His writting is great and now you can too
344805
Stephen King is my favorite author. The language is great. The sentence structure is simple but full of meaning. The paragraphs are beautifully map. And now he is teaching on witting. If you want to write better just buy it.
3573108
I love Jeff's writing and how he tells it like it was for him when he started. He has become one of my favorite authors.
974293
He was such a fine writer. Our Town, which is not in this book, was one of those plays we had to read in high school and resonates to this day. But I had never read The Bridge of San Luis Rey, so I bought this book to read that and to sample some of his other novels.
I took my time reading every word (sometimes reading sections more than once) and tried to absorb all of his detailed descriptions, which really add to the richness of the experience. I thought the Bridge of San Luis Rey was wonderful.  I liked all of the other stories, although some more than others. I learned something from each novel - either about his time and place or the times and places he created. It was all worth the effort.
One observation: The font is very small and the line spacing practically non-existent, so you might need an index card or something like that to make the reading easier.
3112187
Sometimes a book is great because it's well-written, organized, clear, and/or comical. This book is all of the above. But in my opinion, what sets it apart from all the other good books on writing is Marc McCutcheon's personal touch.
This is one of those books where the author's personality really shines through. I loved it from the minute I skimmed through it in the bookstore, and straight through the 3 or 4 times I've gone back to it over the last few years. The reason that it's the only writing book I've bought instead of just borrowed from the library is simple: Marc McCutcheon has achieved the essence of what I would one day like to achieve for myself.
You might be wondering what that is, exactly. It's the freedom that comes from working for no one but yourself, and living your life in a constant state of creative expression. All you have to do to see that Marc McCutcheon has reached this point is read his dedication:
"To all the kids on Hamilton Street who have drawn me away from the confines of my office to play whiffleball, break up fights, shoot hoops, check out salamanders,...apply bandages, build snow forts,...and provide endless excuses not to work when I didn't want to anyway..."
This is the kind of life that being a successful writer can  afford. There are many books that show you how to get there, but this is the only one that also reminds you why you're doing it in the first place. When you're swimming in rejection slips, uncertainty, and more than your fair share of disappointments, what you need most is NOT a how-to book, but something to remind you what you're working towards. This book is that something.
461714
He is a prolific and experiencial writer the best kind. He reasearches for up to fifteen years before he puts it on paper. A writers writer. Excellent!
1364388
The book was great,I got alot out of it and liked his style in which he wrote the book.
4496790
Suberb! Mr. Appel seems to bring his writing to higher planes with every book, if that's possible. While not every reader may like every story, there's no denying the writing talent here. The author's usual ultra-keen observation of people shines. The wry wit is there as well. There are still sad bits to some of the stories, exquisitely painful bits, and even overboard optimism by at least one character. So much to take in. One thing I enjoy about Mr. Appel's writing is his deft knowledge of not overdoing, -- of sensing the exact amount of whatever is going on to make it believable, or hardly so, but not going too far either way. In all his writings, but particularly this one, the details are the same -- enough, well done, not overdone.

The only trouble I see is that Mr. Appel doesn't write best sellers. The writing is above that, far above. It's cerebral but easy to read and for readers who enjoy literary writing with highly personal themes, slices of life, satire sometimes, stories so different to a book that would be read by the masses. He should be required reading in all writing classes.

And what's the deal? This man is a physician, attorney, and bioethicist. How can someone that talented also be an astonishingly good writer? He has won a number of literary prizes, so this is an overachiever. I hope he's been memorable at his other professions, because it's clear he'll be remembered for his writing.

If you care for this sort of writing, just read.
2974689
I feel like I got to know a wonderful man and a great character, one who is normally well-hidden behind the horror stories he writes. This book is delightful, the stories interesting, and the writing tips genuine and self-tested.  It's obvious that King does not believe in preaching to others about anything, including how to write. However, he manages to use himself as an exhibit of sorts - we are privileged to take the journey that he offers us, walking in his footsteps through family, writing, his accident and amazing recovery, and his acing of obstacles big and small. I just happened to be going through serious surgery and rehab while I was reading this and felt, for the first time in ages, hope. I also recharged and started writing again.

