"It's best to have your tools with you. If you don't, you're apt to find something you didn't expect and get discouraged." (quote from Uncle Oren) Stephen King has some suggestions for putting together a personal writer's toolbox. Good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style, and then filling the third level of your toolbox with the right instruments. With lots of hard work, dedication, timely help, a good writer may become a competent writer. The genius writers are Shakespeare, Faulkner, Yeats, Shaw, and Eudora Welty. These people were just born gifted.
Stephen King is a slow reader. He reads 70-80 books a year, mostly fiction. He likes to write 10 pages a day. That's about 2000 words. The work is always one word at a time. Always tell the truth in your writing, writing is pliable, use life experiences to give life to your writing, be brave. A new story for King begins with the situation, flat characters, and narration. Good description is a learned skill. My desire is to help my students think and live like a writer. Reading about Stephen King's life supports this desire.
Didn't you wish you had all kinds of time to read that recommended list he added at the end? So many books... so little time. Sigh. Christy
ReplyDeleteI have loved reading about King-even though I don't read everything he writes. He's such a character - I wonder how he's such a descent person w/such a crazy and insane imagination!
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