On Writing by Stephen King
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EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
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on Writing A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. There are no bad dogs, according to the title of a popular training manual, But don't tell that to the parent of a child mauled by a pit bull or Rottweiler. He or she is after Buster Beak for you. And no matter how much I want to encourage the man or woman trying for the first time to write seriously, I can't lie and say there are no bad writers. Sorry, but there are lots of bad writers. Some are on staff at your local newspaper, usually reviewing little theatre productions or pontificating about the local sports teams. Some have scribbled their way to homes in the Caribbean, leaving a trail of pulsing adverbs, wooden characters and vile passive voice constructions behind them. Others hold forth at open mike poetry slams. Wearing black turtlenecks and wrinkled khaki pants, they spout doggerel about my angry lesbian breasts and the tilted alley where I cried my mother's name. Riders formed themselves into the pyramid we see in all areas of human talent and human creativity. At the bottom are the bad ones. Above them is a group which is slightly smaller but still large and welcoming. These are the competent writers. They may also be found on the staff of your local newspaper, on the racks of your local bookstore and at poetry readings on open Mike night. These are folks who somehow understand that although a lesbian, maybe angry her breasts will remain breasts. The next level is much smaller, thes air, all the really good writers above them. Above almost all of us are the Shakespeare's, the Faulkner's, The Yates is Shaw's and Eudora Welty's. They are geniuses, divine accidents, gifted in a way which is beyond our ability to understand, let alone attained ****. Most geniuses aren't able to understand themselves, and many of them lead miserable lives, realizing, at least on some level, that they are nothing but fortunate freaks. The intellectual version of runway models who just happened to be born with the right cheek bones and with breasts, which fit the image of an age I am approaching the heart of this book with toothy sees both simple. The first is that 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. The second is that while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible with lots of hard work, dedication and timely help to make a good writer out of a merely competent one.