20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Stephen King

15. He Wrote His First Book Whilst Working Two Other Jobs, Living In A Trailer

On Writing is not only one of the best how-to manuals for aspiring novelists, but also one of the more overlooked entries in Stephen King's canon. Whilst he tends to resist interview questions on his craft, his 2000 memoir/guide was both an instructional work that gave practical advice on how to get started in a career in writing. It was also as close to King has ever come to penning an actual autobiography.

Whilst the practical advice is useful, it's actually the first portion of On Writing that might be the most helpful to aspiring writers. King details the rigmarole of submitting stories to magazines and publishers, dealing with rejection, and revising his early works. That runs from when he was an English major at university up until the time he finally got his first novel published.

Carrie came after two finished books were rejected and, what's even more impressive than his perseverance in the face of such rejection, is that he wrote them all whilst working multiple jobs in order to support his family. King, wife Tabitha, and kids were all living in a trailer, and he wrote in breaks and at home between janitorial and dry cleaning work.