In On Writing’s section titled “On Writing,” Stephen King iterates multiple times, his true feelings for writing by telling his story. The central point that he uses to say that writing is his passion and what he truly feels joy in is how he writes. King at one point says, “When I am writing, it is all the playground…”(King 149), this is the best example of how he translates his feelings. He uses the playground as a metaphor to intensify the joy he gets from writing, as a playground or park is something we can all relate to. It is not just that one quote, but it is also his tone as a whole, rather than being some distanced writer not showing emotion, he creates a tone of a proud father, pushing a child to love what he does, and not to take it for granted. King accomplishes this tone by giving small tips and tricks that he has used over the years, almost as a mentor to give the sense as it is not just a book, but a guide to becoming a better …show more content…
writer, while not overwhelming the reader. He also writes in such a way that throughout the novel he is more closely intertwining himself into the book, not to show off, but to help anyone that wants to become better. King also creates multiple topics that show who he is as a person and as a writer. A point that King iterates is telling the truth, he takes a whole chapter to discuss how important it is in writing (King 153 - 159), he continuously pushes the idea of truthful writing, even over the top of the topic of the writing. King does not use the term inclusively; it could also be-be what “the heart knows,”(King 154) implying that what you are writing does not have to be right, but as accurate as your imagination can make it. This speaks volumes to who King is, he is not a pretentious cocky writer, but a simple artist, he does not believe everything is supposed to be perfect, but a good as it can be. Another portion of this truth, is writing what you love, it is not truth in the action of writing, but truth to one’s self, doing what you love, what makes you happy. Another section in which we see King’s soft parts exposed, because we know this is exactly how he writes, as open and free as he can be, in love with what his job is, not afraid of what is to come but rather enjoying what he has accomplished. Truth shows us how he writes, but also how he wants everyone to write with an open mind, heart, and enjoying every second of what you are doing. Another passage that shows King’s true nature as a writer and person is a section on reading as it corresponds to writing, though he state it directly on as the “Great Commandment”(King 146).
This “commandment” is a huge lead into the life of Stephen King, and it truly shows his efforts to become better, it acts an acknowledgement of imperfection, and shows that he cares to become better. As a writer it has greater implications than just becoming better, it stands to say that everyone is a different, and not just a writer. The section itself gives us the impression that king understands how it feels like a writer to struggle, which further humanizes himself. Yet it also helps to keep the audience optimistic in their ability to become better writers, as long as they keep a schedule on writing, and they work at reading to become better, too. After all of that King also gives an example of how he has designated times to read and write and how they keep his novels fresh in his mind, and allows a fluid transfer from day to
day.
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
In Chapter 14, “What’s Motivating this Writer?” One key point is that the author can be writing based on an argument that he or she is responding to. They usually build arguments over issues that may be overlooked by their readers. Rather than having one argument, they have multiple and include the actual standpoint of the argument and also have their own response to it. Also, the reader should try to visualize what the author is arguing about so they can understand what they are retorting to or know what the argument is about.
In “Reading to Write,” Stephen King addresses the importance of reading to a writer. King
Many times it is easy for a reader to identify the specific writing style of a piece, but people rarely analyze how the style is communicated. Style can be communicated through tactics such as juxtaposition. The use of this tactic propels the author’s writing style and many times reveals an underlying message that the writer is attempting to convey to their audience. In Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut concerns himself with the issue of the destruction of free speech rights by the equal rights movement in the 1950’s and early 1960’s and communicates his feelings toward the issue through a satirical writing style and juxtaposition.
The power of writing is not only limited to telling a story on a piece of paper, but can help many grow wiser as individuals and bring many closer as a community. Finding Forrester, Louder Than A Bomb and Freedom Writers depicted the growth of maturity in the characters personalities alongside with improving their writing and reading skills. In these films, writing was used as a life-changing tool for the characters to expand their personal point of view. The characters in these films needed mentorship to realize the power of their life experiences and used the writing process as a safe and productive outlet of their emotions and feelings.
Learning to read and write are both considered to be fundamental human skills, that we begin to learn from the day we start school. As time advances, as do our minds, and we are expected to evolve in our reading and writing skills. Finishing high school is a large milestone for the lives of young adults; however, there is so much to learn in order to reach the next big milestone. To be a writer in college can challenge our preconceived thoughts on how we write. Although some skills remain unchanged, high school graduates are faced with overcoming new ways of doing a skill that seems so simple that it is practically innate. The definition of writing skills for college students is much different than high school. However, considering we have come so far it is time to go over the information we already know and challenge ourselves with ideas that we are yet to learn more about.
