Book Review Example. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

What Writing Is, is a collection of insights that give a description of where the process of writing stands among the arts? Stephen King is convinced that writing is the meeting of the minds; that of the author and that of the reader. Among the arts, writing happens to be the most successful with respect to telepathy because through it the reader and the writer have a meeting of minds irrespective of the age, time, and even distance.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

According to the author of the article What Writing Is, a reader can experience the kind of telepathy writing brings about between them and the author of the book if they find a quiet and favorite place. For Stephen King, his favorite place was a basement that was full of lights, a place that he had built himself. In this place, all his senses could collect together, and his mind would not wander into thought. He goes ahead to advise that everyone should find his or her perfect place that would be able to make them realize enough serenity for telepathy. For Stephen King, a special quiet place for telepathy between the reader and the writer ought to be customized; it could be somewhere that is hidden in the Grand Canyon or the comfort of the readers bedroom.

It is quite evident in the article that the author suggests writing is a way to escape boring moments and the harsh realities of the present. For example, he describes how one may be reading a book to kill time in the right way as opposed to doing nothing in a long queue. In addition to that, an individual may be reading a book while waiting for a professor along with a college hallway; the professor in question may be listening to endless complaints from a student that is attempting to kill himself just because he flunked his examinations. All in all, the author of the article suggests that readers should read in comfortable places with enough lighting and the vibes. In other words, Stephen King recommends that if a quiet place where ones thoughts are in unison is not easy to find, then there would be no point of writing or reading. A customized place for writing or reading enhances telepathy such that the writer will be able to write sense and the reader will be able to understand what he or she is reading and be able to connect with the writer. He even advises ardent readers of books to wash their cars or do anything else that is unrelated to writing right until the time they will be able to find a good place to read (King, Stephen).

Writing is a delicate process that should not be juggled with stresses or joys of life. It also resonates with reading because without concentration there is very little that an individual can grasp. Stephen King reiterates the need for one to be settled when writing by giving examples of the joys and stresses that are present in his life. When writing this very article Stephen King was stressed because his wife was under the weather with a virus and he had not started his Christmas shopping even though he knew he needed to; these were the stresses facing him. On the other hand, he had a lot of joy because his son remembered to come home for Christmas from college. All these writer says to show that serenity is important in writing or reading; it helps one forget his joys and problems. In as much as all these were happening in Kings life, he was never distracted by them when he came to his basement; a place where he could read and write in a very peaceful way.

The author admits that even though it may bring a bit of a contradiction, his far-seeing place is the basement where he does his best transmitting and for all the receivers of his content, finding a special place is important too. When reading or writing, it is important not to pay too much attention to the nitty-gritty details in a way that will take the fun out of the process. For example when writing about a table that has a cage with a rabbit within it; a rabbit marked number eight with blue ink, it is important that some specifics are not thought about. This is to mean that the writer should not over describe the rabbit, the cage, or the table. It would be of bad taste for a writer to talk about a table and give the full measurements of the said table. On the same note, giving too much detail regarding the dimensions and the material the cage was made of would not be tasteful.

There is much relevance to this piece of writing due to its simplicity and profundity at the same time. To any reader of the article, Stephen King makes sure that the most relevant things in writing are mentioned. These are insights the author gives with respect to his experience in writing. Most readers and writers alike will find some resonance with the authors statement that writing is the best form of telepathy, as it over and over again assists anyone to run away from the reality. The most notable point made by the author (Stephen King) in the article is, We're having a meeting of the minds, as I like to be engaged in the book telepathy and share my perceptions with other people (King).

In What Writing Is, Stephen King offers his individual opinion on what is writing as he has experienced it so as to pass across a message of its importance to all target audiences. In this publication, the author makes sure to give evidence that the process of writing resonates with communication that does not know time or distance although it manages to send the message home. For example, he mentions that we are not in the same year to mean that what he was jotting down at that particular time could be read much later or sooner depending on when a reader would get his hands on the book. The author also made claims with respect to the importance of choosing the right words when writing; in essence, too many words should not be used to describe one thing. A writer should not try to be cute or have his or her writing be filled with too much detail as these would bore readers.

In conclusion, the main point the author Stephen King makes that writing is the only category among the arts that can be able to connect readers by means of a perfect telepathy. Writing is indeed dynamic and can take different forms respective to what the writer wants to pass across; in addition to that, writers can only transmit sense if they find a serene environment to gather their thoughts on paper. Readers can only receive in serene surroundings.

Works Cited

King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Pocket Books, 2000.

King, Stephen. On Writing. 1st ed., New York, Scribner, 2000,. http://ajwrites57.blogspot.co.ke/2013/07/stephen-kings-what-writing-is.html