As my summer reading assignment, I chose to read On Writing, by Stephen King. Since he is a long time favorite author, I thought it would be extremely interesting to learn about writing from the king of horror himself, Mr. Stephen King.
Before I started to read the book, I assumed it would be very straightforward and technical. I was extremely wrong. On Writing is one of the best books I have read on the subject. While including tips and lessons on the craft, he tells stories of his life as well. While he tells various tales of his life, he relates the events to his writing career and how these little seemingly meaningless events, eventually changed his life and guided him to his successful life now.
Throughout the entire story, King talks about his struggles with drugs and alcohol. This is a reoccurring subject in this book and in many of his other works too. I believe that his struggles with addiction have a lot to do with the overall theme of the story. The theme that has really stuck out to me is basically stating that much like an addiction, which is a continuous battle, writing, is the same way. You may, and probably will struggle a lot as a writer, much like a recovering addict. To be successful as an author, you will have to fight with and force yourself to write; even on those days that nothing is going right. Like an addict trying to stay sober on those days, writers have to stay determined and not be fazed by those days too.
This entire story has many techniques to it. All of which are very useful and effective. One of the first techniques that King uses is to speak to the reader like they are sitting in front of him, drinking tea, and having a casual conversation like they are old friends. The voice that King puts in it makes the reader feel as if they really know him. It allows the book itself to open up to the reader, making it easy to read and entertaining. The next technique that King uses repeatedly through the book, is taking stories of his past, and relating them to how they affected his life today. By telling us, the reader, about his life, we are able to relate to the book and bring our own experiences into the book. Finally, as the reader gets to the part about the tools of writing, King tells a story about an experience he had with a large toolbox, and a conversation that he had with his uncle. Later, he takes what his uncle has said, and compares all the tools in a toolbox to writing and all of the language, grammar, and ideas and putting them in his own toolbox. It really gives the reader a great mental picture and goals.
Overall, On Writing, is one of the best books on the topic and craft. It is short, simple, and effective. I would highly recommend it to any Stephen King fans or anybody interested in writing, and what it takes to be successful in a career with writing.