Blog #10

Reading On Writing about the topic of writing while writing. Write-ception!


Now what exactly is writing? According to Stephen King it is no short of telepathy. I really don't understand what he means but I'll just go with it. However one can approach writing with a kind of excitement, nervousness, or even despair, but one must never write on the paper lightly. You must put ALL thoughts down onto the sheet of paper and not hold back. And that is some helpful advice and can be instrumental in any writings we will be undertaking in AP Language next year (in-fact I'm a little intimidated by the thought of it).

Stephen King advises us that instead of being discouraged by the hard jobs instead that we pick out the correct tool instead from our "toolbox". The toolbox has three levels but it could be four or five, even six he says, but it can't be too large or it loses its value. The common tools, vocabulary, go on top. Apparently we should not make no effort to improve, that seems sort of backwards in thinking. There is a fine line on how well we use our vocabulary. Sometimes short words work better than long words, and vice versa. But you shouldn't attempt to replace these short words with better words, because some sentences will end up looking plain and silly. Let's look at these two sentences and compare them.

1) He showed no emotion

2) His face was apathetic.

I like the first sentence. It's straight to the point and doesn't beat around the bush. If the sentence is offensive or slightly disturbing, then by all means try to find alternative words. They're usually not as good as the first word you chose though. Those two sentences are complete sentences but do they have to be complete? According to King, they don't need to be. Somewhat unorthodox really to defy the classic rules of literature. Simple sentences can be used a safety net for your writing however. A simple noun or verb can be used in great effect. Sadly the adverb is not our friend here. By using adverbs, writers don't get to the point as quickly or as strong as they hoped. Let's use the examples from On Writing. 


1) He closed the door firmly

2) He slammed the door.

Sentence #1 feels flimsy as a noodle and seems a bit excessive or redundant. We already know that he closed the door but do we need to know that he firmly closed the door? It's an extra word and is completely unnecessary. Sentence #2 is straight to the point and strikes forth like the fury of a god. Adverbs can become a mess when it comes to various dialogue in novels. When I read the sentence: "Give it back!" Thomas shouted loudly, it literally makes me cringe. If it was replaced with he said then the sentence would be a bit more bearable to me.

Moving on to the final topic of this post is the almighty paragraph. They are important since they map out your ideas and hold together the fabric of your story. Even the informal essays can show the power of the basic paragraph. The most infamous essay, quoting Stephen King, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" (131). The topic sentence is then followed by supporting details that demand the writer to put down his/her thoughts. Like putting directions on a map, the story webs out depending on your choices.

On Writing is giving me useful information on writing and some background history on Stephen King himself. I can feel my grammar and vocabulary improving already!!