Stephen King. The name certainly rings a bell to most of us. Whether you have read one his many books, or have seen his thrilling movie adaptations! Stephen King is the author of 50 bestselling novels, some of his most successful titles include “The Shining”, “It”, “Carrie” and “11/22/63”.Most of King’s books fall under the horror, fantasy, science-fiction genre, but are not limited to this. Due to the popularity of King’s novel, many of them were made into movies, some of his most well-known films are “The Shawshank Redemption”, “It”, and “The Mist”.

Many wonder how one individual could possibly have the talent to write so many exceptionally successful novels but, the truth is Stephen King didn’t become a bestselling author overnight. King was born in September of 1947 in Portland, Maine. He grew up with just his mother and older brother David after his father left their family at just the age of two. Most of Stephen’s childhood was spent moving from house to house across the US, as his mother struggled to support them financially. But, reading and writing saved him from these overwhelming emotions and it became an outlet for him. To start, Stephen would simply rewrite tales adding in different plot twists and characters but eventually started writing short stories of his own. At the age of 11, King finally settled into his home in Durham, Maine, where he lived in up until University. After High school he attended the University of Maine where he studied English, and eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Both in high school and university, King was heavily involved in the school paper and wrote many columns and stories about topics of debate and school news. After graduating from university, Stephen eventually became a teacher at a high school and continued to write short stories and novels on his time off and weekends, in hopes of publishing one of his pieces. Finally, in the summer of 1971, the company Doubleday & Co published Stephen King’s novel “Carrie”, which allowed him to quit his teaching position, and gave him the opportunity to write full time. For King, it almost took a quarter of his life to become a published author and in those 24 years, every day was filled with reading and writing. This allowed him to develop and progress his writing skills, which allowed him to become the writer he is today.

“On Writing” is a book filled with secrets and advice on how to become a successful writer, in fact, there are so many tips it’s hard to choose which ones are most important. Here are the ones we thought would be most beneficial and inspiring as high school students.

1.Write for yourself

The first piece of advice that Stephen King swears by is, to write for yourself. “When you’re writing a story, you’re telling yourself a story. When you rewrite, you’re taking out all the things that are not the story”. This is a big lesson that Stephen King taught himself from his editor John Gould when writing for Lisbon’s Weekly Newspaper. Essentially this means that when you first start writing a story, you should pour out all your thoughts and emotions without fear of being judged and after your done writing you should try and rewrite the story looking from a different lens to see what fits and what doesn’t.

2. Be yourself 

The next important tip is to be yourself when writing. “Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex and work”. Each person thinks differently and has unique ideas, trying to suppress these thoughts and emotions to “fit in” to a certain type of writing is definitely going to have its effects, negative ones may I add. Having the courage to write about topics and beliefs that you are passionate in, will give your writing, a natural flow and will resonate with many more people. This also ties into another piece of advice mentioned in the book. It is to let go of any fear of failing to impress others with your writing. Harnessing your fear of failing to impress others when writing, will have an immediate reflection in your novel, short story, or poem. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable in a piece of literature may seem scary, but it will give readers something special to hold on to. “Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation,Affectation itself, beginning with the need to define some sort of writing as ‘good ’and other sorts as ‘bad’, is fearful behaviour. Good writing is also about making good choices when it comes to picking the tools you plan to work with.”

3. Read

The next advice is to read. “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write”. Reading is one of the best ways to become a writer because you’re able to learn so many different aspects of writing while being entertained. Firstly, you’ll be able to learn different ways to describe, build plot, and build characters. Next, you’ll earn which tones and settings are suitable for different genres and you’ll be able to build on your vocabulary. But, most importantly reading will help you become motivated and inspired to continue on your path of writing.

4. Stop procrastinating

The following tip is to quit procrastinating. Thinking about writing often stops us from actually writing. As Stephan king stated, “The hours we spend talking about writing is time we don’t spend actually doing it”.It is important that we do not waste our precious time talking or thinking about writing, but instead actually setting aside time to write. The more we procrastinate writing, the more it becomes easy to resent. When you write, you are given the opportunity to escape reality for a little while and enter in a world that is uniquely your own. It is crucial that you don’t procrastinate writing and that you carve out time each day to write, as this will allow you to stay in touch with your writing and expression. By writing each day and not procrastinating your characters will start to seem less like characters and more like real people.

5. Get rid of all distractions when writing

The art of writing requires focus and passion and both of these character traits perfectly describe Stephen King. In order to write with focus and passion you must “Eliminate every possible distraction”. It is ideal to have a healthy writing environment, a place where you feel inspired each time you begin to write, free from the outside world, with no distractions. It is essential that this becomes a habit, where you will return to your “writing sanctuary” each day at the same time and be one with your thoughts. This will allow for your creativity to be expressed and increase productivity.

On June 19, 1999, Stephen king’s life was changed forever. A driver of a van did not notice King walking alongside the highway and accidentally struck him. Stephen spent the next following weeks in the hospital recovering from his life-threatening injuries and fearing that he may need to amputate one of his legs. This, however, did not stop him from his writing. King himself was inspired by his near-death experience and found new ways to write. He found that experiencing true fear, made him far more qualified to write about it. He strongly believed that one should never abandon a piece of writing because it was too hard or emotional to write about. When you experience these heightened emotions you truly have something to say.

“On Writing” is a great novel filled with tips and tricks on how to become a successful writer. Not only does it take readers on King’s journey to success, but it also shares valuable life lessons he learned along the way and inspires others to pick up their pencil and start writing. “On Writing” shows to readers that they too could become bestselling authors one day, if they share a passion for writing and are willing to put in the work. This book truly puts in perspective how anyone can become a writer if they put their mind to it! So we ask you to pick up your pencil and get inspired!