This mix of biography and writer's guide was truly captivating for me.

The biography part, although not entirely unfamiliar, became seriously interesting once King reached early adulthood. It was fascinating to learn about his life journey and how it influenced his writing.

The writer's guide section was equally impressive. His advice was not only great but also very convincing. However, I wonder if his specific writing tips, such as avoiding adverbs, would work the same way in languages other than English.

King makes it abundantly clear that to become a good writer, one needs a certain level of talent and passion. Practice alone is not sufficient.

What I found most appealing about his hints was his strong recommendation to read widely. My edition of the book even includes two extensive reading lists at the end, which is a great bonus.

The reading experience itself was as smooth and pleasant as King's books always are.

Overall, I would rate this book 5 stars. It is a valuable resource for both aspiring writers and those interested in King's life and work.

Recommended Book for Stephen King Followers.

I read this book with the aim of learning the advice that Stephen King offers to all those who long to be writers. And although some of that can be found on the pages of this work, I feel that the most valuable thing we can find here is the story of how Stephen King became that highly acclaimed and awarded writer by so many readers around the world. It's worth knowing his story.

The book is composed of two sections. In the first part, the author tells us his story from childhood and how he gradually became involved in the world of writing until reaching his adult life. We will learn about his steps, childhood, first works, inspirations, failures, problems with alcoholism and drugs, family life, etc. A section written with the same dynamics as his best works, using short chapters and a self-deprecating tone that makes it possible to lighten his story despite the serious difficulties he had to live through at times. I think that self-deprecation is a genius move on Stephen's part because a story like his could have been told from a melodramatic perspective, but by using that particular tone, it allows the reader to understand that his goal is not to martyr himself: Stephen just wants to tell his story as if it were someone else's, that's all.

This type of autobiography where the author is completely sincere with the reader when telling his true story, without covers or excuses, are the ones that are worth knowing. In Stephen's case, it not only helps his dreamy followers who want to follow in his footsteps to have a more realistic view of his profession, but it also allows his more fervent readers to desacralize him a little. Yes, his books are very good and time flies when we immerse ourselves in his stories, but Stephen King is still an ordinary person with flaws and problems. We shouldn't idolize anyone. Idolatry works the same as falling in love: it biases our vision and alters our judgment.

In contrast, the second part consists of a series of advice on how to write based on the author's experience. The advice is interesting and can be useful at a certain moment, but I don't think they should be followed faithfully in all cases when we are going to write because writing is a creative process in which following the rules too much is counterproductive. Trying to find grammatical perfection is as crazy as looking for a human without errors. If we were to analyze any book, page by page, we would find an endless number of easy-to-identify errors but almost impossible to correct, for the simple and straightforward reason that this procedure would require in most cases the complete reconstruction of the work. A reconstruction that would lead to the search for more errors, a new reconstruction, a new search, a new reconstruction... and so on in an infinite process. The essence and soul of the books would change drastically, the feelings that are transmitted in a text would stop being felt and then reading would become the most boring thing in the world. I'm not saying that I'm against corrections or revisions, but everything in excess is bad. In addition, in the world of literature, opinions are diverse about what is correct and incorrect, what is the best and the worst, what is recommended and what is prohibited, so in many cases we base ourselves on our ignorant perception to define whether a content is good or bad: nothing more. So these recommendations are good to know, but not to take them as if they were the indisputable truth of the universe. We have to try techniques and experiment, but the most important thing is to find our own answers, methods, and strategies that give us good results. That's very important to keep in mind.

I really liked Stephen's recommendation in this book to be attentive to our environment. Sometimes everyday life bores us so much that we move from one side to the other as if we were zombies, but if we use contemplation as a tool to discover stories in real life, then we will be aware of the wealth that is within the reach of our senses. Understanding that any subject we cross paths with on the street can be an inspiration for us to create a character or a story is the motivating spark we need to see the world from another perspective and not get bored with what we see in it. Doing this exercise of contemplating the world and trying to understand the reasons why a person does or says X or Y thing helps us to seriously reflect on how much we lock ourselves in our own world and how little we connect with real life. There are so many, but so many details that pass in front of our eyes and the worst thing is that we are not able to observe them because of the eternal distraction of our mind. It's a bit sad to be aware of the strange way we live. Of all that we lose... of all that we don't live despite being there...

It's important to note that in this work Stephen writes about the plot of some of his works. It can be said that there is a bit of a spoiler, but in most cases it's not so transcendental as to ruin our lives. However, if you are one of those readers who feels aversion to any hint of a spoiler and has a longing to read Carrie, The Shining, Misery, or The Green Mile, then it is recommended to first read the work in question before this book. Personally, Stephen ruined the entire plot of Carrie for me, as I mention from personal experience.

Now, if what you are looking for in this book is only the story of Stephen King and not what it has to do with writing, then you may feel hesitant to read that part. Nevertheless, in that second part there is also a bit of the author's personal stories and experiences, which helps to make the book never boring. Sincerely, it's worth reading the whole book, without skipping anything.

The image that I recreate in my mind about Stephen King, after reading this work, is that of a disciplined person who had the good fortune to find love for words from a very early age. An intelligent subject who has managed to link his passion with his real life, always adapting to his needs and the changes that his environment demanded. A man who never had high expectations of his abilities, but who persevered in improving them as if his life depended on it. An example of overcoming for drug and alcohol addicts to understand that it is possible to get out of that infernal abyss. An extravagant being who takes life with humor despite the misfortunes that happen to him. A writer with an impressive legacy and an exceptional work. An inspiration. A human in all his expression.

My final rating for this work is 4.3. I really loved this book; I truly feel that reading it has been an excellent decision. Recommended Book.