Stephen King On Writing- Blog 3

Beginning to read the last portion of the book I'd thoroughly convinced myself that this part would be the most boring. I just knew that this would only speak on grammar rules and proper writing etiquette. However, to my pleasant suprise I must say that although this last bit wasn't, perhaps, as comical as the first half, it rang a deeper note with me than that. (Not to mention I think I just fell in love with Stephen King's romance with his wife. His love for her, shown by his sporadic comments throughout the book, is no doubt the best thing I've ever read in a book about writing.)
At one moment I had to put down the book and think when he explained that every good writer writes for someone. This idea had really never occurred to me. I'm not sure why I never really thought about a writer as a real person or that they actually have to write for someone, but my realization almost stunned me. Obviously at this moment I'm writing a blog for your class, Mrs.Leffler, but the realization that every book or bit of writing ever written was written for someone certainly put a pause on what I thought I knew about writing. (King wrote, "Tabby, she's the one I write for, the one I want to wow" which further solidified my love of  him as the author.)
Just another highlight and moment that challenged my thinking on writing was when King began to discuss those who correct his story, and edit his book. I thoroughly agree with King that close and personal friends should be able to edit or critique your writing. I personally have no fear of letting my best friend, Hannah Williamson, see my work because if it doesnt have potential she'd bluntly let me know. Of course I dont write that in a rude tone, I think that that type of critique is only one true friends can share. King's writing I did find however, seemed to have a lot of 'if and or but's. You can have these adjectives IF you do this. You may have a flashback BUT you can't forget that. Of course every 'if and or but' was justified, but I couldn't help but remember you explaining how you grade our essays or projects. You know the AP rubric, but I specifically remember you saying that, "Good writing is just good writing, and I know it when I see it." I feel that Stephen King I felt aired that fact out in the open. Through this book I really began to understand that. You can't make a great writer, but you can improve one. This was just one of many realizations that I enjoyed making throughout this book.
I know this blog is a bit lengthy, and for that I'm sorry. For all that said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and think I learned alot about writing. The task of reading a book on writing seemed daunting, but in the end I'm glad I did. Long live the King.

State Of the Union Address

Just as expected the State of the Union adress largely consisted of shaking hands and greeting the president until 8:11. Ten minutes of shaking hands and meeting and greeting left me a little wary of the hour before me. But with a flash of his professhional and charismatic struggle the president began his speech with the reassuring statement, " We can do this. I know we can." I found it particularly interesting that Obama mentioned in passing the family that we had read a little bit about. The American promise that Obama used to take him to the office of presidency was being threatened. The economy is the agressor taking away from the american people and so to fix this problem Obama lays out his 'blueprint' of major ways to save the economy.

First, Obama discussed American manufacturing. He smiled and grinned as he bragged that General Motors was back on top as the number one automobile manufacturer in the nation. He explained that he wanted to achieve great manufacturing in American again. The first way to achieve this was to allow tax breaks for businesses in the United States, while announcing that every multinational company should pay taxes. To keep American economy afloat all businesses that can stay in America should, and Obama is willing to offer incentives to make sure that they do. Another way to keep manufacturing in the nation was to develope a 'Trade Enforcement Unit'- meaning more inspections on goods, to make sure that they are up to safety standards. These new acts the president hopes to pass are to "level the playing field." Through a new employment program he hopes to make new vocational groups in community colleges to hire straight into businesses and suggested that all highschool students are required to graduate highschool. Obama stated that the education of americans is the key to the improvement of the economy.

Other highlights of the speech include: his take on illegal immigration  (that i dont particularly agree with), and his joke about crying over spilled milk. His joke about spilled milk was definitely the highlight of my night, and reminded me that even presidents can have senses of humor.

Stephen King: The Toolbox

The clear way in which King simply states that writing is telepathy. Writing is the key to plant ideas and stories in reader’s minds. This opening paragraph is really the way that Stephen King justifies and explains his love of writing, the use to give a story to someone else. Although this seemed like some extended or far out analogy, the truth was that the only way to achieve telepathy is through writing. He beautifully demonstrates this in his example of showing various passages and then explaining that anyone who reads the same passage will see the same picture (save a few minor details.)

                The extended metaphor of a toolbox was especially interesting to me as he used it to describe ‘the tools necessary to get the job done.’ Simply, he states pet peeves and techniques that work well in writing and tools that don’t. Specifically, the strangest thing was how King referred to his characters as people. His characters came to life and chose their own story, regardless of what his own original ideas had been. He spends a good amount of time explaining how the characters must be real to develop any story, and his characters did come to life, eventually dictating how his story played out. Despite the fact that King does briefly describe basic grammatical rules he spent the vast majority of his time explaining the process behind putting a story together and the writing styles begging to be used.

Stephen King: On writing

            Stephen King begins his book correctly with the statement: “for all have sinned and fallen short of editorial perfection.” This play on a biblical reference perfectly portrays the sarcastic and humorous tone in which he continues to write in throughout the beginning portion of the book. Stephen King is simply captivating as he comically writes his life story, and it always amazes me how he manages to write so conversationally, even about touching subjects like his mother’s death.

             His stories seemed so conversational at points that a reader could forget they were learning step by step how Stephen King could become a writer. Especially in the story of Eula-Beulah, when Stephen casually inserts the lesson of the story, “After having a two-hundred-pound babysitter fart on your face and yell POW!, The Village Voice holds few terrors.” Mr. King’s thought process behind the stories he began were one of the most interesting parts. The inspiration behind the book Carrie was especially unsettling to me as Stephen King simply and unemotionally wrote about his classmate, Dodie, and the high school horrors she encountered.

            The stories not only recorded the life of a famous writer, but also explained the experiences that he went through to shape him to what type of person he is as writer today. Although he did not directly address any writing styles he wrote about what kind of a person a writer had to be and the trials he went through to achieve the success that he has.