4 ms·
I dislike Stephen King's fiction, but this title is regarded by many as the single greatest book on writing of all time.
by phaus 13y ago
I dislike Stephen King's fiction, but this title is regarded by many as the single greatest book on writing of all time.
- igravious 13y agoIf you are starting off writing, and you're not a freak of nature like David Foster Wallace or James Joyce, and you can get over any revulsions you have about Mr. King, and you'd like to be shown the tools of the craft by a friendly craftsman, for what it is worth I can recommend it. And I want to say thank you (not) to that girl who borrowed my copy and promised to call me and return it and didn't - you suck just a little bit.
- dandrews 13y agoI find his fiction enjoyable; it reads easily and his sense of humor is similar to my own. (It is possible to overdose on his style, as I did on Vonnegut after a few volumes.) "Single greatest book on writing of all time?" We'll part company here too. I read On Writing shortly after it came out, and was entertained through the front half, but can't for the life of me remember a shred of advice from it. I do recall the striking discontinuity in the last part, where he writes about the auto accident that nearly killed him. The writing was obviously different from that in the front of the book, and I felt the topic was out of place, and even self-indulgent. But he gets a bye, 'cause he's Stephen King.