Today I finished Stephen King’s book about writing. On Writing is part memoir and part writing advice. Stephen King goes through the first part of the book reviewing his life and what brought him to writing. The other part of the book is about the actual craft: how King spends his days, how he writes, and also some writing techniques for a better final draft.
The part of the book that struck me from the beginning and continued throughout the book is that King has always loved to write. Writing was a part of him since childhood and he kept the writing passion alive throughout his adult life. King was born to write.
King says that competent writers can become good writers, but if you are a bad writer, you have no chance. There is a piece of writing that is intuitive and either you have it or you don’t. There are so many authors that I have listened to describe the point in the writing process where the characters take on a life of their own and you are a vessel that they go through. While writing takes a lot of work and effort, there is a part of it that either comes naturally or it doesn’t. And not everyone of us has it.
There are points of On Writing that everyone can use if they write…ever. Such as, don’t use the passive voice, get rid of adverbs etc. There are many things that we are taught in school about being grammatically correct without thinking about is we are writing an interesting sentence. So what, it’s grammatically correct, but is it interesting? Diablo Cody’s Candy Girl is a good example. There are many sentences in that novel that I question as legitimate, but Cody’s voice is so clear and hilarious that I don’t care if they are sentences. Candy Girl is a good book.
At the end of the novel, King has a list of books that he has read and really enjoyed. Originally, I was going to post that list, but frankly I’ve only read five of the ninety-something books on the list. Obviously, King and I don’t have a lot of reading material in common; however, I do enjoy King’s novels. To make me look smarter, here is the list of all of King’s novels and the ones that I have read.
1960 – People, Places, And Things – Volume 1
1964 – The Star Invaders
1974 – Carrie
1975 – Salem’s Lot
1977 – The Shining
1978 – Night Shift (stories)
1978 – The Stand
1979 – The Dead Zone
1980 – Firestarter
1981 – Cujo
1981 – Danse Macabre
1981 – Roadwork
1982 – Creepshow
1982 – The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
1982 – Different Seasons (novellas)
1983 – Christine
1983 – Pet Sematary
1983 – Cycle of the Werewolf
1984 – The Talisman
1985 – Skeleton Crew (stories)
1985 – The Bachman Books
1986 – It
1987 – The Eyes of the Dragon
1987 – Misery
1987 – The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
1988 – The Tommyknockers
1988 – Nightmares in the Sky
1988 – Dark Visions
1989 – The Dark Half
1989 – Dolan’s Cadillac
1989 – My Pretty Pony
1990 – The Stand
1990 – Four Past Midnight
1991 – Needful Things
1991 – The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
1992 – Gerald’s Game
1993 – Dolores Claiborne
1993 – Nightmares & Dreamscapes (stories)
1994 – Insomnia
1995 – Rose Madder
1995 – Umney’s Last Case
1996 – The Green Mile
1996 – Desperation
1997 – Six Stories (stories)
1997 – The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
1998 – Bag of Bones
1999 – Storm of the Century
1999 – The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
1999 – The New Lieutenant’s Rap (limited edition)
1999 – Hearts in Atlantis
1999 – Blood and Smoke
2000 – Riding the Bullet
2000 – The Plant
2000 – Secret Windows
2000 – On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
2000 – Dreamcatcher
2001 – Black House
2002 – From a Buick 8
2002 – Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales
2003 – The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
2003 – The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
2004 – The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
2004 – The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
2004 – Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
2005 – The Colorado Kid
2006 – The Secretary of Dreams
2006 – Cell
2006 – Lisey’s Story
2008 – Duma Key
2008 – Just After Sunset
2009 – Stephen King Goes to the Movies
2009 – The Little Sisters of Eluria
2009 – UR
2010 – Under the Dome
Book Source: Purchased at Barnes & Noble
A Heroine to Love
While the book was long and there were way too many descriptions of the environment (really, I can only deal with so descriptive words for a forest or a rock), I loved the heroine in the novel. In so many romances, where seemingly “headstrong” girls with little backbone when it comes to the loves of their life lead the book pack, Claire was a refreshing surprise. Claire is a grown-up woman who has been thrown into an unrealistic situation (she time travels to 18th century Scotland).
Below are four reasons why Claire is an atypical heroine and why I loved her for it.
Age
In typical books, the lady in the novel is always a lot younger than her male counterpart. The girl is always 18, fresh out of “school” and looking for some old guy to “tame” her. Okay, not really an old guy, but many times the guy is like 300 years old (like in vampire books) or is like 32. Either way, that’s not 18.
Claire, on the other hand, is in her thirties and her love interest is in his early twenties. Shocking. Amazingly shocking. The age difference works in Outlander because in 18th century Scotland where people are dropping like flies, a male in her early twenties is prime settling down material.
Sex
How many novels have you read where the guy is way more experienced than the girl? In typical romance fashion, the guy is always showing the girl how to do what and where. Not so in Outlander. The hero, Jamie, is a bit clueless when it comes to sex and Claire is more than happy to show him how it’s done. Cougar action is full swing.
Smart
In Claire’s normal time period (1950’s), she is a nurse and into herbs. She carries that knowledge with her into the past and uses it to the fullest. While Jamie may be better at basic survival skills; Claire is handy at healing. A perfect combo.
Equality
Throughout the story, there is a sense that Claire and Jamie are equals and partners. They learn from each other. Jamie didn’t just take care of Claire, but she took care of him as well. So many times where the female is a bit clueless on how to get through life, Claire is refreshing as over and over again she helps Jamie through difficulties. She is a true heroine, not just someone who needs to be saved.
After reading Outlander, I can see why so many women fell in love with the book (and the series). Claire and Jamie seem to have a partnership that is ideal for marriage. Marriage, for them, is the beginning of their story, not just the end. Where so many happy stories end with a wedding, Outlander was a welcome surprise and well worth it’s size.
Book Source: Barnes & Noble