Perhaps the most practical method of looking at book manuscripts is with a subjective system that places style. In 1999, stephen king began to write about his craftand his life. The book is also filled with writing lessons and teaches the importance of. Stephen king is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. He has been publishing horror novels steadily since the release of carrie in 1974, alongside countless shorts stores and novellas, and at this point it is impossible to imagine the modern horror genre with out him.
A memoir of the craft, touches on each of these activities. This trend is far more noticeable in his short stories though. Stephen king talks about his writing process during an. Stephen king s style is to a very much degree characterized by his usual choice of characters. Stephen king is one of the most popular writers of all time, and his book on writing is widely considered one of the best books on the topic. My writing is tighter and my clients really like the writing style i now put out. Get the elements of style it is a great little handbook for writing, instead of this. By midyear, a widely reported accident jeopardized the survival of both. No one puts a grammar book on their list of riveting reads, but the elements of style is still a good handbook. Stephen king is an alltime great, arguably one of the most popular novelists the world has ever seen. Its brought in more income over time and multiple repeat clients. A memoir of the craft always comes up in articles, forum conversations, and books written by other writers and creatives who talk about the art of writing. Analysis of stephen kings novels by nasrullah mambrol on december 31, 2018 3.
Writing news peculiarities of stephen kings writing style. Why is dean koontz loathed in such heinous fashion. Stephen king is one of the most famous writers in the world, an artist who has been so successfulcommercially, artistically, pop culturallyfor so many years, he has become a genre unto himself. King shares stories that shaped his writing career while offering practical advice for writers and other creative professionals. Kings the green mile is a serial novel published in 1996. Stephen king is one of the most prolific authors of the modern age whose last name isnt patterson. For those unfamiliar with king, he is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers this book details kings writing career and covers everything from his childhood to selling carrie.
A book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Strangers, phantoms, the bad place, cold fire, watchers terrible movie made from the book, winter moon, hideaway another poor movie made from his book, the house of thunder, and intensity finally a decent movie made from his work. Stephen kings books have sold over 350 million copies. Does stephen king change his writing style depending on. Like them or loathe them, you have to admit thats impressive. Gary millergetty images renowned author stephen king has written over 50. Ive wrangled them together here going all the way back to april in case you meant to read one but then forgot what the title was and havent had the time to scroll. Stephen kings on writing is one of the most important books ever written on the craft of writing, one of the few texts that all writers should experience, regardless of your preferred form or genre. Ranging from the victorian era to today, the following thriller, suspense, and horror books recommended by stephen king are sure to give you something to scream about.
His colleagues and criticsand perhaps stephen king himselfmiss what makes his writing great. Stephen king writing styles in it stephen king this study guide consists of approximately 90 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of it. Stephen kings top 20 rules for writers open culture. Stephen king is truly a legend of the horror genre. It pulls you in while reading, because he is sharing real life experiences. Stephen king creates a list of 96 books for aspiring writers to read. His recent work includes the institute, elevation, the outsider, sleeping beauties cowritten with his son owen king, and the bill hodges trilogy. When a 10th anniversary of on writing was released, an updated reading list of 82 books was included more recently, king has taken to twitter to. Stephen kings top writing tips the writing cooperative. Here is a distillation of some of his top tips for writers in any genre. On writing is the book which looks into how king writes, but while his books are often formulaic and full of tropes, their interconnected universe, the human truth beneath the fiction and his ability to capture the uglier side of modern america, king knows what sells, but more importantly, he also knows what america fears most of all.
My primary writing project during the past year has been to write a memoir. The forth book in that series with the story of susan delgado, and the eights book with its story within a story. Below are the top thirteen lessons i learned from that book. He admits that not even the king himself always sticks to his rulesbut trying to follow them is a good start. In the 40 years since his first novel, carrie, he has published more than 50. If there were a stephen king plot generator somewhere out there on the web, it would work, most of the time, by mashing up ideas from all of what used to be called speculative fictionincluding. He has been the inspiration for, and in many ways a mentor to, dozens of horror authors. Well, as an avid reader himself, stephen king has a few helpful recommendations. On writing by stephen king is part memoir and part master class. You can really get to see how he developed as a writer. And theres a good chance that hes inspired more people to start writing than any other. A lot of the time his writing is rooted in the voice of the character he is doing the s. Kings manual on writing reveals that hes relentlessly dedicated to his craft. Misery and pet cemetery, i didnt care for as movies, so, its possible the books were similar and you just unwittingly got a bad start.
