On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft: Amazon.de: Stephen King: Englische Bücher

Amazon.co.uk

Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King's On Writing really contains two books: a fondly sardonic autobiography and a tough-love lesson for aspiring novelists. The memoir is terrific stuff, a vivid description of how a writer grew out of a misbehaving kid. You are right there with the young author as he is tormented by poison ivy, gas-passing baby-sitters, uptight schoolmarms and a laundry job nastier than Jack London's. It's a ripping yarn that casts a sharp light on his fiction. This was a child who dug Yvette Vickers from Attack of the Giant Leeches, not Sandra Dee. "I wanted monsters that ate whole cities, radioactive corpses that came out of the ocean and ate surfers and girls in black bras who looked like trailer trash". But massive reading on all literary levels was a craving just as crucial, and soon King was the published author of "I Was a Teen-Age Graverobber". As a young adult raising a family in a trailer, King started a story inspired by his stint as a caretaker cleaning a high-school girls' locker room. He crumpled it up, but his writer wife retrieved it from the trash, and using her advice about the girl milieu and his own memories of two reviled teenage classmates who died young, he came up with Carrie. King gives us lots of revelations about his life and work. The kidnapper character in Misery, the mind-possessing monsters in The Tommyknockers, and the haunting of the blocked writer in The Shining symbolised his cocaine and booze addiction (overcome thanks to his wife's intervention, which he describes). "There's one novel, Cujo, that I barely remember writing".

King also evokes his college days and his recovery from the van crash that nearly killed him, but the focus is always on what it all means to the craft. He gives you a whole writer's "tool kit": a reading list, writing assignments, a corrected story and nuts-and-bolts advice on dollars and cents, plot and character, the basic building block of the paragraph and literary models. He shows what you can learn from HP Lovecraft's arcane vocabulary, Hemingway's leanness, Grisham's authenticity, Richard Dooling's artful obscenity, Jonathan Kellerman's sentence fragments. He explains why Kellerman's Hart's War is a great story marred by a tin ear for dialogue, and how Elmore Leonard's Be Cool could be the antidote. King isn't just a writer, he's a true teacher. --Tim Appelo, Amazon.com -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Amazon.com

Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King's On Writing really contains two books: a fondly sardonic autobiography and a tough-love lesson for aspiring novelists. The memoir is terrific stuff, a vivid description of how a writer grew out of a misbehaving kid. You're right there with the young author as he's tormented by poison ivy, gas-passing babysitters, uptight schoolmarms, and a laundry job nastier than Jack London's. It's a ripping yarn that casts a sharp light on his fiction. This was a child who dug Yvette Vickers from Attack of the Giant Leeches, not Sandra Dee. "I wanted monsters that ate whole cities, radioactive corpses that came out of the ocean and ate surfers, and girls in black bras who looked like trailer trash." But massive reading on all literary levels was a craving just as crucial, and soon King was the published author of "I Was a Teen-Age Graverobber." As a young adult raising a family in a trailer, King started a story inspired by his stint as a janitor cleaning a high-school girls locker room. He crumpled it up, but his writer wife retrieved it from the trash, and using her advice about the girl milieu and his own memories of two reviled teenage classmates who died young, he came up with Carrie. King gives us lots of revelations about his life and work. The kidnapper character in Misery, the mind-possessing monsters in The Tommyknockers, and the haunting of the blocked writer in The Shining symbolized his cocaine and booze addiction (overcome thanks to his wife's intervention, which he describes). "There's one novel, Cujo, that I barely remember writing."

King also evokes his college days and his recovery from the van crash that nearly killed him, but the focus is always on what it all means to the craft. He gives you a whole writer's "tool kit": a reading list, writing assignments, a corrected story, and nuts-and-bolts advice on dollars and cents, plot and character, the basic building block of the paragraph, and literary models. He shows what you can learn from H.P. Lovecraft's arcane vocabulary, Hemingway's leanness, Grisham's authenticity, Richard Dooling's artful obscenity, Jonathan Kellerman's sentence fragments. He explains why Hart's War is a great story marred by a tin ear for dialogue, and how Elmore Leonard's Be Cool could be the antidote.

