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"On Writing" - Reaction to Stephen King's memoir

I've really enjoyed the book "On Writing", so far. During the first 50 pages I could relate to many of Stephen King's anecdotes, in one way or another. The most relateable would be when King is telling the audience about his re-occuring ear infections as a child and the next story about tonsil removal.

King recalls being coaxed into a taxi cab by his mother to go to an ear specialist (otolarynologist), not once, not twice, but three times. He recounts the doctor and nurse reassuring him nothing would hurt before jamming a needle into his infected ear to release pressure and let the fluid drain. He admits the last time he saw the ear specialist that he had caught-on to their lie. The third time he says "I screamed so long and so loud that I can still hear it. In fact, I think that in some deep valley of my head that last scream is still echoing."

I am able to relate to this anecdote because my daughter had re-occuring ear and sinus infections and she had to see a specialist, as well, as her hearing was being affected. She was a year younger than King recalls being in his story. Just like King, my daughter ended up missing a lot of school due to being sick. And just like King she ended up needing her tonsils removed. (My daughter also needed tubes in her ears and adenoids removed.)

Before the doctor decided it was time for a more invasive approach my daughter was able to use antibiotic ear drops after the doctor cleaned her ears out,and oral antibiotics. Thankfully, she never recieved the intense treatment that King did, with large needles in his ear!

My other favorite quote comes from story 6, when King tells us about his tonsils being removed. King recalls the doctor telling him that when he wakes he can have all the ice cream he wants. King says "When I woke up I was indeed allowed all the ice cream I wanted, which was a fine joke on me because I didn't want any." Very relatable- my child did not want any ice cream or popscicles either. It was a long month of recovery for her.

King grew up in a home with his mother and brother and they seemed to move around quite a bit. Unfortunuately with a single mother who also worked the boys had many babysitters. Like many younger brothers Stephen King became his brother David's test dummy for many of his brilliant ideas. King admits his brother was good at letting him "share the blame" when situations went sideways.

The audience becomes aware of King's love for horror movies on page 44, "At thirteen I wanted monsters that ate whole cities, radioactive corpses that came out of the ocean and ate surfers, and girls in black bras who looked like trailer trash." King would hitchhike 14 miles almost every weekend for 8 years, to a theater named the Ritz, that showed horror and science fiction movies. That is dedication!

Things I have learned so far in my readings include: use many descriptive details, no staples, loose pages and a paperclip when submitting papers, try hard, try even harder when you get rejected, don't get too discouraged or take anything too personal.







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