Stephen King’s On Writing is a mixture of autobiography and ‘how-to-write’ book. It works both ways. I’m not a huge King fan but it was still very interesting and inspiring to hear about his early misadventures, especially if you’ve read some of his short story collections and get the fun of connecting story to real life incident.

As a ‘how-to-write’ book it was liberating to me. A lot of what King thinks just falls in line with what I feel, or even hope. One of his premises (and out of context it sounds a tad silly but it fits, believe me) is that stories already exist, and as a writer it is your job to carefully unearth them for the world to enjoy. King eschews elaborate outlines and summaries and instead lets the story go where it will. That appeals a lot to me.

There’re also some very practical tips and advice; in fact the book is jam-packed full of good stuff. If you’re struggling to find your voice, to meet your muse, read this book!