final blog

I found the story of King's accident really moving. I wasn't at first sure why he was including it in the book, because it didn't seem very relevant at first, but after a while it became clear to me. He wanted to show us how writing had become a coping device, something to fuel him through the hard times. I find it really amazing that writing means that much to him and am really glad he shared that story with the readers.

one last thought

Writing for Steven King is more than just a job and making money, it fulfills him and its what he loves to do.

Blog #4

Stephen King's book, On Writing, was not what I expected. I expected a book just teaching many different ways of becoming a good writer, what good writing is, and why writing is important. Instead it was more about how he became a good writer himself and what he had to go through to get there. This book was definitely more interesting and had better advice for more than just writing then I thought it would have.

Blog #3

Stephen King creates an interesting example using Uncle Oren's toolbox. He takes an actual toolbox and applies it to a literary toolbox. King uses it as an example to show how important it is to build your skills as a writer and to carry them around with you the rest of your life. It is good advice for anything you learn through out life because you never know when you might have to use it.

Blog #2

One thing I respect Stephen King for is how serious he is about his work and his buckle down and do it attitude, like my mom says shit or get off the pot! "But its writing, damn it, not washing the car or putting on eyeliner. if you can take it seriously, we can do business. If you can't or won't, it's time for you to close the book and do something else"[107]. I also thought it was very interesting how Stephen King sees writing as telepathy, I never thought of it that way and it makes you think what else could be right in front of us.

MasyDazy #3

    "Before beginning to write, I'll take a moment to call up an image of the place, drawing from my memory and filling my mind's eye, an eye whose vision grows sharper the more it is used."

We all use our minds to paint pictures when there is something descriptive to think about. But Stephen King uses his mind as his eye even though he cant see it then he remembers it. We use our memory more than we think we do and that is what the author is trying to say here.

And Now, About Writing...

I realize I haven't actually spoken much about what seems to be the main focus of the book: How to write. Or at least, what works for Stephan King's writing. Part of what I like about this is he never says you have to do what he does. He just gives you tips he's accumulated over his years of experience, nothing more, nothing less.

One of the tips he gives is to not make any conscious attempt to improve your vocabulary, and to just use the first word that comes to your mind. Sometimes I have problems with this because I always like using large words, so I go out of my way to find them. But I think part of the reason I use big words is because I don't want to repeat myself, and I want to be specific, instead of using many words to express what one would suffice to do.

Another tip King gives is to have good grammar. I quite agree with this. Personally, I get very distracted when something is written with incorrect grammar or spelling. If it's intentional, such as in dialogue, it's acceptable, and makes the point about the speaker.

King also has a little to say about simple sentences, that need only have a noun and a verb. They are indeed useful things to use if your prose is getting too cluttered with long compounds sentences and such. Some examples he uses are "Rocks explode. Jane transmits. Mountains float... Plums deify!" These are lovely little simple sentences, that give the reader a resting point, to get a break from the complexities of the written word.

He also mentions that you shouldn't include so many details as to overwhelm the reader, which I sometimes have trouble with because of my tendency to get carried away with sharing everything about everything in my writing. Often times I hear other students complaining about how a book had too much description and was too boring. Honestly, I don't find that I'm as bored with description as other people seem to be, but still, you don't only write for yourself, you write for others to enjoy too.

All in all, there is much more I could write about this book. I could reiterate every tip and story shown, but I won't because then you may as well just read the book (again, I hope). This book has been very helpful to me, and my mindset about writing.

~Cafferty Frattarelli

blog#1

When I first started reading this book I thought it was going to be a very boring book, that I was not going to like or relate to at all. One part of the book that I can relate to with Stephen King is doing mischievous things with my brother while growing up. I also thought it was funny and creative how he turned a movie into a book and sold it at school unaware how illegal it was. I also respect how open he was to admitting to his addictions and some of his lowest moments. At this point in the book I decided it definitely was not a boring book.

"The Prime Rule"

Stephen wrote this whole book, to explain his journey as a writer and things you could maybe do better, but the best advice might have been his, "Prime Rule." It's necessary, and most important, and up until then Stephen hadn't said anything was a must. But he says that you absolutely, have to read and write-a lot.(Pg. 145)

By reading you can learn from the good, as well as bad writing. Good writing can teach you techniques, your own personal style, narration and everything else that goes along with a good paper, or book. Bad writing is like, when someone tells you too watch and learn,and then you know exactly what NOT to do. Not only that but it can also be encouraging, you know you can do better.

Practice makes perfect, and that's why writing, a lot, is the other half of the prime rule. If you write a lot, eventually you will find your writing style and such, therefor improving your skills. Besides if you want to become a writer, writing is inevitable. So this shouldn't even be a problem.

So how much is enough? Well Stephen says that it varies, but suggests 1000 words of writing a day, and around eighty books a year, and he's a slow reader. And my guess is that eventually you'll be reading and writing more, not for studying or to improve, but because you begin to like it, it becomes a routine. If you follow his Prime Rule, you will advance your writing skills, because if you can't or won't do this, then you certainly won't excel as a writer. After all, the prime rule is the most important, so it must have the most impact.

