Excuse me? He mentions his uncle cuz he describes his uncle's toolbox. He describes it real well. He then uses this toolbox as a metaphor. The individual tools a writer has make up a writer's toolbox. Your knowledge of grammar, your vocab, your use of metaphor, your word-choice. And so on. This is your toolkit, your toolbox if you will. He calls writing a craft. Like carpentry. A craft is something you can perfect through practice. So the extended metaphor (yes it was a bit folksy but what do you expect, it's Stephen King, that's how his books sound a lot) works don't you think? A think the writing advice he gives in that book is some of _the best_ advice I have ever read. He presents the advice in his own style but I wouldn't fault him for that because he's hardly going to present it in your somebody else's style.
The second half of his book tells the story of how he was practically killed by a drunk driver of a pickup truck when he was walking along the road minding his own business. He describes the massive injuries. He explains how On Writing is a direct product of that experience. He explains how he bought the pickup from the guy and smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. Give it another go. It's well worth it.
> He explains how he bought the pickup from the guy and smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. <
Wikipedia gives a different story:
"King's lawyer and two others purchased Smith's van for $1,500, reportedly to prevent it from appearing on eBay. The van was later crushed at a junkyard, much to King's disappointment, as he dreamed of beating it with a baseball bat. King later mentioned during an interview with Fresh Air's Terry Gross that he wanted to completely destroy the vehicle himself with a pickaxe"
To me it seems you've underlined my point. As someone who is now extolling the virtues of directness, he could have done a lot better than a few folksy metaphors with a book titled 'On Writing'. Contrast it with a real book on writing like Ursula K LeGuin's Steering the Craft (http://www.amazon.com/Steering-Craft-Exercises-Discussions-N...)
Honestly I think the guy writes whatever he pleases because he knows he's got a permanent fan base. But thanks for your note; I will finish reading the second half.
Did you think this article was about directness? He spent the first half telling a story about his first writing gig. I don't think his point was anything like, "don't tell stories."
The second half of his book tells the story of how he was practically killed by a drunk driver of a pickup truck when he was walking along the road minding his own business. He describes the massive injuries. He explains how On Writing is a direct product of that experience. He explains how he bought the pickup from the guy and smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. Give it another go. It's well worth it.