Writing On "On Writing": Introduction
on July 11th, 2009 at 4:05 pmIn my quest for publication, I’ve started collecting a number of books about writing. Some, like The Chicago Manual of Style, are great references, but not something I’m likely to read cover-to-cover any time in the near future.
Then there is Stephen King’s On Writing. The book came highly recommended, and I have to say that, for me, it’s the best thing he’s ever written. I haven’t finished it yet, because I’ve found myself savoring the read. King offers a lot of solid advice for writers, especially those of us not yet published.
First and foremost, of course, is the persistence issue. Most of us have heard at some time or other: If you are a writer, you can’t NOT write. I would argue that you can, but from my experience it makes you miserable and a bear to live with. Okay, it makes me that way, but I’d lay odds it is like that for many writers. However, one CAN write and never publish a word. The persistence issue is all about publication. It’s about growing a thick skin because it’s likely you will be told “no” a lot before someone finally says “yes”.
Another wonderful piece in the book is about a writer’s tool box. Even if you want to skip the first hundred pages of On Writing, I recommend every writer take a look at the toolbox section. It will help to narrow down all your concerns about your own writing to the ones you really need to work on.
I could keep going on all the reasons this book is a must read for aspiring novelists, but the short and sweet of that is just to tell you to read it yourself and take from it what you can.
So, you might ask, how am I going to do a series about this book? The answer is simple enough. While I agree with much of what King says, there are pieces I whole-heartedly disagree with. Had I come upon his book when I was younger, less sure of myself, and less outspoken, parts of it may have stopped me from writing. Not just from seeking publication, but potentially writing at all. So, I plan to take the parts I disagreed with and dissect them.
Some might argue that I don’t have the authority to do that sort of thing. After all, King is an award-winning, international bestselling author, and I’m … not. But, I am a reader, and as such, I’m entitled to my opinions on what I read. That’s what this series is, a second opinion. Mine doesn’t mean that King’s is wrong, but his doesn’t mean mine is wrong either. Or yours for that matter.
So, dear reader, cozy up in your chair with me and, for the next few weeks, let’s dissect Stephen King.
Oh, come on, don’t tell me you never thought about doing it before.
I’m probably lucky in that my very first writing book wasn’t a single book — it was an entire stack of books my mother had bought. I read them all, and, of course, they didn’t agree with each other, so I got into the game realizing that working writers used a lot of different methods and I couldn’t take any one approach as definitive for me.
Exactly! Thankfully, I spoke to a lot of published authors before I started getting serious about writing, so I knew a bit about what I was getting into LOL.
Not this someone. Once an author publishes a piece of writing, it becomes fair game for all reasonable discussion.
I recently read Eliza Clark’s Writer’s gym : exercises and training tips for writers . It contains several exercises I find useful, as well as advice with which I agree and advice with which I don’t. I smiled when Elizabeth Ruth spoke out in the book against the “morning pages” advocated by Julia Cameron in her much-vaunted The Artist’s Way:
But my favourite piece of advice in the book comes from Lee Gowan:
I read Kings book, a few years ago and liked it, for the most part. As I recall, there were places that could have benefitted from further editing. I’ll be interested to read what else you have to say about it.
One of my pet peeves is the – you must/should write (fiction) every day. I think one should write (fiction) on a regular basis, whatever that may be for each individual When the Muse refuses to appear, for me at least, there is no choice but to write non-fiction or not write at all.
I liked the tool box concept as well. And his guidelines on dialog tags (when in doubt, always use he said, she said). Trying to get too cute on dialog tags does jerk the reader out of the story, especially if it’s done to often.
In my first drafts, I generally stick to this rule. On further drafts, I’ll endeavor to change it only if there seems to be a long string of them. Usually, I find I can eliminate a good amount of tags altogether by use of character action, however slight.
But, in the end, I agree with the ‘he said, she said’ guideline. I’d rather the reader make a slight mental note about ‘another he said she said?’ than ‘he jerked out,’ or worse – ‘he ejaculated’ or a flourishy abundance of cute adverbs in tags.
Great! I’m looking forward to seeing your critique of On Writing, as I enjoyed some of it and disagreed with some of it myself.
(And yes, I skimmed the first 100 pages a little, as I found it too heavy on King’s life. Which, sorry Steven, I don’t really care about.)