On Writing by Stephen King

1. As I began to read Stephen King’s book On Writing I was clueless about what this book was even about. The first couple of pages I started to create the feeling that this book was just another autobiography about the author, personally I get very lazy and bored of autobiographies. Although my statement was slowly beginning to be incorrect. The book starts off by his past memories from being a child to fast forwarding it to present day as he writes the book. In my opinion he includes his childhood memories to show all the mistakes and lessons he made throughout his younger days. I believe it creates a metaphor to his writing in which he uses to give advice about. In the first chapter he talks about where he grew up, how his family was, and how he was as a kid. Nothing more and nothing less.
2. It truly amazes me how a guy like him, who grew up not in a big house with so much money, but just a simple casual guy end up being a talented writer. I read every word of his carefully because behind it I feel as if there’s a message to it all, and there is! He talks about how writing is and how the art of writing is defined by the writer him/herself. He uses the example of telepathy in chapter two “what writing is,” as a point to get across the fact that writing should be taken serious. Writing to Stephen King is like a drug to a crack addict. He needs writing in his life, its what makes him function properly everyday.
3. In this part of the book that I’m currently reading makes me so interested that I just can’t put down the book (yet I have to since I have summer school) he names this chapter “toolbox.” Why is it that he named this chapter toolbox? I asked myself that before I read further. When I got to the part where he talked about his Uncle Oren and old fellow’s toolbox, I began to wonder more why that this toolbox he was describing so vividly is important. Finally, the brilliant metaphor for this toolbox symbolized as tools to help a writer construct their story. The toolbox has three or four levels, the first part of the toolbox was vocabulary. He made a very good point about vocabulary, and how you shouldn’t “dress up” your words. I thought that was well said considering many people do that where they can easily just use the word an average person would use. The second level of the toolbox was grammar. He insisted to not, nor never ever use adverbs. I found this little squeal of adverbs was insanely very amusing, yet true. Adverbs are not your friends.  
4. It makes me frustrated having to put down a book where your finally getting to a good part, but you can be optimistic about it and say that when the next time you pick up your book your at a good part! The third level of the toolbox is grammar style. He compares formal writing to creative writing, indeed he makes a great statement about how formal writing is useless. As I continue to read on I came across a sentence that stood out to me, “Language does not always have to wear a tie and laced-up shoes.” I truly agree with him on that, some writers shouldn’t need to think about impressing readers on their use of wording but more on their whole story. The last level of the toolbox is the fundamentals of being a writer. There are two things I learned if I ever wanted to become a writer that I should read a lot and write a lot. To focus and put passion in a story you must have a “closed door” in which it tells the world and yourself that you mean business. 
5. Overall, I believe that the book On Writing by Stephen King was a simple yet intriguing book. It started off with metaphors of his childhood that somehow tied up with his present day writing and showed advice through it all. On the last chapter of the book caught me by surprise of how he continued to write even through his critical condition. As a young reader to understand and connect with Stephen King, it shows what type of writer he is to his audience. I really enjoyed the way he put together this novel, especially how he uses examples of previous book he wrote or read. To my surprise, I was interested in reading his book about how he began to write, how he fell in love, how he struggled through his addiction, and how today he still was able to finish this book. I can honestly say that I can never get enough of Stephen King’s book, he’s a talented writer and I loved every second of this book.