On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

King buys a new car with the advance, and the family moves to an apartment in Bangor. He signs a new teaching contract for the 1973-74 year and begins working on Second Coming. During this time, King and Dave worry about Nellie, who is losing weight, smoking as much as ever, and taking prescription pain killers.

On Mother’s Day, King receives a phone call telling him that Carrie’s paperback rights have sold for $400,000 to Signet, which means that King will receive $200,000. Tabby is not home, so King goes to buy her a present from the only open store. He gives her a hairdryer and tells her the news. They both cry.

King gets drunk for the first time at 19, on the senior class tripin New York. He and his friends buy Old Log Cabin whiskey, and King gets so drunk that “there’s just enough of me left inside to know that I am globally, perhaps even galactically, fucked up” (88). He gets very sick the next morning, spends the day in bed, and feels a little better the next day. After talking with the principal, he asserts that he doesn’t need to get drunk again. The next day in Washington, D.