this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2024
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King actually has a book on writing. And yes, it’s about having the discipline to write everyday.
It's literally called On Writing IIRC.
Can confirm, I read it in high school.
If I remember correctly, he does talk about his drug use in that book. He even talks about drinking mouthwash at one point because he was that much of an alcoholic.
Yes, and he also makes the point quite clearly that drugs don't make you super productive as a writer. If anything, they make your writing worse. But it's a good excuse to live that "drugged artist" lifestyle, telling oneself that, sadly, that's how you have to do it (while opening the next beer can).
I remember encountering a homeless dude in Florida who was consuming Sterno because its high alcohol content and low price made it the most cost-effective fix for an alcoholic. You can go lower than mouthwash.
I haven't read the book, but I know he's a very dedicated and hard-working writer. I just thought the meme was funny.
Writing is like exercising your muscles. You usually have to do it regularly in order to have the ability to do something like write a novel. My mom writes novels and when she isn't, she writes short stories. She doesn't even send them to be published, they're just practice for when she writes novels.
Of course, in Stephen King's case, if has a collection of his grocery lists, someone would publish it.
I seriously wish I could just do it the way your mom is! I can't seem to get "over myself" though. I start writing and immediately think "who the fuck am I to be writing?! How fucking pretentious can I be?"
People say you aren't your job, but I can't help believing all I am is an uneducated factory worker and it affects my motivation tremendously.
To be fair, she did not start writing fiction until her 70s. She wrote a couple of academic books back in the late 1960s and that was it. She even got out of academia by the 80s and did absolutely no more writing.
But when my father died and she was looking for something to do with the extra time she had, she picked up writing fiction. She's gotten some good reviews too. Obviously nothing even close to the level of Stephen King, but she is published by a legitimate publisher.
That said, now that she's in her 80s and her memory is not what it was, there are some pretty serious continuity issues I've had to point out before she submits manuscripts now.
But it's clearly never too late to start... and considering some of the absolutely shitty writers in this world, I wouldn't feel pretentious about it if I were you. You can't possibly be worse than, for example, E. L. James. And people make movies out of her bad S&M Twilight fan fic.
I’d highly recommend it, even as an autobiography. It really shows who he is, was, and is only about 30% craft advice sprinkled among good shit.
I will put it on my ever-growing list. Thank you. I'll probably be able to get to it by 2030 or so at this point. So many books, so little time.
Yeah. I don’t even read, I just add to the list.
The audio version is where it’s at in this case. It’s short and narrated by King which really makes it.
I’ve re-listened to it countless times.
It certainly is his book on the craft, but it’s so much also autobiography and breakthrough underdog story too. It’s a great read/listen even if not seeking story advice.
Most of this isn't directly related to the comment but it got me typing.
I do like the bit where he said he put the rejection letters on a nail, and it was pretty full, think this was his teen years, probably submitting to pulp magazines. It didn't seem like any time in his life wasn't filled with wanting to write, and he kept at it (obviously heh) and used the rejections as motivation to improve. He is a pretty good narrator as well, I enjoyed listening to Needful Things read by him, and have listened to On Writing a few times now.
That man can spin a good yarn, his stories have been a part of my life since I was probably too young to be reading them(not to mention tv and film adaptations) but I was reading at least. Even remember one time getting extra credit for the summer reading program cause I read The Eyes of the Dragon since it was much longer than most kids reading material. I just read whatever and a lot at the time, since no Internet back then.
I definitely remember him saying that it’s a job and he sits at his desk and types 6+ hours a day but I don’t remember that book detailing his addiction.
Yeah, SK definitely credits the coke for some of his stuff but damned if it didn't actually matter that much. The man writes as much now as he ever did.