"On Writing" Final Essay

                Throughout King’s lifetime, he has published many novels, short stories, and even a few non-fiction books. In On Writing, King makes very clear that a successful writer cannot give up on his or her craft and must remain dedicated through the good and bad of writing, and the only way to become a better writer is to keep on writing (page 145).         

 From an early age, King began writing.  When King was young, he spent his time off from school, due to childhood illnesses, reading and writing. All of his absences eventually caused him to fail the first grade and be pulled out entirely. While some may find this to be a setback to a young writer’s career, King used his time wisely to read as much as he could bare (“approximately six tons of comic books”) and eventually inspired him to write his own works (page 27). After showing his first original works to his mom (page 29), King began submitting his stories to magazines (page 35).

Considering King’s colossal success, one would think his career came easy. This was not the case. “If you want to be a good writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no short cut.” (page 145). This is exemplified through King’s actions from the young age of fourteen. He would submit story after story to magazines only to be rejected. King began keeping his rejection slips on a nail above his bed, and, eventually, the nail could no longer contain all of the slips. While most people would be discouraged and quit writing, King “replaced the nail with a spike and kept on writing”. With every rejection slip, there was a story King had written. With each story He only became a better writer. He continued to write and wrote often, and by the age of 16, the numerous rejection slips now being put on the spike had encouraging handwritten notes (page 41).

Through all of King’s hard comings: the measles, strep throat, and various childhood ear infections (pages 23-27), drug and alcohol abuse (pages 96 and 97), and even being hit by a van and the complications from the accident (pages 254, 261-264), one thing has held the fibers of King’s sanity throughout his whole life. And that thing is writing. “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous... or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching you own life as well. It’s about… Getting happy.” (page 269).

For King, writing is more than a job and a paycheck. Writing, and writing a lot, is the key to happiness and fulfillment. “Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.” (page 270).