tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post1308058880936861160..comments2024-01-18T11:46:30.540+11:00Comments on Dangers Untold and Hardships Unnumbered: Books for Writers (1): Stephen King's On WritingRhiannon Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-7433697137497585422009-12-05T06:47:55.349+11:002009-12-05T06:47:55.349+11:00Rhiannon. . .if you read THE STAND, be aware, as T...Rhiannon. . .if you read THE STAND, be aware, as The Dirge of Gabriel says, that King really takes his time setting up characters, setting, backstory, etc. THE STAND is one of my favorite books, but I actually skimmed and sometimes skipped chapters containing The Trashcan Man character.<br /><br />That being said, I'm a big fan of Stephen King. My dad collected his books when I was kid, so I used to sneak into his room and steal them off the bookshelves and scare myself silly.<br /><br />I love a lot of his short stories in his NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES collection. And if you can find the audio version of that collection, it is incredible; A different celebrity reads each story (Kathy Bates, Jerry Garcia, David Cronenberg, Tim Curry, Yeardley Smith, Joe Morton, Matthew Broderick, etc.).Amyhttp://bookin.arlingtonlibrary.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-85610370433315330342009-11-13T18:57:19.545+11:002009-11-13T18:57:19.545+11:00Great idea to review this - I'll definitely ch...Great idea to review this - I'll definitely check this one out. Love the description of your IR too. And bless your guy for laughing in the right places, that's always awesome. <br /><br />My own personal favourite book about writing is Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, because it's great on world-building.Laurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06483030255023873716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-75479889133294466642009-11-13T18:03:08.079+11:002009-11-13T18:03:08.079+11:00My mom offered me this book some years ago and I e...My mom offered me this book some years ago and I enjoyed it too. Although it's to take with a grain of salt (some things are tips, but some things are opinions, like the bit on writing classes you talked about), I found it to be really helpful.<br /><br />I remember when I read it, I loved the bit about the IR and I kept wondering who that could be for me? I knew no one close enough to me that would enjoy reading the kind of stories I wanted to write! And then I met my Man, and he is it. He's one of the few people who understand what I want to do, but can help me with a reader's point-of-view. Even better, he reads both in French in English, so if one day I'm good enough to write in English, he'll be able to help me. Most of my friends and family wouldn't, so this is reassuring.<br /><br />Change of topic : The Specials in Uglies do get a little scarier! Like you I wasn't impress at first, but in book 3 they're something else. That being said, they're not "horror movie" scary; I found that the idea of them was what was the most disturbing. Hard to explain since I don't want to spoil it, but they're the extreme of what the Pretties are.kay - Infinite Shelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08227285073921171393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-59786006624592374132009-11-13T08:54:31.334+11:002009-11-13T08:54:31.334+11:00I really enjoyed On Writing by Stephen King. It w...I really enjoyed On Writing by Stephen King. It was a wonderful look at the inside of a writer's life and I found it inspirational as a writer.Serenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04745809545249574387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-22260182195315137762009-11-13T05:49:57.669+11:002009-11-13T05:49:57.669+11:00you know, I have no desire to write a book, but af...you know, I have no desire to write a book, but after your review I really want to read this one! And I'm not a Steven King reader. That could very easily change however.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00007037401143598285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-71841582534812204702009-11-13T02:13:50.088+11:002009-11-13T02:13:50.088+11:00I'm a King fan. When he's on, he's the...I'm a King fan. When he's on, he's the best at what he does. When he is off, he fails so badly that it almost doesn't matter - you can just toss that one aside and get on with a better one. <br /><br />His works you should read: <br />The Running Man (nothing like the movie), classic dystopian future<br />The Long Walk: psychological dystopian story<br />Different Seasons: a collection of 4 novellas, including the ones that Stand By Me and Shawshank were based on (King movie rule of thumb: aside from the Shining, his supernatural horror never works on screen, but the rest of his stuff does.)<br />Night Shift or Skeleton Crew: two books of short stories, lots of horror, some gore, but also fantasy, scifi, other stuff.<br />Start there, then try the Stand or It if you like his style.That Hankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05514310999129694443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-21715097061318389652009-11-12T17:42:01.495+11:002009-11-12T17:42:01.495+11:00Aimee--I will definitely go for Lisey's Song, ...Aimee--I will definitely go for Lisey's Song, and I think I'll start with The Stand. It's apocalyptic so should hold my attention. I hope. I was offered Horns too but I'm trying to stick to YA and just a few grown-up books. Didn't realise that was his son!<br /><br />Gabriel--I'll give The Eyes of the Dragon a go, thanks! 