On Writing by Stephen King

What a book! Honestly I cannot stress how fantastic this book is for those of you who are already writing, or like myself, just starting out.

Stephen King has a way of telling it the way it is! The experience he has to share is overwhelming.  He kinda reminds me of Sir Tom Jones name dropping all of his musical experiences on the voice.  However, Stephen is far more interesting.

My only wish was that I had read this book before submitting my first manuscript.  It would have saved the editor a lot of hard work and time, as well as my embarrassment at such silly mistakes. Although I can honestly say that I fully understand what was wrong with the manuscript, so I guess the lesson has still been learnt.

The book is split into three main sections. The first; a little about Stephens life, how he came to write; the second is about writing, finding your voice and the last section is how to edit your manuscript and what you can do with it.

Within the book, there was an unexpected exercise to do.  I have to confess that I jumped at the chance to write it.  They concept was based on something you often hear about on the news, or read in the paper.  What was so exciting about it was the simple, yet highly effective twist, Stephen put on it.  I can’t go into detail because I want you to read the book for yourself, but I promise you that, if you are a fan of Mr. King, you will love it!

The exercise has turned into my current WIP and I am scared shitless of one of the characters.  I guess that’s a good thing right?  Who knows and time will tell I guess.  Once it is finished, I will post it up here.  Just to warn you, that if you are not a fan of thriller/chiller/horror, then perhaps this is not the book for you.  I will let you know the fright rate once it is complete.  It will all depend how brave I am at letting this scary character loose.

Until next time, take care.

J.P.Stevens xxx