King never preaches, and is completely true to himself. Very human, straightforward and heroic. This guy doesn't just want to give us nightmares or heart attacks, in his genuine manner, he addresses us as a delightfully flawed young man,a husband and  I love it.

Most of all, I appreciate it, realizing that many writers out of necessity, keep themselves to themselves.  They live in a secret place of worlds and possibilities.

So thank you Mr. King

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/On-Writing-A-Memoir-of-the-Craft/dp/B009BDVD2Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft</a>
4364161
I bought audiobooks of both of his books. I loved the first book, but this is much better. His writing skills have improved a lot, and I would assume, and rightly so, that his life is more interesting now, because his first book was a hit. If you can, get the audiobook. It is narrarated by him, and he breaks out laughing at times talking about his encounters. It's like you're talking to him face to face.
328429
I write a lot.
I read a lot.
But I don't generally read stuff by Stephen King. I am not a rabid fan. I can't do "Cujo"-type books.

So when I saw that he'd written something nonfiction I was delighted.
Ten pages into this book I was more than delighted. I was as entertained by this little book as I have ever been by any work of fiction.

What a wonderful look at the formative bits and pieces that have gone into making Stephen King the writer he is today---the autobiographical snapshots we get of King as a boy and young adult are priceless. Just priceless. Eavesdropping on his sensible (but quirky) thoughts about creative writing made it hard to put the book down. He spares himself (and others) nothing and his bald honesty, well put, led me to read this book all in one day.

King tells us that it's his reading, writing and perseverance that have made him what he is today. But, good writer that he is, he also SHOWS us that it takes uncommmon powers of observation as well.

This isn't a book only for wannabe writers or King fans, it's just a darn good book that anybody can enjoy.
3585018
...you'll love ths.

I really appreciate the way he talks and his richness of language. If you are not a fan of the man in person, you won't like his autobiography. He meanders all over with the story, but he so is interesting, and so honest. I feel like I know him a little better now, and I appreciate who he is more, but then I was already a massive fan.

I enjoyed this book very much, and would recommend it.
1842970
When a writer gives you a character like this man, you know he himself is both tender and strong.  What a story.
3189473
Yeah, he really is as good as the other reviews say. The substance of each story would be enough to keep anyone turning the pages. Add to that a guy who apparently can't write a bad sentence, and you have one of the most satisfying books I've read in a long time.
796880
These are Ben Franklin's own words about himself.  It's a miracle this book even exists.  If you read the beginning, he explains that someone wrote a letter that convinced him to write his autobiography as an inspiration to young people.  As you get deeper into the book, you realize that Ben lives at an entirely different level than the average or modern person. He is intimately involved in the evolution of his community--from fostering a fire department to arranging for the streets to be kept clean. People respect him so much that they put him in offices without his vying for the job. This causes him to have many different responsibilities at once according to the needs and desires of his community. Also, I believe he was self-aware enough to sense that the act of writing an autobiography, when you are a great man to people, could seem vain or arrogant.  I think it took the encouragement of an admirer, (writing a letter), using the argument that young people needed to see how one may become a Ben Franklin to get him to sit down and do this.  I read the neg reviews and was surprised. Ben often says he's not the best writer of his time. He's not trying for literary merit, fame, or sales.  This isn't actually a story.  It's his life from his view of why and how he accomplished so much. He's not trying to excite or impress you with his achievements because, at the time, people were well aware of what he accomplished. It isn't finished and doesn't get into the creation of the United States because he was too busy helping with the creation of the United States. He doesn't write about his family life because that's a different level of private.  Ben writes about his evolution and takes pains to show his naivete, flaws, and bad judgment as a young man.  He takes pains to speak of the ideas that transformed him and his great need to be a better man today than he was yesterday.  He explains that his life has been a process and that it has been hard work with many disappointments and worries.  He also establishes how important it is to set up and build friendships.  If you read carefully, the JUNTO was a spur for the growth of great men and the center in a web of mutually beneficial connections in a world where the great can be envied to the point of being despised. HE even goes to great lengths to explain how he had to develop his character and persona so that he didn't alienate people.  Some are upset about him breaking his apprenticeship with his brother without bearing witness to the fact that his brother was beating him as if he were just anybody, with little brotherly regard, even though Ben, by all accounts, was a great, skillful, and energetic worker. He was temperate and multi-talented, even familiar with many different skills and tools.  He took matters to his father on several occasions, his father having a reputation for being just and fair, and his father agreed that Ben was mostly right in the situations in which he thought he was being mistreated.  He didn't agree that Ben leave, but who would stand their brother to beat them as people beat their servants/slaves back then? I thought this book was fun, interesting, and inspiring. I thought he had a subtle, sly sense of humor. I think you have to read between the lines to really get it. (Did you, by chance, piece together that this guy was a vegetarian, avid/accomplished/athletic swimmer who seldom drank and was twice as strong as many men who thought they were pretty strong?  He also had greater endurance and kicked it up a notch if he didn't think he was working his body hard enough. The young Ben Franklin was probably hot.  I'm just saying:).)
4405803
He writes for all to understand.  Excellent quality as well. He is clearly understood and I find him easy to use for teaching.
4513187
Ron is a friend so I may be a little bias here. I have known Ron now for 20+ years and have always enjoyed his books. Like his books in the past, this also rises to the top. Ron's down to earth writing is a blessing and he makes things easily clear. Cheers!
243278
If you have read any of Pat Conroy's works, but especially the Prince of Tides, you know what a gifted writer this man is. As they say, he is the real thing. His ability to turn a phrase, to tease out the exact emotion he is looking for and then take that feeling and rework it, and get right down into your gut is extraordinary. In this partial autobiography he takes us the reader on a literary tour of the world of the mind, as explored though the books he has read. From poetry, and philosophy through history, you realize the deep importance that books have had on his intellectual development, and just maybe in his words - his sanity.

