On Writing

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On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is an autobiography and writing guide by Stephen King, published in 2000.

On Writing is a book about the prolific author's experience as a writer. Although he discusses several of his books, one doesn't need to have read them or even be familiar with them to enjoy On Writing.

The first section of the book is an autobiography centering on King's early exposure to the world of fiction and his childhood attempts at writing. He describes his early attempts to get published, his breakthrough success with the novel Carrie, and his subsequent development as a tremendously popular author. King also discusses his problems with drugs and alcohol.

The second section is practical advice on writing, from tips on grammar to ideas about developing plot and character. King describes it as a guide for how "a competent writer can become a good one." He places particular stress on his beliefs that a writer should edit out unneeded details and avoid the use of unnecessary adverbs.

The third section is once again autobiographical and discusses the 1999 automobile accident in which the writer was struck by a vehicle while walking down an isolated country road. King describes his brush with death, his painful recovery and his struggle to start writing again.

In the UK paperback version, a short story by Garret Adams entitled "Jumper" was included at the end of the book. It was the winner of the On Writing competition.

In an episode of of the tv series Lost, Sawyer is fooled into thinking that he has been injected with a pacemaker, and Ben Linus shows him its effects on a white rabbit with a number 8 spray-painted on its back. This is a nod at "the numbers" (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42). It is also a reference to part two of On Writing, in which Stephen King explains writing is like telepathy, and uses the bunny as an example of this.

In Roger Ebert's review of the 2004 movie Secret Window, he states "A lot of people were outraged that he [King] was honored at the National Book Awards, as if a popular writer could not be taken seriously. But after finding that his book On Writing had more useful and observant things to say about the craft than any book since Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, I have gotten over my own snobbery."