On Writing Essay :)

            Stephen King’s “Great Commandment” for aspiring writers is, “read a lot, write a lot”. King is a very firm believer in the commandment and clearly lets his reader know this through his book On Writing. King has always had a great love writing, even from a very young age, and he still continues with that love in his dedication to good writing today.

            Stephen King found his talent and love of good writing at a very young age. In first grade, he started writing his own “comic book” stories. He was obviously born a very creative; most kids would have never thought of doing this. I don’t think I could even write a full sentence in the first grade! In his first stories, he simply copied and enhanced one of his comic book stories. After hearing his mother say he needed to try to be original and make up one of his own, all he thought of were the endless possibilities. “There were more doors than anyone could open in a lifetime,” he thought. I feel like this was the moment King realized how fun writing was and that it was what he wanted to do the rest of his life.  The fact that he was sent to Center Grammar School as a kid while his brother attended Stratford Junior High also shows King’s and his family’s early dedication in a good writing background. When he was just eleven years old, King received a typewriter for Christmas from his mom. This showed that his mom truly believed in him because she probably couldn’t afford it easily. That typewriter was used to create many of King’s first failures early in life, but he was always dedicated to his writing and never gave up on his goals. He just kept on writing more and more. He saw rejections as constructive criticism and a reason to keep getting better. I love this attitude of Stephen King. Most people would have given up after their first couple of years of rejections, but King loved his writing too much to give it up. 

      

            King continued his dedication to good writing later in his life also. While sustaining many different jobs throughout his life, he always found the time to write. King believes that one should write a little each day in order to be successful. He thinks of good ideas for his writing in every aspect of his life. While working as a type of school janitor and cleaning the girls’ bathrooms, he thought of the beginning scene of his breakout novel Carrie. His dedication to writing followed him everywhere. Whenever something interesting happens in his life, his first thought is always about making the situation relevant to his writing. For example, after he is hit by a car and almost dies, the only thing he thinks about is the fact that the person that hit him is similar to one of the characters in his books. This might be a little bit obsessive to some people, but this strategy sure does work for him!

            Stephen King is very persistent in his belief that good writers should write a lot in order to be successful. He also believes that a writer should love writing and should want to find the time to write. Writing is almost as important as breathing to King, and I think in order for an aspiring writer to have success in this tough career choice, they should follow the great advice that King has written to them in On Writing.