Review of Stephen King's 'On Writing'

When I was working in an e-learning company way back in 2004, my colleagues had asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I quickly said ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King. And it is this copy of Stephen King’s  memoir that I re-read after all these years in 2018.

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”, says King.  He then goes on to say that every writer needs a writers’ toolbox. He says the commonest tool is vocabulary, which goes on the top shelf of the toolbox. The next tool is grammar, followed by the elements of form and style. He argues that the paragraph, not the sentence is the basic unit of writing—"Words create sentences; sentences create paragraphs; sometimes paragraphs quicken and begin to breathe."  

#StephenKing's #memoir 'On Writing' takes us to his childhood when he wrote stories and collected rejection slips. Some of the anecdotes shared also give us a peek into his rebellious, creative side. The book shows us the early experiences in his life that shaped him into the celebrated writer he is today.

He gives tips for aspiring writers on narration, description, dialogue and building characters in fiction. He introduces to us the concept of Ideal Reader or that one reader whom we picture in our heads while writing. He offers comments on pace, research, and his opinion on creative writing classes. He quotes examples from literature and popular fiction to substantiate his views.