On the Book: “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft”

by Amanda M.

"On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" was written by Stephen King, the well-known author of Cujo, It, and The Shining. It gives readers and aspiring writers an account of his life as a writer. He tells of how he came to the craft and what he has learned throughout his years of being a writer. This memoir has useful tips about writing and the mindset needed in order to write well. King has a way of explaining things clearly without boring his audience.

At one point in the book, King writes about his collection of rejection letters from his earlier years of writing. He says, "The nail on the wall will no longer support the weight of all the rejection slips upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing." I admire how real and honest he was with this statement. Yes, he's gotten rejected numerous times throughout his career, but he has learned from each of them and grown, not only as a writer, but as a person.Without failure, nobody would recognize and appreciate success.

I relate to King's ways of brainstorming what to write about. At one point, he says that he follows his unconscious while writing. He develops characters in different situations, which then develops the plot of the story. I tend to do this as well, jotting down random ideas that pop into my head and then making something of them. I like how this book showed me that King is still a regular person, even after coming to fame with his stories. He doesn't write for the money, he writes for his own joy. Nothing about this book "didn't work for me." It was evident that Stephen King wrote an honest account of his triumphs and failures as a writer, sharing what he has learned along the way.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about the "writing life," or even an aspiring author. It's full of useful tips that King has collected, that lead him to where he is today. I found this book in the public library, but it can also be bought online, in bookstores, and found in other libraries.