46 pages 1 hour read

Stephen King

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2000

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Part 1, Chapters 16-22

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “C.V.”

Part 1, Chapter 16 Summary

King describes his room in Durham, with a bed that is beneath low-hanging eaves. Some prominent objects are comic books, an Old Royal typewriter, and a Webcore phonograph. When King receives his rejection from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, he nails it on the wall above the Webcore. He keeps adding rejection slips to the nail until he must replace it with a spike. By the time he turns 16, his rejection slips sometimes contain personalized notes. Fantasy and Science Fiction provides a personalized rejection to “The Night of the Tiger” and encourages King to submit again. While in his twenties, King rewrites the story and resubmits to F&SF, and this time is accepted.

Part 1, Chapter 17 Summary

When Dave becomes “bored with high school,” he creates his own newspaper called Dave’s Rag (41). The publication “was an odd combination of family newsletter and small-town bi-weekly” (42). Dave runs the Rag out of the family basement using a hectograph for printing and a small, closet darkroom for developing his photos. The hectograph requires a long time to print and also tends to grow spores, so Dave buys a small drum printing press. This allows him to produce in two days what used to take a week, and the Rag moves into its “golden age” (44).

Related Titles

By Stephen King

Plot Summary

logo

Bag of Bones

Stephen King

Bag of Bones

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Billy Summers

Stephen King

Billy Summers

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Children of the Corn

Stephen King

Children of the Corn

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Different Seasons

Stephen King

Different Seasons

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Doctor Sleep

Stephen King

Doctor Sleep

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Dolores Claiborne

Stephen King

Dolores Claiborne

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Elevation

Stephen King

Elevation: A Novel

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

End of Watch

Stephen King

End of Watch

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Fairy Tale

Stephen King

Fairy Tale

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Finders Keepers

Stephen King

Finders Keepers

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Firestarter

Stephen King

Firestarter

Stephen King

Plot Summary

logo

From a Buick 8

Stephen King

From a Buick 8

Stephen King

Plot Summary

logo

Full Dark, No Stars

Stephen King

Full Dark, No Stars

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Gerald's Game

Stephen King

Gerald's Game

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Gwendy's Button Box

Stephen King, Richard Chizmar

Gwendy's Button Box

Stephen King, Richard Chizmar