A Writer's Toolbox

Stephen contributed a considerable amount of his book to describing a writer's "toolbox." As he had good reason to. You cannot, or it would be greatly difficult, to become a great carpenter, without the proper tools. Well the same holds true for the writer, without these tools-that at first may seem so basic, but once they've been mastered, can help you create something remarkable. You, of course, must construct your own toolbox, but the following tools, are hard to do without.

Level one of your toolbox contains all, of the "common tools," things such as vocabulary and grammar. Vocabulary all depends on the writer; in books you can find anything from, "big" words to street language. It isn't necessary to use big words to have a great book, isn't that a sigh of relief? And although he does mention that good writing doesn't have to rely on excellent grammar before you can start twisting it, and making it your own.

Level two goes a little deeper into writing. It contains things such as your style of writing. Things such as paragraph formatting. I'm sure we all, or most, flipped to a random page in the book, before reading it, just to get an idea of what we were in for. I'm sure we do this for a most books. Paragraphs and vocabulary can say a lot about the book. For example, big paragraphs, and small font, usually suggest it may be a harder read.

And this pretty much completes the top half of your toolbox, what you decide to stock in your next couple of levels is up to you. And once your toolbox is filled, don't forget about your tools, use them as much as you can, and that way they'll actually help in improving your writing.

another blog from MasyDazy

 

"The closed door is your way of telling the world and yourself that you mean business; you have made a serious commitment to write and intend to walk the walk as well was talk the talk."

Using the "closed door" the way that Stephen King did, is over used to how people today use it. It reminds me of when parents say, "Your oportunity is here the door is closing."

a blog from MasyDazy

As Stephen King goes through his changes in life he realizes what he wants to do with his life, and that is to become a writer. He started out by writing comic books; the first one he ever did he copied some of the same themes out of his favorite comic books. He showed it to his mother and she told him to make one up on his own, he wrote another one and did not copy anything. His mother supported him to become a writer, for Christmas she had bought him a typewriter, to follow his dream of becoming a writer.

Blog Post #4

"One more matter needs to be discussed, a matter that bears directly on that life-changer and one that I've touched on already, but indirectly. Now I'd like to face it head-on. It's a question that people ask in different ways--sometimes it comes out polite and sometimes it comes out rough, but it always amounts to the same: Do you do it for the money honey? The answer is no.

(King, Page 248)

This passage in "On Writing" especially stood out to me because not only was this novel about bettering one's writing skills, but also to encourage people to do what they love for that reason alone. King expresses his love for writing by taking us through his life story and indirectly explaining his ever lasting passion for the art. This book is as much of a guideline as it is proof of following what you love in life whether it be writing or any other profession, is capable of producing a happy, successful life; which is what i believe King's intention of showing us was all along.

On His Life

Since almost half of the book "On Writing" is autobiographical, it only seems appropriate that I address his writing about it. He presents his life in a way that is serious, yet humorous. One thing that struck me about his writing was the use of vivid metaphors. One example occurs on the very first page after the forward, when King describes his childhood as "a fogged-out landscape from which occasional memories appear like isolated trees... the kind that look as if they might like to grab and eat you." He captures all sorts of emotions with these images.

The events he describes are snapshots, like a puzzle that's missing a few pieces, but the picture is still shown. It's effective because you can see the big picture without being distracted by too many irrelevant puzzle pieces, like the white piece in the middle of a cloud, or each individual brick on the house.

One thing he mentioned about his childhood I could definitely connect with was what he wrote about when he got his tonsils out. He said "When I woke up I was indeed allowed all the ice cream that I wanted, which was a fine joke on me because I didn't want any." I've had a similar experience with getting my teeth pulled. I was promised apple sauce and ice cream, but I didn't get any because all I did was sleep.

Overall the autobiographical section of "On Writing" did what King meant it to, show how a writer was formed.

~Cafferty Frattarelli

Blog #4

On page 180, King says, "It's dialogue that gives your cast their voices, and it is crucial in defining their characters-only what people do tells more about what they're like, and talk is sneaky: what people say often conveys their character to others in ways of which they-the speakers- are completely unaware." I agree with this because when you are reading a story you learn a lot about a character by what they say and how they say it. I like how Stephen King say that, "talk is sneaky." Every person who will read your writing is different. When they read your story and the dialogue that you put into it they will form their own opinions about your character. Not every person will interpret the dialogue the same way. So it may be difficult sometimes to find the right dialogue to use to get the reader to interpret it the way that you want them to. I also like his example about how you can say that a character didn't go to school a lot or you can show it to the reader using the character's speech. I think that using dialogue to say something instead of writing it can make a story a little more interesting.

