On Writing

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with “How To” books, especially when they’re written by people who haven’t the goods to back up their words! That could never be said about Stephen King, however. He’s an absolute master of his trade.

In the first of two sections in this book, he goes into quite personal detail about his life; about how he came to be the writer he is today. From writing Carrie in a laundry room with a child’s desk balanced on his knees, to his alcohol and drug problem, with his struggles as a writer throughout. We all know how that turned out, though 🙂

The second part details how he writes. He admits it may not work for everyone, but if you’re like me, you’ll love reading this kind of stuff. His words are very inspiring. I’m fairly sure a person with no interest in becoming a writer would want to start their first novel after reading this!

When I’m feeling bogged down with my WIP, or losing direction, I just dip into this book and, magically, it won’t be long before I’m inspired again. Therefore, I’d gladly recommend this to any writer in the hope that it does the same for them.

Some of his words of wisdom that ring true for me:

“The scariest moment is always just before you
start.”

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough
to start, you will.”

“In many cases when a reader puts a story aside
because it ‘got boring,’ the boredom arose because the writer grew enchanted
with his powers of description and lost sight of his priority, which is to keep
the ball rolling.”



Today’s O music video is for my favourite Oasis song: Slide Away. Enjoy!