On Writing by Stephen King is a masterful work by the King himself — a book for which I can only leave an A+ review.

In the book, King shares his memoirs and earliest memories revolving around writing, ample writing advice, grammar and structure, and how his accident in 1999 changed his life. 

Now 73, Stephen King has written notable works such as It, The Stand, Carrie, Misery, The Shining, Pet Sematary, Cujo, and more — many of which have been adapted to TV and film.

On Writing by Stephen King forced me to think about my relationship with writing.

My writing habits and skills have certainly changed over the years.

When I first started blogging and writing when younger, I would write everything inside spiral notebooks. I had mountains and mountains of them stored in my room. If what I was working on was to be turned into a blog post — I would then take the handwritten piece and transpose it to WordPress by typing in.

Now, I write directly in my word editor with Grammarly to improve my writing.

What is Stephen King’s advice for writers?

You’ll have to read On Writing by Stephen King yourself to see what speaks to you, but I’ve captured what stood out to me most below:

1. Write, write, and write some more.

Daily writing and making mistakes are what will help you perfect the craft. If you don’t take writing seriously and don’t practice every day, then you won’t give yourself enough of a chance to get enough words under your belt.

2. Like most things, consistency is key.

Go and get yourself a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White — your recommended pathway to learning how to style your writing. Stephen King believes in this book, and I’ve also been affected by its perfection.

3. Form a character and learn to shape the book around its story.

4. Avoid adverbs.

5. Read a Lot

One of the best ways to better as a writer is to read a lot to absorb others’ styles and tools.

Also — if you’ve ever seen a Stephen King book, you know they’re often thick. Why? They’re filled with Stephen King’s descriptive language. Think of the five senses when you write, and help the reader experience the world in your imagination.

King divulges plenty more information regarding adverbs, plot, characters, grammar and passive voice, so don’t miss On Writing by Stephen King; it needs to be in your personal library for writing improvement when you need help.

Keep writing, keep writing, keep writing.