Blog #3

I liked the section in the end of the book where Stephen King talks about the day of his accident as well as the months of recovery that followed. After he got hit by the blue van he was severely injured and endured a very intense and painful recovery process. Something that I could not even imagine going threw. In this part of the story you see how dedicated King is to his writing when he describes the pain that he feels in his hips and back while siting and beginning to write again. He struggled at first but he never gave up on his daily writing. He does this because he truly enjoys writing, and I think that is what makes him such a good writer. On page 195, King says, "the practice is invaluable (and should feel good, not like practice at all)." I think that in most cases, for someone to be a truly good writer they must write because they like to write.

Blog #2

One of the main things that Stephan King says in this book that I agree with is the part where he talks about how when you are writing fiction every character that you create is actually partly or even a lot like you. King says, "When you ask yourself what a certain character will do given a certain set of cricumstances, you're making the decision based on what you yourself would (or in the case of a bad guy, wouldn't) do." After reading this i realized that I do this in my own writing all the time. The characters that I write about often do something that I would do in that cituation, or as King said, wouldn't do if the character was a "bad guy". This makes me think that you could find out a lot about the author of a story just by observing the actions of the characters that they have created.

3rd blog

"If there's no joy in it, it's just no good." Stephen King said. I like this because I think it really captures the theme of the book. During the whole book, he talks about his reasons for writing. Not for the fame, not for the money, not to impress anyone. He writes for himself, because it's what he loves to do, and because it's a big part of who he is. He writes with passion and love for the art, and as a result, his writing sounds real and honest. That's how it should be, in my opinion anyways.

Blog Post #3

There are many aspects of this novel that I appreciate greatly, for one, King manages to write an intelligent book using vocabulary that doesn't require a dictionary for every five words. This also proves one of his points that great writing doesn't always depend on the vocabulary or the grammar but, mainly the delivery and control over how the reader takes in the passage.

Another part of "On Writing" that I appreciated was how relatable the story was. By King explaining the tools that one would need to be a good writer through his own life story, it makes it easier for the reader to think about when they have their own troubles with writer's block or any other situation and then think back to King's personal story and situation to his.

My personal favorite part of the story is King's strong message that one should never give up on something they love and there is no better way to prove this message to his audience than through his own troubles and how they brought him to be a spectacular author of critically acclaimed novels.

Final Thoughts

Stephen King is one of the greatest writers of his generation and I am extremely happy that of all the writers out there, he is the one advising us on how to write. It became clear to me how passionate and naturally driven he is about writing as soon as I opened the cover. And if it wasn’t for the passion and dedication he has put into his work, he may not be recognized as he is today. Even when his life was rough, he continued to write with all his effort because he loved it so much. And if there’s a greater meaning to his story, it is that if you love to do something, no matter what it may be, sticking with it through thick and thin and never giving up will get you really far.

How This Story Related To Me

When I am in school, in the middle of the year and toward the end I feel I have nothing left to say. I believe that you can only write so much in just one year. But in the book Stephen King has troubles also. He has trouble in his life with family, troubles trying to find people who really like his individuality, and troubles trying to get what he wants to say out.

In the end of the book it says that it took Stephen more then 2 years to write On Writing. With that said I truly believe some things just come more natural. For instance, in the beginning of the year your brain is still on summer. So, you have a lot of things running through it. But, as time goes on your imagination beginnings to slow down. But you just have to take a break and then eventually you HAVE to finish what you have started.

Why Dave?

In the Begining I really could care less about his brother Dave. I thought he was just an unrelevant character and didnt realize the impact Dave had on Stephen. After reading the book and thinking the book through, I have found one main reason that Dave was mention. He wasn't just Stephen's support, but he was the one that made Stephen that solitary man that he needed to be.

With all Stephen's ups and down he always found a way to get better or find help. Help for Stephen was writing in my perspective. It wasn't his family or freinds that made him the man he is, but the fact that he had a way to express himself through creativity and lessons he lived.

I Agree

Stephen King makes you think about things in a way you usually don't think about things. First of all you usually don't sit down to write an essay and think to yourself, the steps you need to take to prepare yourself for this creative journey you are about to take.

But Stephen King has some very good ideas about how to write the best essay you can. And these are the things tht stuck out to me...

1.) Shut the door. It is like turning the outside world to off. It makes you think about everything you need to, so you can come up with the best story.

2.) Find you special spot. If that is an office with a big wooden desk like Stephen king or just your room sitting in your bed.

3.) After you shut the door and find your spot just write. Let everything fall onto the page don't stop for any reason. Once you are on a roll keep going, even if you think the words don't fit or if it isn't germane to the topic. Keep going.

4.) Take a break and breath once you feel your first draft is done. And return with your mind ready to focus again.

5.) Take out and don't add. Never second guess your self. So once you read over your story go through and see what spelling or grammar errors you made and also see if you can take any adverbs out, like Stephen king always does.

Then you will have a good story.
Those are some of the things I thought will make me a better writer.

