Stephen King On Writing

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” -Stephen King. Descriptive language helps to create a picture in the reader’s mind. Authors can create descriptive language through narration or dialogue. In the novel The Contender, by Robert Lipsyte, the author uses descriptive language and dialogue to develop the characters and the setting.

Her choice of words paints vivid pictures and instills strong feelings appropriate to the situation written at hand. The diction reveals what the characters look like as well as their personality, or clues to their personality. It moves the story forward by showing how the events transition with her choice of words and in the way she reveals characters or happenings. Brooke Hauser's choice of figurative language conveys how dire a situation may be, how joyful it may be, and how the features of the characters appear to be in comparison to objects. Her use of figurative language makes it easier to picture the characters as well as obtain an idea of how the characters may feel at the time. The figurative language reveals, in detail, the appearance of the characters as well as their personality. An example would be on page forty-seven, which says, "...the farmer's face, its broad planes darkened in shadows like a field under a passing cloud." Brooke's use of figurative language moves the story forward by revealing new characters, the feelings of characters, and/or new locations. The author's use of sensory detail contributes greatly to the struggles and emotions of the students. In the way she uses it, she shows how horrific an event may be, how disheartening something may be, and/or how cheerful and jovial something may be. She uses sensory details to reveal the, typically physical, features of characters.

Stephen King, in his chapter titled “Toolbox” in On Writing, aims to convince the struggling writer that taking simple steps to organize a metaphorical box of writing tools will improve their writing. He does so through the use of organization, substance, and style and by appealing to his audience with logical examples to support his claims. “Toolbox” is, in summary, a crash course given by King on writing improvement. He depicts the fundamentals of good writing as levels of a toolbox then demonstrates how and when each writing tool should be used (King 106-107). The chapter is a veritable response to the question, “How can I improve my writing?” which one can imagine King is routinely asked as a world-renowned author. He already enjoyed an immensely successful writing career when Hodder published On Writing in 2012, so King wrote the chapter “Toolbox” as literary advice to fellow writers by drawing from his own success (“Stephen King”).

Everyone knows what writing is to one extent or another, but we all have different definitions of how it should be done and varying degrees of seriousness about the art. We all have a process of writing, but each is unique to ourselves and our own experiences. Annie Dillard and Stephen King are two well known authors who have published many pieces, two of which describe how they view the writing process and let their readers get a peek of what goes on through their minds when they write. These two pieces are Dillard’s The Writing Life and King’s “What Writing Is.”

You’re almost sixteen.” (53) This is also a deeper understanding of showing strong description because it’s showing how what one character says will affect their actions and also how it affects the other characters and move the story forward. This quote from the book is also showing how the relationship between Tally and Shay are developing because the character Shay is talking about how they first

Last, to better understand the teacher he uses a quote saying, “Anyway, Miss Reillen is a little on the fat side, but that doesn’t stop her from wearing these tight skirts which make her nylon stockings rub together when she walks so she makes this scraaaaaaatchy sound.” This quote emphasizes the character. Without this in the story the reader wouldn’t be able to visualize the character to better understand her and see how everyone in the class sees her. Descriptive adjectives are a huge part in the making of the story and help the reader better understand the

Writers that take an extensive amount of time describing details often disrupt the fluidity of the story they are trying to tell, and cause the reader to become disinterested due to the fact that he or she "lost sight of his priority" as King mentions. I am conscience of the speed at which the story is being told, and can often "get bored" of a piece of writing if the writer's decision of over explaining everything slows down the telling of the actual story. A reader can learn from reading such material "to keep the ball rolling", and to avoid getting caught up in describing unnecessary details. Anything that strays away from the actual story and slows down its speed causes the reader to become disinterested and conscience of "the craft."

Stephen King is a wise man who has lived a lot longer than I have, therefore, he carries much more wisdom with him about writing and what it takes to be one. King tells of why he writes and his experiences with bad writing in books he had read in his younger years, which made him a better writer. He also gives advice to those who wish to write and how they could be better. These are just a few things King shares in his work On Writing.

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination but should end in the reader’s.” “Writing good dialogue is art as well as craft.” Descriptive adjectives really help the readers see what it’s like to be in the story and imagine what the characters look like and feel like at that moment. Dialogue helps the reader see the story from their point of view and shows us what they think of something else. In the story The Pigman by Paul Zindel, the author uses descriptive adjectives and dialogue to develop the story.

Writing is a practice that most of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the basics of grammar, how to form a sentence, conjunction words, how to write paragraphs and more. Although we have learned this skill while growing up and have used the skill every year after entering kindergarten, this does not mean our writing process will ensure the best work. The authors that I chose each encourage their audience to excel in the art of writing in their own way to help with the writing process.

As many are aware, depression may often lead to suicide and New Jersey has had the lowest suicide rate in the nation for several years. However, according to data released by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide has risen to its highest levels within the last three decades. In 2012, New Jersey has had the lowest suicide rate as stated by the CDR, but they have been increasing dramatically. Suicide has increased by thirteen percent and there are 8.8 deaths in every 100,000 people in New Jersey alone. Most recent suicide records from 2014 has shown New Jersey was tied for second place with Massachusetts. The rate has risen the most rapidly with girls from ages ten to fourteen and with men from the ages of forty-five to sixty-four.

It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.

The diagnosis most likely will be Neisseria meningitidis induced meningitis. Bacteria and virus are the two-main cause of meningitis. The bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, also called meningococcal, causes meningococcal meningitis. Meningitis is a disease that attacks the meninges. It travels around the body to reach these protective layers, also surrounds the brain and spinal cord and protects the central nervous system (CNS), together with the cerebrospinal fluid. It attacks the body’s phages, therefore, placing stress on the brain. Not only does the bacteria attack the body, the stress causes a variety of conditions, most of which are related to hearing deficiencies. Meningitis attacks many different parts of the world both in the distant past and in recent years. The most common place

Prior to the boom of the craft beer industry, if one wanted to imbibe in a nitrogen-infused beer, the choices were limited. The most popular drink of choice was that “black stuff” originating from St. James’ Gate Brewery in Dublin.

Moreover, it’s crucial that I understand and make use of the particular conventions of each of these genres of writing. In my quest to reach those goals and be a more successful writer, I know I need to practice time-management, honing my writing skills, collaboration; in terms of the review and revision process, as well as focusing on the best strategies to properly convey the desired affect on the work’s audience.