maine. The

by kranner 16y ago

If only King had applied his own advice to 'On Writing'. The first half of that book is nothing but tales of Uncle Billy Bob and what real men do in Maine. The second half I couldn't tell you.

igravious 16y ago
Excuse me? He mentions his uncle cuz he describes his uncle's toolbox. He describes it real well. He then uses this toolbox as a metaphor. The individual tools a writer has make up a writer's toolbox. Your knowledge of grammar, your vocab, your use of metaphor, your word-choice. And so on. This is your toolkit, your toolbox if you will. He calls writing a craft. Like carpentry. A craft is something you can perfect through practice. So the extended metaphor (yes it was a bit folksy but what do you expect, it's Stephen King, that's how his books sound a lot) works don't you think? A think the writing advice he gives in that book is some of _the best_ advice I have ever read. He presents the advice in his own style but I wouldn't fault him for that because he's hardly going to present it in your somebody else's style. The second half of his book tells the story of how he was practically killed by a drunk driver of a pickup truck when he was walking along the road minding his own business. He describes the massive injuries. He explains how On Writing is a direct product of that experience. He explains how he bought the pickup from the guy and smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. Give it another go. It's well worth it.
- kranner 16y ago
  To me it seems you've underlined my point. As someone who is now extolling the virtues of directness, he could have done a lot better than a few folksy metaphors with a book titled 'On Writing'. Contrast it with a real book on writing like Ursula K LeGuin's Steering the Craft (http://www.amazon.com/Steering-Craft-Exercises-Discussions-Navigator/dp/0933377460 http://www.amazon.com/Steering-Craft-Exercises-Discussions-N...) Honestly I think the guy writes whatever he pleases because he knows he's got a permanent fan base. But thanks for your note; I will finish reading the second half.
  - DougBTX 16y ago
    Did you think this article was about directness? He spent the first half telling a story about his first writing gig. I don't think his point was anything like, "don't tell stories."
    - kranner 16y ago
      > 4. Remove every extraneous word I singled out directness because that is what most of the rest of this HN thread seems to talk about.
- halloween2010 16y ago
  > He explains how he bought the pickup from the guy and smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. < Wikipedia gives a different story: "King's lawyer and two others purchased Smith's van for $1,500, reportedly to prevent it from appearing on eBay. The van was later crushed at a junkyard, much to King's disappointment, as he dreamed of beating it with a baseball bat. King later mentioned during an interview with Fresh Air's Terry Gross that he wanted to completely destroy the vehicle himself with a pickaxe" - https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/w/index.php?title=Stephen_King&oldid=394088610#Car_accident_and_thoughts_of_retirement https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/w/index.php?title=...

by kranner 16y ago

If only King had applied his own advice to 'On Writing'. The first half of that book is nothing but tales of Uncle Billy Bob and what real men do in Maine. The second half I couldn't tell you.

igravious 16y ago

Excuse me? He mentions his uncle cuz he describes his uncle's toolbox. He describes it real well. He then uses this toolbox as a metaphor. The individual tools a writer has make up a writer's toolbox. Your knowledge of grammar, your vocab, your use of metaphor, your word-choice. And so on. This is your toolkit, your toolbox if you will. He calls writing a craft. Like carpentry. A craft is something you can perfect through practice. So the extended metaphor (yes it was a bit folksy but what do you expect, it's Stephen King, that's how his books sound a lot) works don't you think? A think the writing advice he gives in that book is some of _the best_ advice I have ever read. He presents the advice in his own style but I wouldn't fault him for that because he's hardly going to present it in your somebody else's style. The second half of his book tells the story of how he was practically killed by a drunk driver of a pickup truck when he was walking along the road minding his own business. He describes the massive injuries. He explains how On Writing is a direct product of that experience. He explains how he bought the pickup from the guy and smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. Give it another go. It's well worth it.

kranner 16y ago
To me it seems you've underlined my point. As someone who is now extolling the virtues of directness, he could have done a lot better than a few folksy metaphors with a book titled 'On Writing'. Contrast it with a real book on writing like Ursula K LeGuin's Steering the Craft (http://www.amazon.com/Steering-Craft-Exercises-Discussions-Navigator/dp/0933377460 http://www.amazon.com/Steering-Craft-Exercises-Discussions-N...) Honestly I think the guy writes whatever he pleases because he knows he's got a permanent fan base. But thanks for your note; I will finish reading the second half.
- DougBTX 16y ago
  Did you think this article was about directness? He spent the first half telling a story about his first writing gig. I don't think his point was anything like, "don't tell stories."
  - kranner 16y ago
    > 4. Remove every extraneous word I singled out directness because that is what most of the rest of this HN thread seems to talk about.
halloween2010 16y ago
> He explains how he bought the pickup from the guy and smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. < Wikipedia gives a different story: "King's lawyer and two others purchased Smith's van for $1,500, reportedly to prevent it from appearing on eBay. The van was later crushed at a junkyard, much to King's disappointment, as he dreamed of beating it with a baseball bat. King later mentioned during an interview with Fresh Air's Terry Gross that he wanted to completely destroy the vehicle himself with a pickaxe" - https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/w/index.php?title=Stephen_King&oldid=394088610#Car_accident_and_thoughts_of_retirement https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/w/index.php?title=...