“The goal, I suppose, any fiction writer has, no matter what your subject, is to hit the human heart and the tear ducts and the nape of the neck and to make a person feel something about the characters are going through and to experience the moral paradoxes and struggles of being human.”
I strongly agree with Mr. King that the desire to write always being with a love of reading. In Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, he reiterates how important reading is to a writer. One cannot exist without the other—their unbreakable relationship is what makes lots of reading so vital to become a great writer. The pure act of reading teaches lessons impossible to learn without actually doing it. “Every book you pick up has its own lesson”, but this lesson cannot be taught unless the book is actually read (King 145). If one has a desire to read, and loves feeling like they are in a world of their own, the next logical wish is to want others to feel how they feel. Writers are born out of avid readers, which is a nice
A virtuoso of suspense and horror, Edgar Allan Poe is known for his Gothic writing style. His style is created through his use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choice, tone, and figurative language. Punctuation-wise; dashes, exclamation marks, semicolons, and commas are a favorite of Poe. His sentences vary greatly; their structures are influenced by punctuation. Much of his word choice set the tone of his works. Figurative language colors his writings with description. Such is observed in the similarities between two of his most well-known short stories, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Stephen king was born in Portland, Maine in 1947. By the age of two, his father had left him and causing his mother to raise him and his brother David by herself. Because of the people that he met and the environment he put himself in, King became the writer he is today. In King’s life, he was given many opportunities that would either further his writing career or influence him into new ideas or styles of writing.
Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir, was a very interesting book to read, to say the least. Frank in his opinions, King did not shy away from telling the reader what makes a good writer: talent and ambition. King had a colloquial tone throughout his book even cautioning the reader that “this is a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit” (9). Through this book, readers found out about eventful events that happened to King as a child and how they influenced him to write some of his most popular books. For instance, a wilderness area near his house gave him the inspiration for the setting of his book, It. He states, “the kids in It called it the Barrens; we called it the jungle” (30). King, does not believe himself to be a perfect writer, regardless of his popularity. The reader was not only entertained with his stories, but also gained knowledge about writing and the fact that it isn’t easy. Although King grew up with nothing and even lost hope a few times, he always went back to writing.
I find it so astonishing that this whole community of people have fought so hard to keep those horses safe and protected as can be, bearing in mind the spot the City already put them in. In addition, they were truly considerate to think of the young children’s futures and well-beings as they were the only neighborhood that wasn’t dangerous, giving them a sense of security and a chance to teach them, what they call, “”The Cowboy
Nicholas Sparks is considered to be one of the greatest American authors of today. He provides love, romance, passion, drama, tragedy, comedy, triumph, and mystery in all of his novels. His stories are heartwarming and inspiring. Nicholas Sparks does not have a specific writing style. His writing style is flexible and liberal, and can be described as romantic, imaginative and engaging, and varies depending on the theme of the novel. The theme of the novel is the main thing that affects his writing style. Even though the themes of each novel mostly deal with love, each novel takes on different perspectives of love. His novels can be described as romantic, compassionate beach reads with real, relatable characters.
As I sit here staring at the blank screen, thoughts race through my mind as I contemplate what lies ahead. Is my topic clear? Is it appropriate? What is it that I want to say? Finally the fear sets in, what lie ahead is a minefield of self-doubt and criticism, one misstep could lead to a personal catastrophe. I take each step with caution, slowly putting my thoughts on paper, exposing myself to scrutiny. The answers do not present themselves with the concrete certainty of mathematics and science, they are subjective and open to interpretation. Writing for me is an uncomfortable experience filled with irrational fear and trepidation.
I learned a lot about writing and reading from Steven Pinker’s book The Sense of Style. While I picked up a lot of tips about how to write better from the book, there are several that pop out to me that I intend to implement in my writing. One of them is catching, keeping, and directing your reader’s attention. In my opinion, doing this should make your writing understandable and should encourage the reader to stay with it. One of the methods of doing this that Pinker explained was avoiding confusing, unnecessary aspects of writing. This includes the overuse of nominalization, metaconcepts, and similar obstructing language. By limiting those distractions, Pinker says, writers can better direct the reader’s attention. Another tip I learned from