On Writing by Stephen King - Book Review

Get ready to sit down with the master of horror as he takes you for a behind-the-scenes tour of his mind. Stephen King has been writing best-selling books for almost 50 years, beginning with Carrie back in 1974.

On Writing will take you on a journey starting with a young Stephen, growing up in Maine with his mother and brother, and continuing through the events that ultimately shaped his life into the well-known author he eventually became.

But On Writing isn’t just another memoir with which to tell one’s life tale. It’s so much more, offering genuine advice to budding authors in a way few other writers would dare. It is a guide on the intricate practices King uses, with which he constructs the novels that have terrified generations of readers for decades. It’s a masterclass of hints and tips that would-be authors can learn to begin their own journey.

Fancy sitting down for a cup of tea with one of the most prolific writers in the world today? Then On Writing is the book I recommend for you. Initially not one I read on release; it took me several years to build up the courage to read it. What a mistake. If I had to choose a single word to describe the experience, it would be Wow.

On Writing begins with King describing his early childhood, delivering his own story in much the same way as one of his best sellers. It pulls you in and takes you on a journey through the mind of a writing genius. There were times where I truly felt like I was sitting down with him, listening to Stephen tell his story by an open fireplace.

The hints and tips for writing are ones I was able to utilize immediately with writing lessons aplenty, but it was the rest of the book that I found to be just as eye-opening. If you’ve ever wanted to know just where some of his stories came from, this is the book for you.