Confession time- I am not a fan of Stephen King’s writing. I find his books to be boring (Pet Sematary put me to sleep) and overall, his writing doesn’t suck me in like other writer’s work has. However, I am a huge fan of Stephen King the human being. The man has done so much good in so many ways and I am in awe of how much he has stood up for the transgender community (among other things he’s done). So knowing that I’m not a fan of his writing, it really shocked me when I did find a book of his I enjoyed… and it’s his book On Writing!

I remember taking the book out of the Allentown Public Library during my undergraduate degree and reading it in one shot. Seriously, I had a really hard time putting that book down because it was interesting, helpful, and inspiring to me. Being an undergraduate, I was taking literary classes and creative writing classes, and trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible. Why? Because I wanted to learn how to be a good writer. I wanted to learn the Craft from those who were knowledgable and had experience with it. Basically, I wanted a how to guide on being a great writer at the age of 21-22. Now that I’m older I realize there isn’t really a how to guide on being a great writer(because every writer’s journey is different and there are also a lot of different elements that go into being a writer), but the experiences that each writer shares can help shape the journey of younger writers (like me).

The honesty of this book is what makes me love it so much. Stephen King, through self-deprecating wit and honesty, shows us how creativity and hard work can transform our lives and our careers. One of my favorite pieces of advice that he gives in this book is- “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” And that piece of advice has stuck with me throughout the years (though sometimes the writing a lot part gets away from me). But he’s honest with his advice and he’s speaking through experience. This book shows us that the path of a writer isn’t as glamorous as it might seem and that there are many paths we can take to get to our ultimate goals, but that the one thing we can never stop doing is writing. Because at the end of the day, writing is the most important part of it all!

Overall, I feel that if you’re a writer or you want to be a writer, then this should be one of the first books on writing that you read. This book is easily in my top 5 must read books on writing! So if you haven’t read it, you should read it, and then you can thank me later for recommending it to you!

Have you read On Writing? If so, what was the biggest piece of advice you took from it? And what are some of your other favorite books on writing? I would love to know! I hope everyone has a great week!

Also, if you haven’t already, please check out my blog posts on my second call for beta readers and my special offer for my editing services. The deadline for both of these is fast approaching and I would hate for anyone to miss out on either opportunity! Thanks!