38 Comments

When I decided to writer a memoir, I read KIng's book, also Mary Karr's book on writing memoir. I liked King's mix of advice and his own story. I think the most inspiring thing I got from King's 'On Writing,' was his advice, or his recounting, of the importance of 'being with' a book completely, for as many months or years required, keeping all else at bay. But you can only do this is you have a very understanding wife or husband, or... you are not in a relationship.

Anyway... as the old guy says, after I read up on the writing of memoir, I did exactly that. But I have no partner. I'm older now and live with a cat. So I was able to take King's advice. It all worked out and I got the book written and it's now sitting in about a dozen publishing houses, waiting to be read by some volunteer or junior staffer. So far no bites. But I did it. And the only people who suffered as a result were the neighbors who watched the weeds slowly take over my front yard.

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Congrats on finishing your memoir, Paul. That alone is a major accomplishment! I’ve heard great things about Karr’s book.

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Thank you. I found her 'how to do' memoir book very informative and well written. Her memoir was a big book and did very well, but it was from a female POV. That gave me some insight but I was not completely taken up with the story. I seem to enjoy books written by males more. I hope that doesn't sound mean. I'm just being honest about my taste.

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We like what we like. As my old boss used to say, that’s why God made chocolate and vanilla. But it’s always good to step outside our routines from time to time.

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On Writing is the only Stephen King book I’ve read, and have actually reread—I respect and admire his writing and perseverance immensely, even if I’m not a fan of his main genre.

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I’ve heard many people say much the same. It’s definitely a cult classic at this point. For good reason. It’s excellent. And the memoir portions of the book provide examples of what he advises.

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A friend of mine has read this twice and loves it. I never thought I'd be interested in it since I'm not a writer. But your review makes me want to now!

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It’s excellent, worth it just for the memoir portions of the book.

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Best audio book I've ever listened to. King telling his own life stories is fantastic 👍

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I agree. I listened to it and enjoyed every minute.

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Now I'm going to have to read King's writing memoir. Last year, I stumbled onto the phenomenon of books like King's by authors in other genres and so far, I have really enjoyed them. A couple more in the same line as King are:

- 'A Time to Remember' by mystery author P.D. James. James wrote this as a diary the year she turned 70, so the flashbacks to periods in her life and the books she wrote occur as current events during the year trigger her memory.

- 'On the Magic of Writing' by fantasy author Diana Wynne Jones. Jones' book is actually a collection of essays and addresses she wrote for various publications and assemblies, so there is some repetition of ideas, but she had such an extraordinary childhood and such clear ideas about fantasy writing - as a student, she attended lectures given by Tolkien - that it is well worth reading.

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I’ve heard great things about James’s diary!

Another book along these lines: Mystery and Manners by Flannery O’Connor. Best book on writing (and the creative arts) I’ve ever read.

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This book has been sitting on my shelf for a few years. I have to get to it. And my daughter likes to write; I’ve been asking her to read various books on writing, I think this one will be next for her as well.

And another successful writer who has a strong wife behind him!

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Don’t wait!

And, yes, re his wife. It’s a recurring theme, isn’t it? He’d undoubtedly be dead if it weren’t for his wife. And he probably wouldn’t have broken out when he did, either. She paved the way for his whole career and saved his life when he seemed bent on careening off the road.

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great this

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I truly enjoyed 'On Writing' thank you for the review. Thank you for writing.

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Great piece! A generational talent who looks like the monsters he writes about.

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What a beautiful review. You managed to capture the essence of Stephen King's, 'On Writing', which I've read, and extend it in ways I hadn't considered before. Thank you ever so much for sharing this, Joel. Remarkable.

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Thanks, Mark! Glad you enjoyed it!

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It's a great book. Both for his story and the tips. I wrote a little commentary on my own substack about it.

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I’d easily recommend it to anyone asking about a good memoir or a book about writing. I really enjoyed it.

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It's a super appreciation, Joel. Thank you. I also love the jacket photo - while the name of the photographer is beyond parody.

PS - I am very much looking forward to your take on CS Lewis later this year. I have started reading his works on faith. And irrespective of your own thoughts on religion, you cannot be but in awe of his clarity of thought and tight writing style.

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Re Lewis, I’m with you. I’ve been reading him on and off since my late teens—sometimes his essays, other times his fiction, still other times his religious writing and criticism. He’s one of the deepest wells out there and left us so, so much.

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Love reading memoirs. Even more so when it helps me become a better writer. Thanks for sharing, but not over-sharing, so I still want to read the book!

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You won’t be disappointed!

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I've read part of it - and loved what I read / I'll get back to it. I'm a novice - but I'll throw out a couple of titles by Patricia T. O'Conner that I love: (1) "Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English," now in its Fourth Edition, and my favorite, "Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing." She models what she advocates. Now I'll look into Caro and Gottlieb also.

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I read “Woe Is I” at some point. Been forever, though.

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I'm intrigued, Joel, by your comment, "I don’t actually enjoy books about writing." Have you expanded on that somewhere?

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No, but the long and short of it is that as an editor I’ve coached a lot of writers—well over a hundred by this point. I’ve found that a lot of books about writing don’t actually help writers as much as just sitting in their chairs and writing. And sometimes the advice seems utterly silly, such as when an author tells us we should avoid semicolons; ridiculous.

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Fantastic book, to be sure!

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Yes!

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Robert Caro’s book, Working, was a great insight to a nonfiction writer’s mind and world. That and King’s On Writing are books I go back to frequently.

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I’ve not read Caro’s Working. Thanks for mentioning it. I did love the documentary about him and his long-time editor Robert Gottlieb, Turn Every Page. It’s a joy.

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Then you should read Gottlieb’s as well: Avid Reader. It’s a quick read, as you might expect from Gottlieb.

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I’ll have to check it out. Gottlieb was a gem.

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