Yesterday I published, Reading Fiction: Guilty Pleasure or Worthy Pursuit? In that post I stated that I only read fiction. Well it’s just one day later and I must retract that statement.
I received a copy of Stephen King’s On Writing in the mail yesterday afternoon. Yeah, it’s obviously not fiction but it’s a book on writing fiction so cut me some slack, okay? I’ve read several excerpts in the past but decided I needed to read the entire book. Well, I couldn’t put it down.
It’s a book on writing but it doesn’t read like an instruction manual and that, is a lesson on writing right there. It felt like I had sat down with a wise, yet fun-loving uncle as he imparted nuggets of wisdom, but first hooked me in by sharing funny anecdotes from his childhood.
The section where he offered advice on writing is a must read for any aspiring author. There are many great tips but I’ll highlight just two (sorry, but you’ll have to buy the book to get the full benefit).
King believes “plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.” His advice was reassuring because I’m not big on plotting and I’d wondered if that was somehow a weakness. I have a general idea of the story I want to tell and create very detailed character bios, but they are mostly for my reference only. Once I’ve completed the character bios it’s almost as if I have breathed life into them. They become real and end up telling me what comes next and it’s often different from what I had originally imagined.
He also believes that factual information belongs in the background of your story unless you’d like your book to read like a user’s manual or history text. He mentioned a couple of authors who are a little heavy on the factual information and then made this statement:
“I sometimes think that these writers appeal to a large segment of the reading population who feel that fiction is somehow immoral, a low taste which can only be justified by saying, ‘Well, ahem, yes, I do read {Fill in the author’s name here}, but only on airplanes and in hotel rooms that don’t have CNN; also I learned a great deal about {Fill in appropriate subject here}.’
It’s interesting that I just published a post on this topic yesterday. I love it when that happens. It’s like the moon and stars are aligning for some future event.
At the end of the book he tells about an accident that occurred during the time he was writing it. While going on his afternoon walk, he was struck and almost killed by a reckless driver. This part was mesmerizing because I was almost killed in a car accident too. Then he said it occurred the third week in June. Hmm…my accident did too. What are the odds it was on the same day? Well, what do you know? We were both almost killed by drivers who couldn’t control their vehicles…on the same day, June 19th, but eleven years apart, mine occurring in 1988 and his in 1999. But there was another similarity: the driver who caused his accident was reaching behind his seat, trying to prevent a dog from opening a cooler full of meat and the driver who caused my accident was reaching behind his seat, trying to open a cooler for another beer.
As he talked about the long road to recovery, I recalled my own. Maybe I’ll write about it? No, not today.
Instead, I closed the book with a smile on my face and thought, “That was a good story. Thanks, Uncle Steve.”
On Writing is really one of the best books ever written on the subject. The coincidences you came across whilst reading the book are fascinating, as you say, it’s great when someone seems to be talking about you and your situation, and King is so good at doing just that. I’m so glad you found Uncle Steve and that you’re sharing him with others.
This is a great book. May I also suggest “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott? Another one of those non-manual writing books.
–JW
I’ve heard of that one. Going to add it to my list now. Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
Reblogged this on The Wandering Barefoot Editor and commented:
Ever wake up and feel like ugh! and wish you could go back to bed? Well that would be me today. I woke up in Minnesota to snow AGAIN with more to come in the next couple of days. I’m not sure where spring went but this girl needs it and the sun badly. I wish I could curl up with a blanket and a book today but unfortunately I can’t. If I could I would go pick up the book Melissa Janda wrote about here and read it today. Thank you Melissa for reading something that wasn’t fiction and passing along your treasure. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to read this book but now I’m going to!
Thank you for sharing this insightful post. It’s really eerie about the coincidences you mentioned. So glad you shared the information with us.
I think we all look for ways to connect with each other. It’s confirmation that we aren’t as odd or alone as we sometimes feel. This connection was different and unexpected so I wanted to share it. And yeah, it’s a little eerie. But we are talking about Stephen King, he pretty much invented “eerie” LOL. 🙂
King’s book is superb! It’s the only book about writing that I have read twice! 🙂