Stephen King is an underrated writer. Of course, he's very popular, a household name, the author of many extremely well-known books which have also inspired many extremely well-known movie adaptations. But his usual genre, horror, doesn't get much respect from the literary establishment. And when he did receive a lifetime achievement award from the National Book Awards, his work was described by publisher Richard Snyder as "non-literature." Critic Howard Bloom called the award for distinguished contribution to American letters "another low in the shocking process of dumbing down our cultural life."

But King is, I believe, an excellent writer--what he does, he does extraordinarily well, although it is absolutely not for all tastes. (I would certainly rather spend time with him than with Harold Bloom at a party, were I given the option.)

On Writing is an interesting and unusual book in that it is part memoir, part description of King's creative process and the inspiration for much of his fiction, and part straightforward and practical writing advice. Together, it adds up to a rather seamless and very engaging whole.

Much of what he has written, even the most horrific of scenarios, was based (at least the non-supernatural part of the stories) in real life, his own life: specific locations in Maine, his experiences with and his observations of poverty, addiction, cruelty, misfits, families struggling. His true gift is really the depiction of ordinary people (often unkind, impatient, uncommunicative, lazy--people having typical human flaws of all kinds) with the fantastic--the monstrous, the inexplicable, the horrifying.

King comes across as friendly, intelligent, a good storyteller, and a passionate fan of books and literature of all kinds. If you write, you will likely find his advice helpful. If you don't, you may well find his advice amusing. If you are a fan of his novels and short stories, you may enjoy learning under what circumstances they came about. And if you simply enjoy reading good writing--you will find it here.

BOOK: On Writing

AUTHOR: Stephen King

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2000

IMAGE: book cover, Scribner