{"id":2233,"date":"2014-07-10T07:33:12","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T11:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=2233"},"modified":"2015-01-04T07:25:52","modified_gmt":"2015-01-04T12:25:52","slug":"on-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=2233","title":{"rendered":"****On Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"typewriter,<\/a>

(photo: c1.staticflickr.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

By Stephen King<\/strong> \u2013 Too snooty to read Stephen King for a long time, I was finally won over when a friend wouldn\u2019t stop talking about 11-22-63<\/em>, the audio version of which mesmerized me. Now I\u2019ve taken the advice of a writing buddy and read this volume. It\u2019s less a handbook of \u201chow to\u201d write a book\u2014that is, put words on the page\u2014and more \u201chow to be\u201d a writer, the habits of mind and body that are needed. The first section is a short autobiography, exploring the path King took to becoming a writer and some of the experiences that shaped his particular sensibility.<\/p>\n

The second section discusses the writer\u2019s toolbox (more on that another time), and a third section discusses the terrible 1999 accident that nearly killed him, when a van struck him as he took his daily four-mile walk. That section is called \u201cOn Living.\u201d At the time of the accident, this book was only about half-finished, and the accident and long healing process naturally caused him to reconsider what he had written and what he meant by it. In the end, he says, the best part of the book, perhaps, \u201cis a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you\u2019re brave enough to start, <\/em>you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.<\/em>\u201d It\u2019s a good read, and creative people\u2014writers, especially\u2014will, I think, find it engaging and helpful in many ways.
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