On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (Nonfiction Book Review)

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

by Stephen King 
Published by Scribner 
on October 3, 2000
Genre: Adult, Nonfiction, Memoir
Length: 288 pages

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | BookDepository

Literary Awards:

Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-fiction (2000)
Locust Award for Best Non-fiction (2001)
Puddly Award for Writing (2001)

Synopsis:
"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."

In 1999, Stephen King began to write about his craft--and his life. By midyear, a widely reported accident jeopardized the survival of both. And in his months of recovery, the link between writing and living became more crucial than ever.

Rarely has a book on writing been so clear, so useful, and so revealing. On Writing begins with a mesmerizing account of King's childhood and his uncannily early focus on writing to tell a story. A series of vivid memories from adolescence, college, and the struggling years that led up to his first novel, Carrie, will afford readers a fresh and often very funny perspective on the formation of a writer. King next turns to the basic tools of his trade--how to sharpen and multiply them through use, and how the writer must always have them close at hand. He takes the reader through crucial aspects of the writer's art and life, offering practical and inspiring advice on everything from plot to character development to work habits and rejection.

Serialized in the New Yorker to vivid acclaim, On Writing culminates with a profoundly moving account of how King's overwhelming need to write spurred him toward recovery, and brought him back to his life. 

My Thoughts:

This book is recommended among writers and King fans alike as one of the best. With a little push from a few friends, I finally picked it up, took my time with it, and found that I agree.

"Books are a uniquely portable magic."

I feel the need to be honest and give a disclaimer that I am not the biggest King fan. A fan, sure, and a growing one, but I don't really consider him one of my favorites yet. I say 'yet' because he has a lot of books and I feel like I need to have read and enjoyed most of them to consider him a favorite and right now I'm still at about fifty-fifty love/hate.

You don't need to be a fan of King's books to get something out of this, though. This is the most recommended and talked about book on writing I've ever come across and with the author's success, it's hard not to see why. I've read a few in my time but none were so helpful or concise.

"Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy."

On Writing is both a memoir and a how-to.

We start out getting to know a little about King's childhood, but mostly only if it has to do with writing. It's a pretty straight forward story about how he got started, where he got his ideas for some of his earliest books, and how he persisted and made his big break.

I found the memoir portion to be surprisingly relatable and it really helped put my own lifelong writing hobby into a new perspective for me.

The middle of the book focuses on important writing rules, hints, and tips for writing. From grammar to character development, there's a little bit of everything you might need to know or be reminded about before you delve back into your own writing.

I don't use those little flag tags often but ended up putting quite a few into my copy of this book so I can come back to them later. I also think that this is one book I will hold onto and reread eventually.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lazy Day Lit (@lazydaylit) on Aug 30, 2019 at 6:26am PDT

Follow