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Review
of On Writing by Stephen King
If you're a Stephen King fan, you'll want this book just because he
wrote it.
And the truth is, it won't help you with writers block. Not
directly, anyway. In the book, he talks about his path to
becoming a writer. What he did and the factors in his life that
turned him into a writer.
This is useful if only to see how he did it. It's also a
wonderful glimpse into his mind and how he approaches writing and
being a writer.
The part that deals with writers block is the place where he gives
you permission to be a writer. For so many of us,
writers block can be caused by the critical parent or teacher who by
certain words or deeds denied us the permission to be writers.
Who actively put blocks in our way so that when we start to write, we
simply freeze up because those ancient voices are still whispering in
the darkness of our subconscious minds.
When I was in the fourth grade, a teacher who accused me of
plagiarizing a poem I had written for a class assignment. I
hadn't, but the accusation was enough to stop me from writing for a
long time. Let alone show it to someone.
And even years later, it was a struggle. It was only my
determination to be a writer that finally won out. And when I
realized what a hold that old accusation had on me, I was able to
work around it.
The funny thing was that her accusation came because she said I
couldn't have written it because it was too good!
It's still hard to show my work to others because of her, but at
least I'm writing. And showing my work is getting easier and
easier. (So hah! you old witch!)
The other reason to get this book is because as writers, you can't
have enough books on writing. It helps to see how others got
there and how they work.
On of the things we have to do is find what works best for us.
Often that means trying what others are doing, keeping what works and
discarding the rest. But if we don't at least know what works
for others, we'll never find what works for us.
Another thing that was useful for me was seeing how hard he had
worked before Carrie was published and his career was launched.
When I get lazy or make excuses why I'm not writing, I kept reminding
myself that if Stephen King could write 1,500 words a day in the
furnace room with a typewriter on his lap, I could do it to. I
also put up lots of 3x5 cards with big notes on them all over the
wall by my desk. All I had to do was look at them and that
would keep my butt in the chair.
In any event, I do recommend getting this book and making it part of
your writing library.
You can get it here.
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