This man went through hell and is here to talk about it.
I am in love with Stephen King. Not in a sense, I want him romantically — but I adore the person he is. I am smitten with his humor, honesty, wit, passion, and courage.
Despite my fondness for the writer, I was not a fan of his books. I read The Shining and Cujo at the coaxing of a good friend, a faithful follower.
However, both novels scared the hell out of me, and I haven’t picked up another fiction of his again.
Since submitting articles to Medium, I have been eager to learn all I can about writing.
I was not an English major, nor had I taken creative writing classes. I’m a rookie in the Third Third of my life, retired, and enjoying telling my story and those of others.
My son, Nick, enjoys writing, too, and had Stephen King’s non-fiction/memoir On Writing on his bookshelf. I borrowed it and read it nightly until my sleepy eyes closed.
King’s truthfulness in sharing his life is why I am now a fan.
Alcohol
Stephen started drinking in his senior year of high school. By the time he was in his early 30s, he had considered himself an alcoholic.
His home state of Maine enacted a returnable-bottle law. Stephen began a recycling bin in his garage, where he tossed his empty beer cans.
He had this to say about it:
"One Thursday night I went out there to toss in a few dead soldiers and saw that this container, which had been empty on Monday night, was now almost full. And since I was the only one in the house who drank Miller Lite — Holy shit, I’m an alcoholic, I thought, and there was no dissenting opinion from inside my head — I was, after all, the guy who had written The Shining without even realizing (at least until that night) that I was writing about myself."
The Shining’s main character was an alcoholic. Stephen was deep into the depths of his drinking when he wrote it.
King continued drinking for many years and managed to write a number of books that became top sellers.
He loved his booze and felt he couldn’t live without it.
King was tortured by his drinking and drug addiction, yet didn’t know how to stop or ask for help. Stephen’s mother raised him to keep his problems to himself.
Writing was Stephen’s salvation and a way to speak of his dependence.
He speaks this of his writing:
"It began to scream for help in the only way it knew how, through my fiction and through my monsters. In late 1985 and early 1986 I wrote Misery (the title quite aptly described my state of mind)…
In the spring and summer of 1986 I wrote The Tommyknockers, often working until midnight with my heart running at a hundred and thirty beats a minute and cotton swabs stuck up my nose to stem the coke-induced bleeding."
He steadfastly continued writing, drinking, and using until his wife, Tabitha, called an intervention with their children and friends present.
Stephen didn’t think he could survive without his addiction, yet he also knew he couldn’t live without his wife, whom he cherished.
His love for her won, and King entered rehab and has been sober for 33 years.
Writing
Stephen King wrote his first story and submitted it to Spacemen magazine, promptly rejecting it. His second story wasn’t — In a Half-World of Terror was published in a horror magazine. He was in his teens when his writing career began.
King went on to publish 61 novels and five non-fiction books.
I love what he has to say about ideas and writing:
"Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up."
How many times has an idea entered your head, and your first thought was — gee, this is interesting. I could write an article about this.
On Writing
I was enthralled with the first half of the book, where King shares his struggles with addictions, his love of writing, his family, and recovery.
Those escapades are worth a book unto themselves.
The second half gives us clear-cut writing tips. As I read, I jotted down notes. Most of King’s advice is about good storytelling — not my forte, yet he gives many suggestions adaptable to blogging and online articles.
His tips aren’t unique, as we’ve read them somewhere before. Perhaps, the authors borrowed them from King.
King approaches this part of the book with two theses:
"The first is that good writing consists of mastering the fundamentals (vocabulary, grammar, the elements of style)…The second is that while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one."
Stephen is dismayed that many critics and writing teachers say that writing ability is fixed and immutable; once a hack, always a hack.
In other words — don’t believe this crap. We can turn our competent writing into good writing.
King advises if we want to be a writer, we must do two things — read a lot and write a lot.
How much constitutes a lot? He suggests four to six hours a day of reading and writing. He adds if we enjoy doing these things, it will be easy.
It’s critical that you love to write. King also adds if you don’t want to work your ass off, you have no business trying to write well. It’ll never happen.
King likes to write ten pages a day. He writes in the mornings and saves his reading for the evenings.
Top ideas
There is so much information contained in On Writing that I could write a ten-page article. I don’t have the stamina for that.
Here are my top takeaways:
- Keep your paragraphs short. The longer the paragraph, the more daunting the reading appears.
- Keep your words simple. Sure we love to use big words or dress up the simple ones. Don’t. The first word that comes to mind is the best in most cases.
- No or limited adverbs — if the word ends with ly as in interestingly — omit it.
- Keep your writing honest. Tell your story, be vulnerable. Readers love that and will thank you and learn from it.
- Know your Ideal Reader. King talks about his wife’s ruthlessness — she was his I.R. and gave him necessary feedback. You must know who you are writing for.
That’s it for writing.
Determination and Courage
Stephen King was hit by a van while out walking in Maine. He almost lost his life. He underwent numerous operations and resumed his writing several weeks after being hit.
That is tenacity, determination, and courage.
He found sobriety from drugs and alcohol — overcoming a severe addiction to various substances. His determination to save his marriage and himself is admirable.
Stephen King writes every day — including his birthday, Christmas, and the Fourth of July, even though he says he takes these days off. He was only kidding.
This man and his book On Writing brought a smile to my lips and inspired me to keep writing.
Keep learning, being curious, and exploring our world. Keep reading and writing.
No comments:
Post a Comment