These are the people, the places, the experiences that he has gone through, that have molded him into one of the truly gifted writers of his generation. Could it have been different? The answer is of course it could have, but by reading Tolkien, and Milton, and the Greek historian Thucydides, he had to turn out the way he did. His love of language was developed through the written word, and if you were to go into his house today in the South, you would discover something very interesting.

You would find a set of notebooks that he has kept all these years written in his hand. When he would find an interesting phrase, he would write it down. Whether it was a description, or even words about a sound, his love of language would dictate that somehow he needed to write it down, and then play with it. After doing this for years, when he became a writer, Conroy had a deep reservoir of language, and phrasings that he could apply to his own work. He would keep going back to those notebooks.

There is honesty in this book on every page, and there is wisdom. In every utterance you feel what some writers have referred to as the power of books to help shape a human life. In the case of a writer, this shaping is then reflected back in the written word that becomes his book. We still know however, that no matter how much we read, and Conroy says it much better when he contemplates that if he could read a million books, he would still find himself to be a mediocre thinker. There is just so much to read. I found that the three most interesting chapters in the book were:

Gone with the Wind (Chapter 2)
Conroy's mother reads the masterpiece to her son every night beginning at age five, and the boy finds himself transformed by the words.

The Old New York Book Shop (Chapter 6)
It's not in New York by the way. There are shelves of books and Conroy wonders just how long each of those books can sit on a shelf, just waiting to transform the person that is going to pick them up, for books are living things and they have the power to change us.

Why I write (Chapter 14)
If you have ever thought about what are the different rituals that an author must go through to be able to pick himself up and sit down and write, then this chapter is for you. Each author is different in his technique, but many experience writer's block, some just go at it. Conroy requires a special location to get going. It is a very interesting chapter, and be sure not to miss it.

CONCLUSION:

This book is physically smaller than most books, and it fits nicely in the palm of your hand. The pages are referred to as deckle edging which has a nice feel to it, and the font made it easily readable. I read it while on an airplane, and as I flew, time flew with me. That is the power of a great book. It has the ability to make you escape time, and be absorbed into what the author is conveying to each of us, and for each it is different. I gladly gave this book five stars and wish there were more like it. Order it today, and thank you for reading this review.

Richard C. Stoyeck