Although I am familiar with a lot of Stephen King’s stories through film adaptations – The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining – to this point I had never read any of his original work. Like many of the books that I have been reading recently, the main topic is nicely summarised in the title.
The details of how I came to read this book are long gone, but whatever the reason, I completed it in several days – in audiobook form. The beginning and end of the book – which are most mostly autobiography – sandwich the meaty middle section – a frank and clear explanation of King’s views “On Writing“.
If you’re at all interested in writing, you’ll want to read the book yourself. He gives away no secrets of the trade, indeed he insists that there are none, but his advice and opinions are very interesting and useful. I also found it very inspirational, and though I don’t envisage becoming a writer like King, I have come away from the book a lot keener to express myself through writing.
Onto my next book.