Carrie was stephen king s first novel, published in 1974, with a printrun of 30,000 copies. It may work better if you can read and write as you go along. Included in stephen kings updated reading list for on writing. If you dont have time to read, you dont have the time or the tools to write. September 21, 1947 may be known as a horror writer, but he calls himself a brand name, describing his style as the literary equivalent of a big mac and a large fries from mcdonalds. Stephen king has had an uncanny ability to hit the commercial bullseye from the beginning of his career. Some observers might view style as dependent on country of origin, while others could link the writing to a literary giant such as hemingway or twain. This page features stephen kings picks on current books, movies and music. In our final extract from his new book, on writing, stephen king reveals six key rules for writing a bestseller. On writing by stephen king the elements of style by william strunk jr. There are many ways at looking at book writing styles. Stephen kings greatest writing advice is the nobullshit version of all those rejection letters writers receive, probably because he got a ton himself over his decadesspanning career, stephen king has written an astounding 54. King constantly refers back to the elements of style, by william strunk jr and e. I thought were two of the best booksstories ive ever read.
Just as he is a prolific writer, so too is he a voracious reader. This post has been updated to reflect the latest facts as of 2019. First, its worth recognizing that kings conversational style that storyteller vibe everyone always talks about is done by. When i was young i was infatuated with the book misery. Stephen king is a very talented writer and my biggest inspiration as a writer. A memoir of the craft, stephen king shares the following reading list of 96 books, covering a diverse range of fiction and nonfiction titles accompanying the list is this explanation. In the afterword to his acclaimed guide on writing. The book exemplifies the genre of magical realism, in which king introduces his readers to. I too have stephen kings book, on writing a memoir of the craft. I found stephen kings book,on writing and have put into writing his many recommendations. His reading tastes are varied, from mystery to graphic novels to literary fiction to. If youve already made your way through the list of books at the end of on writing and arent already following stephen king on twitter, you should. Here are 50 mustread books recommended by stephen king over the years. Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation, affectation itself, beginning with the need to.
A number of these suggestions reliably pop up in every writers guide. In his advice on writing, vonnegut also recommends that writers use the. By far, the best writing advice ive found is stephen king s book on writing. Both dean koontz and stephen king were huge influences on me. The writing style of stephen king freelancewriting. This page will be updated as frequently as possible so check back often for updates.
Like you, this is the first stephen king book ive read. The result is a landmark book that will take its place as the defining biography. In the second afterword of on writing, stephen king provides a list of recommended books for aspiring authors. Home american literature analysis of stephen kings novels. Its hard to break down any writers style without sounding like a haughty literary professor, but ill give it a shot. In the second chapter, toolbox, king dons the role of an english teacher as he talks about the essentials tools that every writer should master, like basic grammar and vocabulary and other primary elements of writing. There are plenty of books on writing out there, mostly by writers you. Nonfiction and fiction writers, bloggers and indie writers all praise this book. In the afterword of stephen kings highly regarded memoirwriting guide book on writing, the bestselling writer shared a list of 96 books that hed read while writing the book that hed enjoyed and had influenced him. Analysis of stephen kings novels literary theory and. Here are 22 great pieces of advice from kings book on how to be an amazing writer. Long live the king hailed entertainment weekly upon the publicatio.
Its safe to say that you know youve made it as a horror writer when your book scares the king of horror. A memoir of the craft, stephen king shares the following reading list of 96 books, covering a diverse range of fiction and nonfiction titles. Ten things i learned about writing from stephen king. Not only do you get book jokes, he also recommends books. Stephen king is one of the most read authors in the world. If youre looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our weekly recommendation thread, suggested reading page, or ask in rsuggestmeabook. And, when the time comes to write you will know it. King favored an epistolary form to produce realism in the novel by using a combination of letters, news clippings, magazine articles, and passages from books. If you dont have the time to read, you dont have the time or the tools to write.