Blog #1

When I first heard that we would be reading this book I thought that it would be all about Stephen King's writing. He did say some things about, as well as use examples from, his own writing but mostly he spoke about what it takes to be a good writer.He says that some people are just not meant to writers, but if you truly want to become a great writer you must commit yourself to a lot of reading and writing. This book gives an aspiring author a few quide lines to start on the path of getting their writing published. King also shares some of the goals that he sets for himself, such as staying at his desk untill his daily writing is finished. This book may seem as if it was written for people who are serious about writing, but i believe that even the average person who may not enjoy writing can also learn alot from this book. One thing i've learned from this book is that when writing you want to make it flow as easily as posible. You have to re-read your writing and take out all of the things that really do not need to be there or don't exactly make sense; while also adding needed details.

Blog Post #2

As I further read "On Writing" by Stephen King, I have grown to appreciate his unique way of giving tips on improving one's writing skills without making "what-to-do" and "what-not-to-do" lists. Instead, he brilliantly showed the readers how he learned these tips himself through his own interesting life experiences.

One piece of advice that really stuck with me was that, perfect punctuation and perfect grammar is not always what a story or article call for. Something with a strong structure can always use a fragment or anything out of the ordinary to get a point across in an indirect or even spot on, in your face way.

grammer

Reuben, I agree with you in part.  Yes, in writing, sometimes those rules are meant to be broken in order to keep with the flow of the story, or the meaning/impact of the essay.  However, you need to have command of those rules before you can break them and still communicate your ideas.

Blog #3

From the time I started writing essays, teachers have always told me to have perfect grammar. From not starting a sentence with “And” or using the wrong words and punctuation. Stephen King says that it is completely okay to make grammatical “errors” and use fragments. What’s more important is style and vocabulary.

I’m really glad that a writer as famous as Stephen King says that writing that may not have perfect grammar is great as long as the writing is original and honest. Writing exactly what’s on your mind will make the writing sound better and flow simply because it is what the author is trying to convey, and not an extremely broken, monotonous excerpt from a thesaurus.

I think Stephen King is a better writer because he writes what he thinks and produces work that is written with only his message in mind. King shows us that the art of writing is not to be picked and picked away at until a spotless essay is produced, but rather that the blemishes are what make the writing art.

On Writing: The Power of Telepathy

Mr. King has quite the imagination. One of his most creative ideas is the idea that, art-all art, depends upon telepathy. (Pg. 103) The power of Telepathy has always been seen as a myth, as a thing from a comic book. But he shows us otherwise.

He shares with the reader what's on his mind, the weather outside, the room he's in while writing the book. We aren't there with him, we're not even on the same point on the timeline, and yet we see what he sees. We know his thoughts and neither person spoke a word. It's all in our minds. And really, that's all telepathy is.

Mr. King focuses on the art of writing, because to him it holds the purest form of telepathy. However, you may disagree that unlike a painting, for example, we do not in fact see the same thing. That while on a painting we are all seeing the same thing, a description of a room can be interpreted in different ways. Well doesn't that hold true for the painting? While on the canvas there is one thing, in each individuals mind is a different perspective.

As crazy as this may sound, the more I think about it, the more I have to agree with Stephen. The details don't matter, what is important is the idea that people are able to communicate through telepathy, with help from art.

2nd blog

I found it very entertaining that Stephen King's brother, Dave, had his own newspaper called Dave's Rag. In which Stephen wrote personal stories. He saw this as a crafty way to make money and sold them to neighbors, and family members. One thing that I also found a bit uplifting was the fact that every story that he submitted and was rejected, he pin them up on his wall as an inspiration to keep trying harder. His mother was also a big help in that she bought him a typewriter and never stopped encouraging him until the day that she died.

Ashley's blogs

Blog 1:

Stephen King's life was insightful, and entertaining as him and his brother made so many memories. Stephen mentions one memory one memory when him, and his brother were creating an electromagnet and accidentally blew out all the circuits  on the house, and on the whole block. I guess this happens when you are a single mother who is working trying to support your family, and leave your kids home by themselves. But Stephen Kings's life wasn't all that good. As a child he was sick all the time, and missed a lot of  school. 

Blog 2: 

When King's brother David started his own newspaper he brought Stephen into the scene, and made him editor. King wrote a personal, and obnoxious newspaper which he made copies of, and sold them to neighbors, and family members. King's newspapers sold really well, which I thought was hilarious because it was a creative way to make money as a kid. In his quest to become a writer, his mother was supportive, and even bought him a typewrite to continue his dream.

Blog 3:

When Stephen King wrote hurtful stuff in his version of the school news paper about Miss Margitan and explained that she was a strict teacher and was very mean. She would send girls home if their skirts were too short, but later on appreciated her because they got better jobs later on in life. This is comical because I'm sure lots of students can relate to his ideas about a peticular teacher at least once in their life time and have wanted to express there feelings about such a teacher, but maybe not as publically as Stephen.  

