Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’

By georgelthomas on 25 Oct 2017 • ( 3 )

Over the last few years, a lot of people have suggested that I read the book ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King, though for one reason or another I had never actually gotten around to doing so. However, it was recommended again recently in the comments section of my post ‘Reading Books About Writing Books‘ so I finally purchased a copy and I am incredibly pleased that I did.

The book, which is in two parts, is a cross between an ‘autobiography’ and a ‘How-To Guide.’ In the first half, King describes his writing career from his early beginnings copying out his favourite comic books word for word and adding his own descriptions where he thought they would be appropriate, to the moment he threw ‘Carrie’ in the trash, almost losing it forever.

He talks about the encouragement his mother gave him to write his own original stories, about how he grew as a writer over the years and also about all of the initial rejection he received and how he dealt with it.

In the second half of the book, King continues to describe his own experiences with writing and submitting his work, while also giving detailed information on his creative process as well as plenty of tips on how you can develop your own.

There are also lots of stories throughout about his successes and failures, including his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. There’s even a story (at the end) of an incident which almost ended his career, not to mention his life.

I would definitely recommend ‘On Writing’ to anyone interested in writing whether you are a beginner or not, or even if you are just a fan of Stephen King himself.

I could not put the book down, reading it in two sittings (or one sitting broken by the need to sleep) and I think that it’s one of the best ‘How to Write’ books out there.

As always, thanks for reading my words, I appreciate you spending your valuable time with me.

Until next time,

George