Review: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Funny, Unique, and Deeply Intriguing. Stephen King captures the simple and beautiful story of how he became a writer through his childhood, teenage years, and into his adulthood.

I can't rate this in the usual way I do where I separate plot and characters and dissect them for you, but I will tell you about my experience reading it.
Listening to the audiobook, I heard Stephen King tell his own story from his own mouth- and you can tell he meant every word he said.
As someone writing a book, Stephen King punched me in the gut about thirty times and then chewed me up and spit me out on the other side with fresh ideas and a humbled attitude about my writing abilities.

My childhood was similar to his in a lot of ways, single mom, poor, read a lot of books, started off copying stories from books when I was young and then changing them, and eventually writing more and more small stories. I wanted to be the youngest published writer ever- I planned to have my first book published by the time I was 12- which obviously didn't happen but it showed how dedicated I was to my craft.

There was a feeling of kinship and understanding that I felt while listening to King talk about all these stories, his start to writing was similar to mine and it gave me faith that my story might be worth getting told.

“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.”
The thing I realized while reading this is that I don't care if my book gets published. I don't care if one person reads it or one million people read it, I just want to finish my book and be able to say I actually did it.
I want it to be well written of course, and to have all the details that have been rolling around in my head- but I don't need anyone to read it, that is not the point of writing to me.
If people do read it though, I want them to find themselves relating to my characters and finding hope and peace in how their story progresses, I want people to feel moved by it. But if no one reads it I want myself to be moved by it.


“Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.”
Near the end of 2021 I was severely depressed. I was at a place where I had made a few attempts on my life and given up on all my passions but one. Writing. I still kept working on this one story. It was like holding onto a piece of floss while dangling off the edge of a cliff; I knew the floss might break eventually but I held on anyways until someone got there and pulled me to safety.

Writing took over my conscious mind as I started coming back to myself. I would say "I can't go yet, I have to tell this story first." and I would write and write and try to keep those dark thoughts away for a little longer.

Writing and reading are what brought me back to life, they spurred the light inside me and made me feel excited about accomplishing goals I had since I was a child.
And this book helped too, through Stephen King's stories I realized writing when you're falling apart is a call into the unknown to piece you back together again.

He speaks on his dealings with drugs and alcoholism while he was writing the Shining and Cujo, and the melancholy feeling he holds towards the words he barely remembers writing in those books. But they are his words when he was falling apart and his words once he was pieced together again.

It was around this time in the book that he said something I really liked. A creative alcoholic is just an alcoholic, and as someone who's grown up around alcoholics- there's no special fancy type. Its all about pain.

“I have spent a good many years since―too many, I think―being ashamed about what I write. I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction or poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all.”

This line hit me really hard when I was listening to the audiobook. I am often ashamed of the adventures I write about with my characters- I feel like there's no place in this world for another damn fantasy author who wants to explore a new kingdom. I have been accused of wasting my time and breath trying to chase a dream, and I've been told to get a real job.
So.
I did both. I'm in university for a job in a field I love while writing a book.

Stephen King doesn't give advice in this book, he gives true life lessons that pushed him along the path to where he is now and he is brutally honest in his delivery. Even though he is telling his own story and not one about a character he made, his writing remains masterful and moves with a fluid grace that makes listening to it feel like breathing- you don't even notice you're still doing it until you pay attention.


On Writing did a lot for me as a writer, and I am so glad I read this as I started my book.

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