I’ll say it upfront: I HATE memoirs. I also hate the rhetorical moves that come with writing these memoirs. Even more so, I totally despise how some amazing and well-renowned authors use these memoir-writing strategies to provide writing advice.
Having let that out of the way, let me say that Stephen King IS the king of writing and obviously that’s because he knows his craft. Just about every single person who ever said anything about Stephen King and his writing has praised “On Writing“. And since I was on a books-about-writing shopping spree, and it was cheap, I added it to my purchases’ list.
This was a great idea, and one I will never regret.
Instead of reading listicles that indicate what people have learned from King, like this one and this one, you could simply buy the book and read it yourself. Be forewarned: the first 100 pages are BORING. Or at least, *I* found them boring.
I feel horrible for what I'm about to type but I hated the first 101 pages of this book. You need to read them though pic.twitter.com/DLEI5ax7tP
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
Like "Draft No. 4", "On Writing" uses a character-filled, chock-full of events' narrative where the author dispenses wisdom "as he ponders".
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
In an agile, fast-paced, easy-to-read set of short chapters, King suggests that you should write to the best of your ability w/ 4 tools.
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
King is right, you can make an excellent writer out of someone who is simply competent at the craft.
Excellent insights: you can make a good or excellent writer out of a competent one. AND good writing is about mastering fundamentals. pic.twitter.com/93HbnaZcqU
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
And yes, Stephen King suggests that you should read. Don’t @ me.
I've said it a ton of times but, here, if you don't believe me, ask Stephen King: to write well you need to read and write A LOT. pic.twitter.com/909czkvSyF
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
The book is good, even if it took me the first 140 pages to get it.
After reading pages 145-154 of Stephen King's "On Writing" I am beginning to understand why all y'all like it so much. Great advice pearls. pic.twitter.com/1oIQEeKpVr
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
As I’ve said – we need to stop feeling guilty about reading.
We need to stop feeling guilty about reading. How else are we going to become good writers, if not by reading and learning from others? This morning I read an article and I felt guilty because OH GOD SIX REVISE/AND/RESUBMIT START WRITING. But I needed one of those papers…
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
… in order to finish and send an R&R back to the journal editor. So, I sat down at my desk this morning and read the damn article, and wrote the sentences I needed to finish this R&R and resubmit to the journal editor. BUT I read first. That's why #2ThingsADay matters.
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) May 11, 2018
On the speed, word count and page count debates: Jesus Christ, I wish I had this speed.
I've been thinking about how many words per day do I need to finish my next book. 2,000 per day seems a bit … DAUNTING. King does them