Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir

Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir, was a very interesting book to read, to say the least. Frank in his opinions, King did not shy away from telling the reader what makes a good writer: talent and ambition. King had a colloquial tone throughout his book even cautioning the reader that “this is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit” (9). Through this book, readers found out about eventful events that happened to King as a child and how they influenced him to write some of his most popular books. For instance, a wilderness area near his house gave him the inspiration for the setting of his book, It. He states, “the kids in It called it the Barrens; we called it the jungle” (30). King, does not believe himself to be a perfect writer, regardless of his popularity. The reader was not only entertained with his stories, but also gained knowledge about writing and the fact that it isn’t easy. Although King grew up with nothing and even lost hope a few times, he always went back to writing.

King, like Zinsser, believed that a writer’s job is to write and regardless of how they feel, they have to write. This is a point made by Zinsser “...that the professional writer must establish a daily schedule and stick to it” and that “writing is a craft, not an art, and that the man who runs away from his craft because he lacks inspiration is fooling himself” (4). This belief is shared with Stephen King’s as well. Through his struggle with drugs and alcohol, King never stopped writing. Books such as Misery, The Shining, The Tommyknockers, Cujo were all written when King was under the influence. Another one of Zinsser’s advice was to “never say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation” (26). King achieved this task and the results could be seen all throughout the