On Writing

On Writing by Stephen King

Review by Paige P

On Writing is a memoir by one of America’s most prolific writers, Stephen King. The book tells stories of King’s childhood, writing success, and his failures. The start of the book talks about King’s humble beginnings as a the son of a single mother, who was forced to move all around the country during his childhood. King’s most memorable high school and college experiences are also mentioned, including his first writing job and how he met his wife. This first part is concluded when King publishes his first major work, Carrie.

Part One is thoroughly entertaining, and starts the book off with a bang. Stories about King’s terrible babysitters and sickly childhood help to introduce you to the man behind some of the best modern horror novels. Surprisingly King seems fairly sane and is really funny. You would never know that the man writing the memoir normally spends his days killing off characters in the most gruesome ways.

Part Two of the memoir goes into detail about King’s top writing tips and his biggest grammar pet peeves. Though this section could considered boring to some, I enjoyed it. I aspire to be a writer, so it was inspiring to hear from a true success story. I could see how some would find pages of editing examples a snooze, but if you are really interested in writing its almost exhilarating.

The final section of the book is where King talks about his life experiences and how he truly learned the value of life after being nearly killed by a van while writing this memoir. It’s good to hear about King’s morals and all the ideals that he holds dear. This section was filled with love for his wife and praise for all the people involved in his writing success.

The whole book was almost ironic coming from a man you would think was incredibly cruel, from his writing. Overall I would recommend this book to all people interested in writing and of course the avid readers of King’s fiction.