I nearly fell off my chair when I read this statement in Stephen King’s book On Writing. It provides such a sharp contrast to the 20 other books I’ve been reading on the subject of writing memoirs. Because I’m working on my own book on this subject, I’ve been looking at the assumptions the authors of these books make about their readers. King – clearly one of the best-seller authors of our time – holds the “average person’s” story telling abilities in higher regard than other authors do. This is part of the appeal of this sharp, directive, readable book about writing.
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Pocket Books, 2000, p.18.