On writing: part three

The final section of On Writing was pretty good! He finished it out really well and was able to keep me interested throughout the book.

I really thought it was interesting when he was talking about his book The Stand and how he reached a stumbling block one day and didn't know where to go from there, but then randomly he came up with a great idea! It shows that you can't just force inspiration and you can't just force a good idea. It has to come with time.

When he discussed the process of writing and rewriting I was a little taken back because of the amount of effort that goes into one book. It seems like it would be awful to have to write a manuscript, rewrite it, then do it again BEFORE it even gets sent to the publisher. I understand, however, that that amount of work is necessary to becoming a successful and accomplished writer like King is. I also agree with his statement that ultimately the amount of drafts is up to the writer because everyone really does have to find their own way of doing things.

The Ideal Reader part also stood out to me. I think in anything, it's important to have that one person who will support you in whatever you do, but who also isn't afraid to be brutally honest if he or she thinks it is for the best. In King's case it was his wife, but I think everyone has that one person who's opinion matters more than anyone else's.

Throughout this book, King was able to give different advice and answer questions that are really useful! I liked his point about how stories don't come from themes but instead once you write a story, you look for those points that all tie together to create a theme, and I agree with this. I think personally that writing would be more enjoyable without deciding a theme ahead of time and just finding it later on. I also thought it was interesting how he practically recommended not going to writing classes. I just assumed he would encourage it since he is such an accomplished writer, but instead he discourages it. I guess what he feels is that true talent for writing is something that writing classes can't force upon you, it is just kind of there. You can't create talent out of what isn't already there, but you can, however, improve upon the talent you already have by fine tuning and tweeking a little here and there.

I really enjoyed the last section of his book, On Living. I had no idea that King had been in that kind of accident and it was cool to know that even though he had been through all that stuff, he was able to persevere, go through many hours of physical therapy, and write again to build up to where he left off. It just goes to show that no matter what life throws at you, you can conquer it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I learned a few good tips from it, too! I'm not a Stephen King reader, but this book, and the tid bits of different stories he wrote inserted everywhere, make me want to try some of his books!