Blog 4:

So I am sure when a pregnant women goes into labor she doesn't want to track down her husband, but that is exactly what Tabby Stephen's wife had to do. Stephen was at the "Memorial Day Triple Feature" with his friend Jimmy Smith, getting drunk watching movies. As the third movie started to play the announce, announced over the loud speakers that Stephen King had to go home because his wife was in labor. I am sure no guy would ever want the whole world to know that his wife was in labor.  

Reply

Forward

First blog

As I picked up the book On Writing by Stephen King, I was very hesitant to open it in fear that I wouldn't like it and would have to force myself to read a book that appeared to me very very boring. But that was actually the complete opposite and found myself enjoying the book. His mild sense of humor catches the readers’ attrition and also makes it fun and easier to read. I enjoyed his casual and informative tone that he creates. He really knows how to catch the readers attention and it almost seems like he know the reader, and most anyone can connect with him in some sort of level. For a person like me that doesn't really like to read I sure wanted to keep reading the book.

#2 Stephen's Struggles

As King continues the journey through his life, it becomes obvious that he has experienced his fair share of struggles and challenges. From growing up with a single mother to working to support his family, or alcoholism and drug addiction, the list goes on and on. And yet while all of these things combined would most likely lead the average man to insanity, King is still able to joke about some of the lowest points in his life.

“A year or so before, observing the rapidity with which huge bottles of Listerine were disappearing from the bathroom, Tabby asked me if I drank the stuff. I responded with a self-righteous hauteur that I most certainly did not. Nor did I. I drank the Scope instead. It was tastier, had that hint of mint(97).”

This was the first time in the book that I actually laughed out loud. King’s ability to make a reader laugh about such a tragic and devastating subject is proof of how talented he is as a writer and storyteller.

"Language does not always have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes."

On page 134, Stephen King says "Language does not always have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes." I really like that he said this because I hate when people think that perfect grammar and big words constitute good writing.

Honestly, I'd have to say that it's almost the other way around. For me, it's actually pretty boring reading writing that is all perfect like that (Ok, so I guess there IS a difference between GOOD writing and INTERESTING writing, but personally, I'd way rather read INTERESTING writing than "good" writing..) basically, think it's really cool that a famous writer like Stephen King would agree that good writing isn't all about grammar and having a huge vocabulary.

"Fear is at the root of most bad writing."

Stephen King talks about how "Fear is at the root of most bad writing." I actually think that that's very true. You can tell when writing is forced, and you can tell when writing is written with passion.

I think that when people are scared to write, scared of how the reader us going to view them, self-conscious and weak about it, it shows in their writing. Everything seems just really forced, the sentence structures, the description, the plot, and even the theme. But when a person writes just for the heck of it, because it's what they love to do, that's when it's good writing.

Fourth Blog - It All Comes to an End

As I finished reading the book I finally understood that writing isn’t for you, but it’s for the ones who read it. You don’t know how people are going to react to your writing and this book did it to me. On writing showed me just how valuable life really is, and it showed me to be great full for what I have and to never take anything for granted.

Third Blog - Things That Stand Out

While I was reading on writing I came upon a sentence that really stood out to me. The sentence was ‘writers form themselves into the pyramid we see in all areas of human talent and human creativity.’ I thought it was very interesting how he explains each different type of writer and how they are unique in their own ways. It also showed me that anybody can be a writer no matter what the circumstances are. I thought it was also interesting how he said there are geniuses in the writing field even though you may not realize it and those geniuses could be even too smart for themselves. According to Stephen there are only two things that you need to do to become a good writer, which are to read a lot and to write a lot. Stephen also stated that there are no shortcuts in writing. So far I realized that the writing world is a lot like life.

Second Blog- Life's Hard

While I was reading I realized that Stephen king stories kept being denied, but he continued to keep trying and not give up. Each time he got denied, it really actually helped him, because it gave him a better understanding of his writing skills. Such as when he was the editor of the school newspaper called The Drum, he got tired of putting captions to photos, so he decided that he would make his own newspaper that was only four pages called The Village Vomit. The Village Vomit wasn’t exactly a honest news filled newspaper, it was more of a practical joke. In one article he wrote about a teacher’s jersey cow winning a farting contest at the local fair. All of his friends and high school classmates thought his newspaper was hilarious until Ms. Margitan walked up behind some fellow students and saw the article for herself. Stephen was then sent to the principles office for his second time for upsetting his teacher about what he had written. Even though he got in trouble, it never stopped him from doing the one thing he loved, and that was writing.

ali blog 4: over all summary.

Although this book never struck me to think that it would be teaching me how to write, it somehow did. This book talked a lot about Stephen King’s experiences & those experiences leave a lasting affect in our minds, so that we won’t forget those experiences he went through. It’s almost like advertising, because the advertising technique sticks with us, so that when we are writing in class we will think of the scenes in this book & they will help us write. Though I thought this book was only urging me to write, somewhere between all the words & pages, it gave me a better understanding of how to write.

ali blog 3: new outlook on life.

