On Writing, a memoir of the craft

On Writing, a memoir of the craft
by Stephen King
*****

I have read exactly one Stephen King novel. I saw part of Kujo, the movie, and I'm still scared of barking dogs. So, I'm not exactly sure why this book appealed to me. But it turned out to be a really great read, both from the standpoint of a writer and for sheer entertainment.

King tells us this is not textbook, and it's not. But it is full of advice. For example, "Adverbs are not your friend." He tells us how he writes. That he writes constantly when he is writing, even on holidays, lest his characters get "stale". He listens to loud rock music. And he says he does not "plot" his stories. I found this last particularly interesting.

In my view, stories and novels consist of three parts: narration which moves the story from point A to point B and finally to point Z; description, which creates a sensory reality for the reader; and dialogue, which brings characters to life through their speech . . .

. . . my basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves. The job of the writer is to give them a place to grow . . .

. . . I lean more heavily on intuition . . . my books tend to be based on situation rather than story . . .

. . . The situation comes first. The characters--always flat and unfeatured, to begin with--come next. Once these things are fixed in my mind, I begin to narrate. I often have an idea of what the outcome may be, but I have never demanded of a set of characters that they do things my way. On the contrary, I want them to do things their way.

Isn't that a cool concept? I love it so much, I'm going to try it myself if I ever get down to writing my stories.

The book is also highly autobiographical and we learn so much about King's life and experiences starting from a very young age. His story is as compelling as any novel.

If you are a writer, an aspiring writer, or just someone who appreciates good writing, you will love this book.

The Worst Book Ever Written--The Shadow God

The Shadow God

by Aaron Rayburn

(no stars)

I didn't read this book. I just read the review of it on Amazon.com. I sincerely enjoyed the reviewer's writing at least, and from the excerpts provided, I'd have to say he's probably close to right in his estimation.

For a chuckle, click this link and read the review for yourself. http://www.amazon.com/review/R1LPA5YOND6TGD/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Here are a couple of my favorites from the excerpts provided:

"Spiers's eyes popped extraneously from their sockets, as his face turned from a deep red to a sickly purple."

"Of all the things to think, he never thought he'd think that."

"Eubanks looked annoyed. He exhaled annoyingly and said..."

As our reviewer said, "It's enough to make aspiring writers want to give up . . . "

Year of Wonders

Author: Geraldine Brooks
Rating: ***

Our Reel Women movie group decided to take a foray into books and perhaps even alternate between book and movie club each month. Judy's daughter-in-law even thought of a great new name for us: Reel Women with Spine!

So to kick off the book club, March's selection was Year of Wonders, Since I'm writing this review, the rating is solely mine, and would have been higher except for a flaw I'll mention later.

The book is set in a real English town in 1666. According to the book notes, some of the characters in the book are based on real people and others are fictional. The story centers around the main character, Anna Frith, who loses so much and in the end proves to be a strong resilient woman in the face of the tragedies she witnesses.

The town is beset by Bubonic Plague, introduced most likely by fleas carried on fabrics. The town in real life and in fiction, under the leadership of its minister, decides to isolate itself from the world - no-one will leave, no-one will enter - until the plague has passed. They rely on supplies from a nearby wealthy landowner. They leave requests by a boundary rock and stand back while previous requests are delivered.

The illness is terrible, the toll is terrible, and the story intersperses some interesting human interactions that might be imagined living under those circumstances. Our group agreed it was particularly of interest how the two main women took over the herbal medicine practice of the town "witch" and through their study provided much-needed medical care.

It was an interesting book and occasionally challenging to read. The author's liberal use of early English vocabulary, many words I'd never heard of before, gave it a ring of authenticity. The subject matter seemed to be well-researched, making the story believable. Some in the group felt that some of the characters failed to show sufficient emotion at their loss, but Judy, our reviewer, suggested it might be more true of that time than we realize, that life expectancy was much shorter and infant mortality much greater, and, in context, it made sense that those people were more accustomed to such losses.

I won't reveal the ending of the book, although we know historically how this devastating illness ran its course. But to mention the one flaw I found in the book, our heroine made some dubious choices at the story's end that I thought were totally out of character. I would have liked the story to have ended differently for our fictional character. I will say that some in our group agreed with me and some did not.

The author is a Pulitzer Prize winner for her book March.

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Our group enjoyed a lovely evening hosted by Judy and her husband Sydney, with appetizers provided by each member, and joined by Judy's son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Sara. We agreed that perhaps we should stick to movies with our group and not pursue the book club route. I'm relieved as May is my month to choose and the next book club would have fallen on May.

But since that was probably our first and last book club for the group, I'm posting this review here instead of on the Reel Women page.

The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini
Rating: ****

There are two reasons to love this book: A beautifully-told, heart-rending fictional story, and the true background story of the history of Afghanistan from the 1970's to the present day.

Spoilers Ahead:

The story begins in the 1970's with Amir and his friend, Hassan, adolescent boys in Afghanistan. Amir lives a privileged life while Hassan and his father are servants in Amir's household. Their world changes first through a terrible, traumatic incident, and then the Russion invasion of Afghanistan and ensuing decades of war and devastation.

Amir and his father emigrate to the U.S. and lose contact with Hassam. In America, life is very different: Amir's father, a former wealthy businessman, supports the two of them by hard days spent working at a gas station.

The story tells so well the impact of traditions and religion on modern Afghans. Their lives are further complicated and even traumatized by the lifetime secrets eventually revealed.

The book reflects life's reality in the gamut from beauty to horror, and I was pleased the author didn't attempt to tie up all the loose ends perfectly in the end. We are left not knowing some outcomes -- just as it should be, just as it is in life.