Have
you ever considered a career in professional writing but didn't know
where to start? How does one become successful as an author?
In
his book On
Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft, Stephen King, the author of several best-selling horror
novels, tells the story of his first paid work as a writer. Through
personal anecdotes he also touches upon key principles of successful
professional writing, such as being aware of one's audience and
learning from existing works to help develop one's own voice. King's
personal style occasionally comes through in snatches of dark humour
and he uses his attention to detail to keep the reader enthralled
with his tale. While this memoir may be aimed mostly at his existing
fans, King provides some useful advice for any aspiring writer,
drawing from his own experience of several decades in the field.
King's
style throughout this piece has been carefully chosen to fit his
audience; knowing that the majority of people who read the book
likely enjoyed his other works, he eschews the formal, textbook-like
style that might be best suited for teaching people how to write in
favour of an informal, narrative-based memoir format. This style is
more likely to please fans of his previous work while still allowing
him to develop themes around the importance of knowing one's audience
and various other writing tips. By striking a balance between a
tutorial and a novel, King is able to keep both fans and budding
authors happy.
Though
Stephen King's experience makes him a good choice to write a memoir
dealing with professional writing, his choice of format, namely that
of a memoir, makes it more difficult to learn about how to be a
successful author than if the same material was presented in a more conventional textbook or manual. While the material is certainly interesting and
helpful, those looking solely for a manual on how to write
professionally may want to look elsewhere.
Sources:
King, S. (2000). On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft. New York: Scribner.
;)
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