On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (2000)

I read this book as a writer not merely a reader. I’ve dabbled in many forms of writing over the years, and I’m always seeking ways to improve my craft—and even if it means reading Stephen King!

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Coming of Age with The Shining

Truth be told, Stephen King holds a special place in my history as a conscientious reader. Growing up, I had never been very interested in books, despite both the school reading program that rewarded readers with free books and that wonderful Pizza Hut “Book It” program that rewarded faithful readers with personal-pan pizzas. My parents were also both heavy readers throughout my childhood, but I feared that perhaps the bookworm gene had skipped my generation. That is, until I turned 17.

While working that summer at a VHS rental store, I watched Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, based off Stephen King’s book of the same name, and was blown away by the subtle horror of it all. As a sheltered kid, that was one of my more eye-opening moments. To an even greater extent, though, my eyes were opened by King’s original novel, the book which became my “entry drug” into the wonderful world of reading-for-pleasure. Having never touched a non-youth-oriented novel in my life, I was shocked to have finished this adult thriller in just 4 days, which for me at the time was like rocketing to the moon.

The experience introduced me to a truth that floored me at the time, and still does in a way: while I had watched the movie for about 2 hours and loved it, I was then able to live through that same ‘movie’ for a full 4 days—and ‘love’ can’t even begin to describe the experience. It was total immersion for me. Since that initial experience, my passion for reading-for-pleasure has never really abated.

Do I Really Enjoy King’s Fiction?

For these reasons, I’m not as naturally turned off by Steven King’s writing as many Christians might be. I hope that this appreciation comes more from the things that I’ve learned from him as an author than some morbid desire to see behind the curtain of evil. Since up to this point, I’ve actually only read 3 of his many, many novels, I’m definitely no super fan. Of the other books and stories I’ve tried since then, most I’ve quit upon for moral reasons, so I’m also not really recommending his fiction.

I first read this book on writing in college, because I truly longed to grow my God-given talents. Talents, though, tend to be useless until exercised and infantile until purposefully developed through practice and hard work. King’s book has helped me in many ways to get the proper focus again in my writing, so for that reason alone, I’d recommend this book to aspiring writers—though even in this how-to manual, he’s not averse to vulgarity.

The Flow of the Book

Part One of On Writing offers a brief introduction to what gives Stephen King the right to teach the world anything about writing. It’s a semi-autobiographical running-start into a series of “tricks of the trade” that he had learned over his then twenty-plus years of successful writing. From silly childish essays, to his first big break (Carrie), to works he’d finished—and forgotten—while completely wasted on booze and narcotics (Cujo), to this encouraging guide to would-be writers, King’s publications are a testament to the fact that anyone with a passionate persistence and a steady hand can unlock any number of doors in his imagination and thereby entertain the world.

The remaining parts to the book all deal with writing as an art and are just riddled with sound advice for how a writer can improve his craft. My “Quotes” file regarding the art and mechanics of writing filled up pretty fast with this read, and I’m sure yours will as well. For this post, I’ll only share a few things that stuck out to me.

A Few Favorite Points

While Stephen King is just one writer among millions, and while he has a niche in thriller-horror stories that don’t appeal to everyone, his advice about a story’s source can help any story-writer across the genres. He considers any story to be a fossil buried in the earth and needing extraction. Anyone can force the fossil loose, but he sacrifices too much of the original specimen while doing so. This illustration describes what happens to too many writers who plot their stories beforehand, who outline and detail their books before they ever actually get down to writing.

Admittedly, this is me, which is why his advice has been so inspiring. Don’t plot, he recommends: just discover the scenario, find some characters to live it, and then watch them escape as you write. The author is always a book’s first reader, so if you’re surprised by how things move in your story, imagine how your readers will feel.

King also discusses a great deal about the importance of writing a first draft “with the door closed,” meaning that you don’t let anyone in on your story (since you’re not even sure what the full thing entails just yet anyway). He then recommends setting the book aside for a minimum of 6 weeks in order to let the dust settle and to allow you to return to it as an almost unaffiliated reader.

During this second-draft phase, you write “with the door open,” meaning you let the world in on your tale by sharing it with a few trusted readers who will hopefully share their opinions, critiques and overall feelings. Did they sense a theme that you hadn’t intended? Did they tire at any certain parts? Were they confused at all by how a character responded or developed?

This closed-door and open-door philosophy is something I hadn’t considered before, because like most young writers, I get so excited about a story idea that I start sharing it with others before it even has time to develop. These outbursts are deadly to a fossilized story still locked in the ground, like a jackhammer trying to rip it out quickly and for all to see. With such vivid images in mind, I think I’ll be a bit more hesitant in how I approach future story ideas as they come to me.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in learning more tricks of the trade from Stephen King, I’d recommend you pick up a copy of On Writing and begin reading at Part 2, where he really starts delving into the mechanics of writing. I enjoyed this book a lot, and it’s already inspired me to shoot for a minimum of 1,000 words of fiction each day. I’m five days strong on that commitment, and 21 days makes a habit…so here we go!

©2015 E.T.

Read more from Stephen King:

• The Shining by Stephen King (1977)
• On Writing by Stephen King (2000)
• The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (2005)