On Writing

On Writing

By Stephen King

After finishing On Writing by Stephen King, I feel that I'm now ready to digest the material. Although I haven't had much experience with reading memoir, I do have a lot of experience reading King, and one of the biggest delights of reading this book I've had is the amount of soul that he poured into it.

From the first few pages, King takes your awe of reading something personal from a literary great and morphs it until you remember that he's just as average of a person as you are. You're reminded of the fact that he wasn't always a bestselling author or even a name that anyone's ever heard of it at all. King takes you back to when he was in a position like yours, to when he was learning to write, until you find yourself learning how to be better right along with King himself.

Such control over narration reinforces a trust within readers that he’s both imparting his wisdom to help and also to relay the life lessons he learned along the way. The effect is very powerful, making a book that packs a lot of punch in a few short pages, explained without pretentiousness in a no-nonsense sort of tone that a close friend would give you.

And with this tone, King breaks your heart by seeing just how human he is when he recounts the process of writing the memoir itself, specifically the accident that prevented the work from being completed sooner. Such style not only speaks to the writer's ability but to the point King makes through sharing his tips. That great writing comes from an enriched life, full of experiences and people we hold dear.

I can only say that I should have read it sooner. This book has taught me a lot about creative writing craft and even about myself along the way, and for that, I cannot praise it enough.