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Book Review By Megan E. Davis
On Writing by Stephen King

The first half of King's book is not about writing. The reader is opened up to a new side of Stephen King--the child he once was, the life he lived growing up, the person he has become over the years.

King relates how he began writing as a child, making his own novel version of a horror film he saw, and selling copies of the book at school (which he got in trouble for).

But he kept on trying to make his writing pay off. For several years he wrote a serial story for his brother's homemade newspaper called "Dave's Rag." And eventually, with the encouragement of his mother, he began sending stories to magazines.

After a fairly lengthy biographical section, King goes on to talk about the craft of writing. He covers some of the basics that are obvious to some of us, but not worth rehashing for many of us. But he also covers less obvious matters such as style, and encourages his readers to give writing a try if they really have the desire and the ability.

King finishes with a chapter about the time he was hit by a van while taking his walk. He describes what he remembers about the accident, and what he was told about what he didn't remember. And he tells about how he overcame the difficulties and kept on writing.


Plot & Themes
job/profession:
Job/profession/poverty story Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1950+

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - American

Setting
United States Yes
Africa Yes

Writing Style
Book makes you feel? - challenged - like laughing
Pictures/Illustrations? - None
How much dialogue in bio? - little dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 0-25% of book
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