On Writing by Stephen King

Okay. I am so far behind on the books that I’ve read over the last three years that I’m just going to try to finish the ones that I’ve read this year.

The first book I finished this year, surprise, surprise, is On Writing, by Stephen King. In it, he switches back and forth between a biography and his writing process. It’s pretty interesting for both parts. I like to think that someday I will be a wildly productive (if not commercially successful) writer and it’s nice to see that humble beginnings like King’s are not the death of creativity.

Throughout the book he stresses that in order to write, you have to actually, well, write. His style is a little fast and loose for me. I like a good plan in place before I dive head-first but who can argue with the success that King has had, following his own way?

One thing that surprised me was that there was no mention of the Dark Tower anywhere in this book. For something that has shaped King as a writer, that has been the biggest struggle of his professional career, you would think that there would be at least a footnote in this one about it.