REVIEW: Stephen King "On Writing"

ROOTS: REVIEW: Stephen King on Writing.

Horror is too horrible in real life so I’ve avoided reading Stephen King novels except for “The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon.” (It’s summer 199?, Tom Gordon is a closer for the Boston Red Sox, our protagonist is a girl who knows Baseball, lost in the woods for weeks in with only a transistor radio.) He DOES write a good story, so when a friend who is published recommended his “On Writing” I picked it up. His conversational style gave me a sense that I was being mentored by an older brother:

1. “What you know makes you unique. Be Brave.”
2. Take time in the world to listen and observe.
3. BUT write alone, everyday.
4. Write for an ideal reader, but don’t let him/her see the first draft.
5. Don’t let ANYONE see your first draft.
6. Put your first draft away - “Look back when you’re immersed in something else - like your life.”
7. Second Draft: Delete anything that doesn’t contribute to your meaning… and delete your favorite description of something irrelevant.
8. Share your work with people you trust. Trust their responses.

ROUTES:
Stephen King doesn’t write for the money. “Not now, never did.” He writes because “In the end, (writing is) about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life as well.” That’s why I write too – and I know that others lives will be enriched if I publish. However, Mr. King’s last bit of advice has left me confused. He said, “ “Read a lot, write a lot, read what you write.” What I read is tomes of every genre. I write short poems and essays. Do I read a novel or head to the bookstore to stock-up on poetry and magazines? Maybe I’ll just head to my “writing place” and do a few hundred words on my dilemma.