Filed under Writing.

At first I was reluctant to read Stephen King’s book on writing. “Kill your darlings” people were telling me, “Adverbs are bad” they would say while quoting his book. Pfft. I didn’t want to kill anything and I relied on my adverbs. My god, how would I write without them? Is he crazy? I’m not Jane Austen, doesn’t he know? While in my writing class at the UW, a friend of mine pushed the hardcover book over to me since she was finished reading it, “Here, it was great, you need to read this.” With it actually falling into my lap, how could I not? So over the course of two days during the Thanksgiving holiday I devoured it. What helped me to get over my reluctance was the beginning felt more like a story than a directive of what I should and should not do as a writer. He provides insight into his journey as an author and the stories are fascinating in themselves. Once hooked I couldn’t put it down. And having my defenses broken down I was willing to read the writing advice. It’s solid, good info, and most of it I am putting into practice. Some of it has been told to me before (by my instructor and by other authors). Sometimes I need to hear something five times before I relent and accept. And some of it was new and inspirational guidance. Most of all, I like the grace he provides to the newbie. Highly recommend this book for any new writer.