On Writing
A Memoir of the Craft
by Stephen King
About the author: The defining American horror novelist of the late 20th century — also a master of character voice and working-class texture. His best books use fear to talk about addiction, childhood, and complicity. View profile
Synopsis
Stephen King narrates his improbable arc from a poor childhood in Maine to global success, then offers the most useful section: a tightly argued, opinionated set of principles on the actual mechanics of writing fiction.
Editorial review
Half memoir, half craft book — and unmissable as either. King is the best-selling living novelist for some of the same reasons he is one of the most useful living teachers of the craft: clarity, generosity, and total absence of pretension.
Key takeaways
- 1
Read a lot, write a lot — the only two requirements that cannot be substituted for.
- 2
The road to hell is paved with adverbs.
- 3
Write with the door closed; rewrite with the door open.
- 4
Story is found, not invented; trust the process of excavation.
The right reader
Any aspiring fiction writer; also any reader curious about how a craftsman thinks about his craft.
What it touches
How it reads
Frank, generous, master-class.
Reading difficulty: Accessible
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