8 y/o boy's heart--LOL.Rhiannon Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03611927348379723038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-17466884564039871452009-11-12T12:29:42.338+11:002009-11-12T12:29:42.338+11:00You're not wrong when you hesitate in reading ...You're not wrong when you hesitate in reading King. yes, he is a great and popular writer for a reason, but unlike other writers he takes his time setting up characters, scene and plot before he gets the ball rolling.<br /><br />What I love about his "What If?" method is the simplicity of it. I'm sure you know that he does a daily walk around Maine where most of his stories are set (Salem's Lot, Castle Rock etc), and I think he must be a great 'people watcher'.<br /><br />Just like when he walked near a bridge/drain and thought of a troll in the town that became Pennywise from IT, or thought WHAT IF Dracula came to a Middle American/New England town, which became Salem's Lot. Not sure if he does his walks anymore after his accident, but I find I come up with ideas when I am driving in my car, and totally bored at work!<br /><br />In regards to the Dark Tower series, they are actually Clint Eastwood's Spagetti Westerns (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Pale Rider etc) meets Lord of the Rings. The hero Roland is actually based off Clint's "Man with No Name" character, and while they are laborious they are actually quite good, and my wife's fave series of all time (she has read all the King books too).<br /><br />In regards to Fantasy, King actually wrote "The Eyes of the Dragon" for his daughter because she didn't want to read his "Horror stuff".I find the experiment of "Bachman" quite interesting because he wanted to know if his own success was just a fluke.<br /><br />Of course Running Man etc sold well too, and then his fans figured out that King and Bachman where the same. So perhaps it's more skill than luck which makes you a bestseller.<br /><br />I saw a talk he did on youtube about writing where he said that you might read a book and find its utter rubbish, and wonder why it got published, and that you have a similar or better idea, AND if this person can get published you should be able to write your story and be published over this other person!!<br /><br />Lastly, I laugh when I think back to an interviewer who asked King how he comes up with his ideas. He answered "I have the heart of an eight-year old boy. and I keep it in a jar above my desk" :)Gabrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17172423699175288220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-46748186415050787222009-11-12T11:48:46.158+11:002009-11-12T11:48:46.158+11:00This book is total love. I just made me heart Kin...This book is total love. I just made me heart King even more after I read it.Donna (Bites)https://www.blogger.com/profile/12585421704517898076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-30076569564681850002009-11-12T11:28:08.858+11:002009-11-12T11:28:08.858+11:00I just bought this book the other day. I haven'...I just bought this book the other day. I haven't started it yet although I have read a few excerpts and what he says is so spot on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-25942959390470252502009-11-12T10:43:47.269+11:002009-11-12T10:43:47.269+11:00Aside from a few short stories, this book is the o...Aside from a few short stories, this book is the only one of King's that I've read. I'm not big on horror.La Coccinellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03118313017081994087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-78863512784363319382009-11-12T09:33:04.695+11:002009-11-12T09:33:04.695+11:00Sounds like great books, I'm going to try them...Sounds like great books, I'm going to try them out. I'm currently writing a book.<br /><br />http://fantasysink.blogspot.com/Bleuettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12645439518677826949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109955980329789216.post-79307839356568142592009-11-12T09:17:29.870+11:002009-11-12T09:17:29.870+11:00OK. So when I did my creative writing degree at un...OK. So when I did my creative writing degree at uni, this was the only 'writing' textbook they gave me that I enjoyed. The others were all crap and I suspect that most of them were teaching the course and just wanted to plug their own books. <br />I hadn't ever finished a book of Stephen King's before - I tried IT and it scared the f*** out of me so I couldn't see it. I saw the movie version with tim curry, i think it was, and couldn't finish that one either. Then I watched The Shining and I can't look at Jack Nicholson the same.<br /><br />So then I was recommended 'Lisey's Story' and COULD finish that one, although there is a certain 'piebald boy' that still creeps me out now when I think of particular scenes. It's more of a fantasy love story, and has some gorgeous elements...but overall I found it to be too experimental and self-indulgent to be a GREAT book. But you might like that one, i'm not sure.<br /><br />I was then recommended the Gunslinger as part of that Dark Tower series which is apparently a dark Wizard of Oz/ Lord of the Rings thingy. But i was bored to tears. Perhaps I should try reading that one again.<br /><br />I know you don't want to read a psychological/horror one, but I've heard The Stand is one of the best books he's written - so when I get the guts to read it I will.<br /><br />I was just offered an ARC of his son's, Joe Hill's, new book 'Horns'. I know its bad to compare him to his father since he obviously wants to be his own writer, but I will definitely be comparing them and if I like it I'll recommend him to you as well as part of your Stephen King experimentation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com