Stephen King

In my feature writing class we were required to read Stephen King's "On Writing." This was a pleasure in my opinion. I consider King to be a good writer and one of my favorite series was written by him, The Dark Tower series. So what did I learn from the book?

Keep Writing - One thing that King pounds into your head is that you have to keep writing. He feels it's important to write as much as you can, because that is the only way you will become better. I agree with this, but I have never really practiced writing everyday. The book inspired me to keep my blog up better, as it gets me writing, and to start writing just for myself everyday.

Keep Reading - King says there is no miracle class that will teach you to become a great writer, and the best way to become better is to keep reading and keep writing. He says the best way to improve your vocabulary and writing skills is to read, read, and read some more. You will learn from what over people do, which you will learn from reading.

Open Door / Closed Door - King says he writes his stories with his door "closed." After the first draft he opens up the door and gets opinions from other people. I like this idea a lot. In the past I have sought out a person's opinion before I was done with a piece, which is not bad per say but I would like to give it a shot without.

Favorite Quotes -
"I'm convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing."
"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

Picture taken by Tojosan