46 pages • 1 hour read
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
Stephen King
Stephen King is an American author who composes On Writing as part memoir, part instruction manual. King is born in 1947, and he and his mother and brother move around a great deal during his childhood, which is “a fogged-out landscape from which occasional memories appear like isolated trees… the kind that look as if they might like to grab and eat you” (17). When King is in middle school, the family moves to Maine, where King remains for many years.
As a young child, King is fascinated by cartoons and begins writing around first grade, creating hybrids of cartoons and his own work. He begins composing original material and submitting to magazines. King is very inspired by science fiction and horror movies and notes, “I was built with a love of the night and the unquiet coffin, that’s all” (158). He contends with criticism of his subject matter, and this affects him. He notes, “I kept hearing Miss Hisler asking why I wanted to waste my talent, why I wanted to waste my time, why I wanted to write junk” (50). Eventually, some of his short stories are accepted for publication.
In college, King meets Tabitha, and the two marry shortly after. They struggle for money, but King continues to write, despite the difficult circumstances. King sells Carrie and begins to become a commercially-successful author. During this time, King struggles with alcohol and drugs but finally becomes sober in the 1990’s. In 1991, King endures a near-fatal accident but recovers. King establishes himself as a best-selling author and a modern icon of the horror genre with novels like Firestarter (1980), Misery (1987), and The Mist (1980).
Throughout his life, King maintains a dedicated writing practice and reads frequently. He believes that writers should let stories take form on their own, relying more on situation than on plot. Writers should also compose what is true to them, not worrying about making money or being commercially successful. For King, “writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life” (249). King’s identity as a writer sustains him throughout his entire life.
Nellie King
Nellie King is mother to Stephen and Dave. Her husband leaves when the children are young, and she becomes, “one of America’s early liberated women, but not by choice” (17). Nellie moves around a lot and eventually settles the family in Maine so that she can care for her parents, “and once she was there, Mom was caught” (37). Nellie remains in Maine and dies of cancer.
Tabitha King
Tabitha Spruce meets and marries Stephen during college. When the two meet, she is “a trim girl with a raucous laugh, red-tinted hair, and the prettiest legs I had ever seen” (61). They fall in love during a poetry workshop, and the two marry shortly after. They have children, and Tabitha works at Dunkin’ Donuts until King sells Carrie. Tabitha is very supportive of King’s creative endeavors and never questions the time he dedicates to writing even when times are tight financially. She eventually stages an intervention for King when his substance abuse becomes extreme.
David King
David is Stephen’s older brother. He has a high IQ, and “his brains were always getting him in trouble” (31). In highschool, he creates Dave’s Rag, a newspaper that he prints in the family’s basement.
Unlock all 46 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Stephen King