Stephen King was so committed to his writing that even though he went through some serious struggles in life, for example the car accident, he still continued to write. He was in fear that he may have not been able to ever write again, & that he would never see his family again. Being in the helicopter & knowing that he was on the verge of dieing & it was out of his hands, scared him. It gave him another outlook on life, & made him very thankful for what he had. When he returned home some few weeks later, he went back to writing his book that he had set aside, wondering if he should ever continue it, & he decided that he’d finish it concluding that his ability to write & his family could have been taken away from him.

ali blog 2: life.

One subject that really caught my eye as I was reading was the part about people accusing King about the way he writes. I think it stood out to me, because we can all relate to that with life. I feel as if we all at one point care so much about other people’s thoughts & assumptions about us, that we aren’t ourselves & we change because we can’t handle the criticism. At some point in our lives, we all stop caring & just live our life. We mature & realize that we only have one life to live, & we need to live for ourselves, not to try & impress other people. King realized that about his writing at age 40, but he never gave up along the way of being shot down, criticized, & completely embarrassed.

"Life is not a support-system for art, it's the other way around."

Something I really like about this book it that he wasn't at all trying to boss us around and telling us what to write and how to write, he was inspiring us to write and telling us about his writing experiences and how big of an influence writing is on his life.
So when he said (on page 101) "Life is not a support-system for art. It's the other way around.", the words really stood out to me because it's such a theme in this book. His whole life, art supported him. It encouraged and and inspired and most of all motivated him and helped push him through the tough times. Like when he got in the car accident, writing really helped him along the road to recovery. Writing helped him become himself again, it made him mentally stable again and made his life feel like it had before the accident. It served as a sort of therapy for him I think the main point he is trying to make in this book is that writing can really help you out in ways that you may not think that it could.

On Writing

Walk into the book story. You immediately see hundreds of books. And for a person that NEVER goes into a book store, It's quite overwhelming. So your intuition immediately tells you to go find an acosiate and ask for help to find the book you are told to read. So the middle age man leads me to the back of the story, where he believe its at but what do we find... nothing. So now he has to find another person to help look for this one book. So now we walk to the very front of the store to try to find a different person that is more familiar with the store. But that was hard to find. Know I had a women leading me on a wild goose chase threw the store. She took me to 2 different locations but we still couldn't find it.

After all this trouble finding the book I knew something had to be "up" with the book. Since I was unsure of the size or the style of writing I figured it was probably a harry potter sized book with "big" words i had no idea what they would mean.

So now after my brain has a hundred things going through it the sales people finally found the book. After quickly examining the book, the number of pages, the font, and vocabulary, I realized this book is achievable. So in a sigh of relief I tell them this is my book.

Now once I purchased this book I finally realized my AP English assignment has started. And weather I wanted to or not I had to sit down and read this book I had not a single idea what it would be about. In the beginning of reading the book it was all about his trouble in school. So I still didn't know what to think. Because based on the title, I thought to take it literally and thought the book would be about how to write. In those first few pages I should have known but not to assume anything. It was to early to make assumptions.

After only 15 pages I decided that the book hasn't made any dramatic impact. So I didn't read another page for 2 weeks. But after those 2 weeks I realized that there has to be a point of us to read the book. So I picked the book up and brought it to camp where I knew I would have down time.

Once I started reading and got into how this book will better me I couldn't put it down. I wanted to hear what he had to say about everything. Some things I was shocked about and somethings I was like" yea that is so right."

Stephen king was a great author to read because once the book starts it is full of impactable information. Which really makes it worth your while to read. There for I give this book 5 stars. Because of its originality and not just making another,"how to book". But make it relatable to the people reading the book.

Andrew's comments

Post #1

When we were first told about this book, I read the description online. I figured it was just going to be one that lectured us on the art of writing. I thought it would be chapter after chapter of exactly how to become a great writer. I was somewhat right because the second part of the book was just that, but it was very useful, giving important tips and how-to’s. He gave all the aspects of how to be a successful writer and the skills one would need.

            But before the second part of the book where he spends most of the time writing about how exactly to write; the first part told us his story, and how he got to be where he is now. He took us from childhood where he first discovered his joy for reading and writing, all the way into his current life. This part of the book was the most interesting and inspiring due to the fact that he failed so many times with the entries to the publishing companies, but his love for the craft motivated him enough that he pulled through it and finally started to get published and flower into a well known writer.

Post #2

            As I continued to read I found a very interesting part. During chapter 37 on part one he was talking about writing his novel Cujo, or what he could remember of it due to his heavy drinking habits.  He was saying that he could hardly remember writing that book, but it was one of his favorites. After he finished that book he talked about feeling evicted from life and wanted things restored to the way they were before he started to drink so heavily. So people told him to give things time and they would eventually get better. He took the advice and just kept doing what he knew best; he wrote. It wasn’t his best work but it was still something, and little by little he found his “beat” again and found it as joyful as ever before.

