On Writing Stephen King Analysis

In his memoir, Stephen King includes a brief autobiography of his life as well as information on how to be a good writer. Throughout the text, King builds a sense of trust with his reader, drawing their interest to the writing. This sense of trust is created through the author’s use of rhetoric. In his memoir, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Stephen King uses ethical and emotional appeals to gain trust from the reader, in order to convince him or her to use King’s writing tips. King first creates a sense of emotional appeal by describing his childhood and major events in his life. A central theme that runs through most of these stories is pain. Many of his early life experiences featured in the text mention situations of illness and injury. When he describes his trips to the ear doctor as a child, he writes, “He slid the needle in my ear and punctured my eardrum with

King uses a casual tone, including elements of humor, especially during situations of drama and personal hardships. When he describes the incident of him getting hit by a car for example, he adds sequences of comical commentary to describing the extent of his injuries. He writes, “My right knee was split almost directly down the middle…I also suffered an acetabular fracture of the right hip…an open femoral intertrochanteric fracture in the same area. My spine was chipped in eight places. Four ribs were broken...The laceration in my scalp took twenty or thirty stitches. Yeah, on the whole I would say Bryan Smith was a tad conservative” (King 262). By adding language that is comical, and seems casual, it makes the reader trust him more. The advice and stories in the memoir sound candid and natural, like it is coming from a friend rather than Stephen King. Since a person often takes advice from someone they trust, if King can convince the reader to trust his advice, they will likely follow