I wanted to send Stephen King a letter, but it doesn't look like he's accepting fan mail. Well, here it is anyway:
Dear Mr. King,
After completing your "Dark Tower" series, I decided to check out "On Writing" since I was curious how someone with such an out-of-this world imagination approached his work. I was surprised to find that there wasn't a whole lot of mystery to it. Find the story; tell the story. Your organic approach to writing really resonated with me, especially since it meshes with my own beliefs. I agree that writing is a lot like uncovering a fossil, and how well we're able to do it depends on the writer's skill. Given that, I appreciated how you counterbalanced theory with nuts-and-bolts advice--write with the door closed, kill all adverbs, focus on story first. All of it was invaluable and is going right into my own toolbox.
In hindsight, I think it was ka that brought me to your memoir. It came just as I was drifting into a crippling sludge of self-doubt. How could I compete with the "real" writers out there? I'm not an English major, I still have a day job, and I've never been paid for my writing. Your book had a very simple retort to all that--none of that **** matters. If you have stories to tell and you love telling them, you're a writer. The rest is just noise.
Thank you for giving me confidence that I'm on the right path. Even if I'm not where I want to be, I know I'm doing what it takes to get there, and knowing that is invaluable.
Sincerely,
Norman
Dear Mr. King,
After completing your "Dark Tower" series, I decided to check out "On Writing" since I was curious how someone with such an out-of-this world imagination approached his work. I was surprised to find that there wasn't a whole lot of mystery to it. Find the story; tell the story. Your organic approach to writing really resonated with me, especially since it meshes with my own beliefs. I agree that writing is a lot like uncovering a fossil, and how well we're able to do it depends on the writer's skill. Given that, I appreciated how you counterbalanced theory with nuts-and-bolts advice--write with the door closed, kill all adverbs, focus on story first. All of it was invaluable and is going right into my own toolbox.
In hindsight, I think it was ka that brought me to your memoir. It came just as I was drifting into a crippling sludge of self-doubt. How could I compete with the "real" writers out there? I'm not an English major, I still have a day job, and I've never been paid for my writing. Your book had a very simple retort to all that--none of that **** matters. If you have stories to tell and you love telling them, you're a writer. The rest is just noise.
Thank you for giving me confidence that I'm on the right path. Even if I'm not where I want to be, I know I'm doing what it takes to get there, and knowing that is invaluable.
Sincerely,
Norman