            When he was all sobered up, he was talking about the house that he started to live in. Instead of the cramped house he used to live in, he now had a new, spacious, and comfortable place for him and his family.

            I guess what I am trying to say is that he in a way changed his life around. It was out with the old, being his old cramped house, and his horrible drinking habits, and in with the new. A new house and a clean sober slate. I think that he was able to do this because of his writing. If he wouldn’t have kept up with it, he would have lost it, and wouldn’t have been able to regain that.

Post #3

What really caught my eye when reading this book was Mr. Kings ability to overcome all of the hard times and troubles he was confronted with. As he said one of the hardest things to overcome is when you don’t feel like continuing on with say, a novel. Even if it because it’s not as good as you thought it was going to be or something came up that wasn’t right. As he said “…go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.” (78). What I think he’s trying to get at, is even if you’re hitting a rough patch, push through it and keep going, because in the end you might have something that was worth all of the trouble.

 

Post #4

Throughout the book, Mr. King gave good advice on how to be a good writer. I think a couple of the most important pieces would be the ones on reading and trying to write every day. He said that if one did not have time to read, then they didn’t have the time, or tools to write. He gave suggestions on how to make time for reading, and also where and where not to do your reading.

In my opinion, he is one hundred percent correct. But what do I know; I am just a high school senior reading a well-known author’s book about something I am not even half as good at. But, I think that the more people read, the more they will obviously know but their grammar, spelling, and vocabulary will most likely excel above others who don’t read as much.

 

Post #5

As my final blog I will just say what I thought of the book. Well, I guess I enjoyed reading it, and that’s not very easy for me to say because I am pretty picky when it comes to reading. The way he told his life story and his style of writing just kept me hooked. Then when he moved into the “On Writing” part, I learned a lot of new tips and tricks that will help me improve my writing. Over all I thought a good book.

 

On Writing

Before reading this book, I honestly didn’t see how I could possibly enjoy a book that was teaching me how to write. I mean, 288 pages of instructions on grammar, language, punctuation, and description? No thanks. But seeing as I didn’t have much choice in the matter, I finally picked up the book, opened it up, and held my breath as I prepared myself for a very very boring book.
But I didn’t find it boring at all, to my surprise I actually really liked it. You know it’s a good book if you read a good 75 pages without even a single glance at the page number. I got really into the casual yet informative tone Stephen King would use in his writing, and the mild humor he used to get the reader’s attention. I also liked how he really knew the reader. He knew the things that would be interesting to us, and knew the things that would be boring to us. I liked how he emphasized the idea of “short and sweet”, and really demonstrated that in his writing.

On Writing: "A way back to Life"

On Writing, One word to describe it? Ingenious, it's clever and effective. And better yet- it isn't bossy. As strange as that sounds, Stephen doesn't once say, "this is the correct way to do it, and you have to follow it." This book isn't some manual, which too be honest is what I was expecting, Instead, he shares with us his knowledge, ideas, and beliefs but he also says that we are free to disagree. He reveals to us some very personal things which were essential parts of his journey to becoming the writer he is today. On Writing, is the perfect blend of anecdotes and knowledge.

He used humor where humor did not exist. He presented writing techniques in a way that taught the reader a thing or two, or at least me, but also managed to keep things interesting. At one point he made the book interactive, by giving the reader a writing challenge.

Overall, it was a good read. I really did enjoy it. His life story is defiantly fascinating. After all he says that, writing was "a way back to life,"(pg. 249) after a near death experience.

Four from Heather

Stephen King’s childhood was very eventful with his older brother including him in all his ideas and experiments and other adventures. I can’t even imagine the thought of blowing out all the circuits in an apartment building let alone two of them. (I was quite impressed when reading this.) But I guess that’s what happens when you leave children to entertain them selves. But their mother had little choice the same as many single mothers. I think all those early years of adventuring helped him become a creative writer.

BLOG 2

When I read the part about King’s alternative school newspaper I burst out laughing. What an idea to make a rude more personal school newspaper, and have course it sold like hot cakes. But like all good things it had to end. Every ending has a new beginning though, King got his beginning after getting in trouble with his newspaper, by getting a job as a writer in a local newspaper. Which gave him another stepping-stone to becoming a writer.

BLOG 3

The way King described the skills of writing by using the layers in the toolbox gave me a better understanding of how to use all the skills I have acquired over the years together to create my own style of writing. Also the fact that I don’t have to have a spectacular vocabulary to be a writer is a relief to say the least. 

