Stephen King's “On Writing” is a memoir of the author's experiences as a writer and serves as a guide for those who choose to pursue the art of writing. Stephen King writes about his childhood and early adulthood, telling stories that made him the writer he became. Stephen King then turns to the mechanics of writing, offering advice and insights into a successful career that worked so well for him but remains distant for thousands of others. “On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft” is not written in the traditional textbook. format. The structure of this book works as an educational tool because it offers a personal look at how writing influenced the life of a successful novelist. Each section of the book contains something important about the art of writing. The book also includes much information about the personal impact writing had on Stephen King's life. In the First Forward, Stephen King turned to his colleague Amy Tan to find a justifiable reason to work on this piece of nonfiction. Amy replied, “No one ever asks about the language.” King states, "What follows is an attempt to put down, briefly and simply, how I came to this craft, and what I know about it now, and how it's done. It's about the day-to-day work; it's about the language." (xiv). As a successful novelist, King has had the experiences that a writer would not only want to learn from, but perhaps live one day. Finding out how success happened to someone the aspiring writer might admire makes the dream seem more real, almost achievable. This success as a writer makes Stephen King an expert on the subject, thus making his perspective authoritative. The basis of nonfiction writing is research. In an educational system soc...... middle of paper ...... on traditionalism that focuses on fluency, appreciation and understanding. King states, “no one can be as intellectually lazy as a truly intelligent person” (138). Overall we are “creatures of habit,” thus resisting changes in the traditional academic sphere. King uses his take on popular culture to engage future readers and inspire the next generation of writers. “Part of this book, perhaps too much, is about how I learned to do it. Much of the problem has been how to do it better. The rest, and perhaps best of all, is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will. (Kings 269-270). "On Writing" is a touching, cultured and stimulating book, a book that will surely help hundreds of struggling writers and motivate others who may pick up the book not for inspiration, but simple curiosity..