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