BLOG 4

I was very surprised to hear that he had such a struggle to get to where he is today. King didn’t sleep and magically get to the top. He was really living on the edge, considering he had a family to support. Also finding out he had a drug and alcohol problem, was shocking to say the least. But thankfully he was able to get his life on track and keep writing fiction for all of us to enjoy. 

from Ally

My first impression of On Writing was that it wasn’t going to be a very interesting book. I personally don’t like reading too much, so I was not looking forward to reading a book over summer. I ended up going to the doctors & while I was waiting for the doctor to come in, I decided that I might as well start to read my book. As a began to read, I suddenly found myself at the part where King was having serious ear infections and had to go to the doctors for his painful treatment. I was completely grossed out at this point & I realized that I was sitting in a doctor’s office myself. I found that quite funny, but as I continued to keep on reading my book, I became more & more interested as I flipped every page. I was completely surprised on how interested I was in this book. As I was reading I noticed that this book didn’t have much about writing techniques. I found that it was a type of book that was trying to give you the urge to write, but not forcing you to.

First Blog/ First Impression

When i first heard that the book we were going to read was called On Writing by Stephen King I thought to myself, "OH GREAT!" Just one more stupid book we had to read that is going to tell me how to write. I was not looking forward to begin reading the book the day I purchased it, but i knew it had to be done sometime; and sooner was better than later. I flipped through the pages to find where the book started and where it ended. I couldn't believe a book that was supposed to teach you how to write could be over 250 pages long. Having no idea how you could explain how to correctly use punctuation, grammar and other writing techniques in a book at all, let along one that was that long. I started to read the book with a mindset that it would be horrible. When I flipped to the first page and started to read the very first paragraph; I soon found out that this was not a book about writing, it seem to be the life story of Stephen King. I was shocked. I would have never guess just by the title of the book that it would have started the way it did. The way he describes his life is very intriguing. I cant wait to see how his life turns out and why the book is called "On Writing".

In the Beginning... (There was an Introduction)

So the first thing you normally see of a book is the cover, right? This was not in fact the case with my reading of "On Writing- A Memoir of the Craft", because of me reading it on the Kindle, but I googled the cover, so I can still offer my opinion of how it may have affected the reading, or at least the reader's first impression. My search came up with two different covers: a dark photograph of a lone chair in an attic room and a light mostly beige photo of the doors on the side of a house leading to a cellar or basement, accented with bright flowers to the side. It seems to me that the latter is a more suitable cover because it seems to emulate the idea of an introduction more than that dark attic that seems to be more of an ending than a beginning because dark implies night, which is at the end of the day, while the light of the second cover implies the beginning of the day, and give the reader a brighter outlook of the subject of writing. Also, the basement door is fitting for the book because King has his "farseeing place" in the basement.

Then next interesting thing the reader finds in the book are the quotes "Honesty's the best policy" and "Liars prosper," both of which inherently contradict each other. (Hooray for an interesting oxymoron!) This piques the reader's interest, and makes them wonder what relevance the quotes have (and they do have relevance, since they come up later in the book.)

And now to the forward. The first thing that struck me about the forward was that King was also a musician. It seems to me that all art forms are interconnected in some way, and are just different ways of expressing creative tendencies. Few people really seem to connect all of the arts together, but they are connected. For example, if some what says they're an artist, everyone naturally assumes that they draw, or paint, or something like that. They would almost never guess that they wrote, or played music, or even cooked. All of those are arts as well.

Another thing that caught my attention at the beginning of the book was the comment King made about his band. "We found that we liked playing together too much to quit..." It has often occurred to me that artists are interesting and entertaining people, no matter which art they pursue, and the more arts they are interested in, the more interesting they seem to be.

King also wrote the phrase "... when you're standing in front of a group of author-struck fans and pretending you don't put your pants on one leg at a time like everyone else." It occurred to me when I read this that even though some people are considered "masters," like Shakespeare, and Homer, they're still human beings, and still eat and sleep like all us "lesser" people. Just because they seem great and powerful doesn't mean they're divine.

In his "Third Forward" King tells the reader the rule "The editor is always right." This rings with a certain truth, because if this person takes the time and effort to read through what you've written, and give you feedback on it, they probably want to be listened to, and there is probably a good reason they told you this. This also means you're going to want a good editor if you're going to be a writer.

~Cafferty Frattarelli

My First Entry

When we were first assigned "On Writing" to read and write on, I thought to myself in a sarcastic voice,"Oh great, a book telling me how to write...that's going to be fun." Although I have become a better writer from learning in school and practicing, I never expected to expand my writing skills from reading a book. But as I began to read and understand what Stephen Kings was trying to tell me, it dawned on me that this book is far from any instructional book on writing.

Instead of writing a "how to" book, King wrote an autobiography and lets the reader decide how his experiences shaped him as a writer. And while I still expected King to focus solely on his journey as a writer, he also included anecdotes and memories of seemingly unrelated events that, in the long run, shaped his literary style and him as a person. King melds his literary and life experiences to show the reader how he became a talented and renowned author.

First Blog Entry

Before actually reading "On Writing" by Stephen King, I expected to read general tips on how to enhance one's writing skills but, was pleased to realize that it was a novel on how Stephen King became such an exceptional writer himself. I feel that by revealing his own biography, King indirectly showed us where his strange and intriguing stories came from. Along with his horrific car accident, he shared life stories that better explain King's interesting novels and the great writing behind them.