Craft books are subjective. If the author says something you agree with they're brilliant. If not, oh well, to each his own. I have a number of craft books that I feel have helped improve my writing: The Writer's Journey, Romance Writing for Dummies, The God in Every Man and The Goddess in Every Woman are some of my favorites. I've studied these books, flagged pages, written notes in the margins, but I have never read one of them from cover to cover.

I opened On Writing expecting a similar experience. I had forgotten that Stephen King is a master storyteller. Even in this, A Memoir of the Craft, he tells a compelling story. I should let you know at this point that I am not a fan of Stephen King's novels -- I don't do horror! I admire him as a very talented, successful author, but I don't read his books.

I read On Writing in two sessions (two because I received the book on Christmas day, with a house full of company and family obligations, so I could only steal an hour.) I read the book cover to cover -- every word. Not one page is flagged, not one note in the margin.

Stephen King is a master storyteller.

On Writing begins with three forwards -- all short, all written by Stephen King. He explains how he came to the decision to write a book about writing, he pledges to try and omit needless words and finally he thanks his editor -- "to write is human, to edit is divine."

The first part of this book (he titled it C.V.) is a brief autobiography--very interesting reading. King started writing when he was six years old. He sold his first story to his mother for twenty-five cents. He's been hooked ever since.

He follows his history with a short commentary on "What Writing Is." According to King, "Telepathy, of course."

King encourages writers to build a toolbox. "Put your vocabulary on the top shelf of your toolbox, and don't make any conscious effort to improve it." Your toolbox also contains grammar -- King recommends Strunk & White's The Element's of Style. He quotes William Strunk: "It is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard the rules of rhetoric. Unless he is certain of doing well, {the writer} will probably do best to follow the rules."

On Writing is filled with practical straightforward advice. Perhaps the most difficult part of writing this review was resisting the urge to fill pages and pages with quotes. For instance, "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

The book ends with three epilogues: On Living: A Postscript, where we learn about the accident in June of 1999 that almost ended King's life; And Furthermore Part I: Door Shut, Door Open, an example of King's editing process; And Furthermore Part II: A Booklist. I look forward to reading On Writing again and I do plan to flag a few pages this time- but I don't think I'll write in the margins.

Terri Richison writes women's fiction and is pursing a goal of publication with Silhouette Intimate Moments. Telling stories is a life long passion that started when she was a little girl, listening spellbound to the wonderful stories told by her Grandmother, who walked behind a covered wagon from Tennessee to Texas, encountering Indians and other hardships along the trail. Terri works part-time for a small law firm and is a full time slave to her one-hundred pound Lab and two fourteen-year-old Shelties. She has been happily married for over thirty years to her real-life hero, a man who shows her every day that romance is alive and well.

Copyright © 2005 Terri Richison. All rights reserved. Used with permission.