On Writing by Stephen King

For my Writing the Speculative Fiction Novel class, one of the books we were required to read and study was On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King. I, didn’t know what to expect; I had never read any of Stephen King’s stuff, but I knew he was a really big name. I was really curious as to how he was going to approach writing on writing. I bought the book far in advance and dove right into it the moment it dropped through my mail slot.

I devoured it. Stephen King does such a great job with teaching how to write. The format of the book is unlike any book on writing I’ve ever seen. It is written almost like a biography, and King gives a lot of backstory into how he got to where he is now. All the writing tips he includes in this text is woven into his life experiences, giving readers the application and example, rather than just telling us cut-and-dry how to write. I was totally enchanted by this format, and learned so much more than what he had written on the page.

I totally recommend this book for anyone who wants to write hands down!