King isn't just a writer, he's a true teacher. --Tim Appelo

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Was Besseres gibt's von Stephen King nicht 8. April 2007

Von Miezekatze

Format:Taschenbuch

Stephen King hat sich selbst übertroffen mit "On Writing". Dieses Buch ist die Krone von Kings Werk; es vermittelt unübertroffene Einsichten in sein Schaffen und stellt zugleich die Klammer dar, die sein Werk umspannt.

King hat sich in vielen seiner Romane mit Autorschaft und Schreiben beschäftigt; nicht umsonst sagt er in "On Writing", dass in jedem seiner Charaktere etwas von ihm zu finden sei ;-) Am deutlichsten ist das in "Misery", das King in "On Writing" auch ausführlich kommentiert und das die radikalste und konsequenteste Darstellung der Beziehung zwischen Autor und Leser darstellt, die ich kenne.

"On Writing" ist weniger ein Handbuch für hoffnungsfrohe Schreibnovizen, sondern am ehesten eine Autobiographie von Stephen King, in der er über sich und das Wichtigste in seinem Leben spricht, nämlich Schreiben. Und darin wird King zu einem Menschen, den man nur bewundern kann - seine Ehrlichkeit, die Tiefe seiner Gefühle und die klugen Einsichten in den menschlichen Charakter verdienen Hochachtung. Da wird klar, weshalb sich so viele Leser von seinen Romanen angesprochen fühlen!

Als Hörbuch ist "On Writing" sensationell: Stephen King liest es selbst, und er erweist sich (wie schon bei "Bag of Bones") als begnadeter Erzähler - immerhin erzählt er ja sein eigenes Leben!

Fazit: Stephen King zeigt hier, dass er einer der großartigsten zeitgenössischen Erzähler ist, auch wenn der akademische Literaturbetrieb in Deutschland hochnäsigerweise noch weit von dieser Erkenntnis entfernt ist ;-)

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A treat for writers and non-writers alike... 16. November 2000

Von Ein Kunde

Format:Gebundene Ausgabe

A friend of mine gave this book to me as a gift. I haven't been able to thank her enough for it. King is not only a master craftsman but a warm-hearted and generous teacher. This brief, but perceptive book, echoes long after you read the last page. From anecdotes about his childhood to the description of his struggle to overcome substance abuse and recover from a terrible accident, this book exudes warmth and humor and hard-won wisdom. Better yet, it gives inspiration and encouragement that's all the more valuable because after reading it, you know that this man has been there ...

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Get out your notebooks, sharpen your pencils...and learn. 19. September 2000

Von ConstantConsumer

Format:Audio CD

Though far from the definitive writer's guideline, this book shines a unique perspective on the craft. Stephen King lays down the law and then teaches it. He shares his techniques, his pet peeves, and his own personal horrific experiences - both as child and adult - and he does it all within the cerebral classroom of the printed page. He wraps a juicy filling of personal tragedy, growth and experience within a tight covering of his famous story telling style.

As a human, I was touched by his childhood anecdotes and often laughed with him about his insecurities. I am still in awe at what he has recently had to overcome physically. I mean, damn.

As a writer, I am grateful for a brief glimpse into his vocational world. I gained confidence from learning about things I have been doing right and have changed many bad habits (may the adverb rest in peace). I've read several tomes on the subject and believe his reigns as the most complete.

I've been a fan of King's since the seventh grade when I was given The Dead Zone and Cujo as an Easter present. A year later I had read every book he'd published (with the exception of the dreaded Limited Editions of which I could opine negatively for hours - suffice it to say that writing should be for everyone to read, not just the rich). I've read or listened to all his books since. I can honestly say, that this is my favorite.

Sometimes the coldest hands to wrap around your neck are the true ones.

The only bad thing I can say about this book is that it's too short, something one rarely has the opportunity to state regarding the beloved author.

A huge thank you to Mr. King for a brief indulgence into the life of a genius.