Helene Jeppesen's Reviews> On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

This was amazing! Much more than I had hoped for!
As a semi-fan of Stephen King and his writing (I love some of his books, I feel like a lot of the others are dragging), I didn’t really know what to get out of this non-fictional work on writing. I was curious to hear about this craft from one of the most prolific and popular authors out there, but mostly I wanted a behind-the-scenes look on what it’s like to write a book.
I was surprised to find myself immersed from the very beginning, where Stephen King talks about his childhood and what formed him to become a writer. This was really good and very interesting, and I devoured that part whole-heartedly.
Then I came to the Toolbox-part on writing, and wow! That was fascinating! Even though I’ve always said about myself that I’m a reader, not a writer, Stephen King really gave me an urge to sit down and try and write my own book (it should be mentioned, I never actually made it that far, but the thought felt good). Reading this section of the book was a unique experience, and it inspired me in many ways - for instance, I had to take a break at some point and go watch the movie “Misery” just because I was too excited to wait for the book to arrive (the movie “Carrie” is next up).
I was trying to save the last section of the book in order to have something to look forward to, but after half a day of thinking about it I had to succumb and read it. This section is about the accident Stephen King was in that nearly cost him his life.
This book made me feel close to Stephen King as a writer, and I loved it for that. What does it really mean to be a writer? What does it take? What are some of the things you need to know and avoid? This book gives you a whole lot of answers and I can’t recommend it enough; whether you’re an aspiring writer or just a fan of Stephen King.