King, Strunk, and White

Following the advice of Stephen King, I read Strunk and White’s Elements of Style this week.  I expected an exhaustive work on the technical aspects of writing, but at 26 pages the writing guide only scratches the surface of the subject.  The book consists of a mere 18 rules of usage and composition followed by three sections which cover common grammar mistakes.

Reading Elements of Style brings into focus the influence the book has on Stephen King. The following quotes from Elements closely correspond to what King advocates in his own book on writing:

“The habitual use of the active voice, however, makes for forcible writing. This is true not only in narrative principally concerned with action, but in writing of any kind.”

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

While I found the information in Elements of Style useful, I think following its guidelines to the letter would tend to result in a somewhat dry writing style. Then again, Stephen King, great advocate of the book, has a writing style that is anything but dry. Does he bend the rules a bit perhaps? ;)

Final Lessons from Stephen King

I finally finished reading Stephen King's On Writing this week. Here are some quotes that stand out to me from the last third of the book:

• "Good fiction always begins with story and progresses  to theme; it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story... once your basic story is on paper, you need to think about what it means and enrich your following drafts with your conclusions. To do less is to rob your work (and eventually your readers) of the vision that makes each tale you write uniquely your own."
• "The truth is most writers are needy.  Especially between the first draft and the second, when the study door swings open and the light of the world shines in." (King advocates two drafts and a "polish". The first draft is private. The second draft is to be read by a few close friends.)
• "Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft - 10%... What the Formula taught me is that every story and novel is collapsible to some degree.  If you can't get out ten percent of it while retaining the basic story and flavor, you're not trying very hard.  The effect of judicious cutting is immediate and often amazing..."
• ...the larger the work [of writing] looms in my day --the more it seems like an I hafta instead of just an I wanna-- the more problematic it can become.  One serious problem with writers' workshops is that I hafta becomes the rule...  When, on the other hand,  making sure the kid gets to his basketball camp on time is every bit as important as your work in progress, there's a lot less pressure to produce."

I can relate to both the part about writers being needy and the part about the I hafta syndrome. I can become somewhat "needy" when I have others read my work with a critical eye. And on those occasions when writing becomes a hafta for me, then my production level invariably suffers.

One idea that motivated me from the last third of On Writing is the way King emphasizes that the first draft of a book should be written quickly to guarantee the story flows well. The subsequent drafts are where the "perfecting" of the writing is done. I tend to try and make things "perfect" as I go. I am going to give King's way a try and attempt to get the first draft of Spacemouse 9 finished quickly rather than going with my usual practice of slowly writing one perfect chapter at a time. Wish me luck!

Lessons From Stephen King - Part 2

Here is some more wisdom from Stephen King on the art of writing:

• "If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." (i.e. writers hone their skills by both reading well written books and practicing their craft)
  
• "...my basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves. The job of the writer is to give them a place to grow (and to transcribe them, of course)."

I was convicted by the first quote, but encouraged by the second. My conviction comes from a fact I already know: I need to read more! Regarding the second quote, I was encouraged because I understand exactly what he means. Stories do make themselves. A further quote by King on the subject comes very close to describing my writing process:

"I often have an idea of what the outcome may be, but I have never demanded of a set of characters that they do things my way. On the contrary, I want them to do things their way. In some instances, the outcome is what I visualized. In most, however, it's something I never expected."

The situation in which I have placed the main character in Spacemouse 9 is he is separated from his home world and those he loves. As my writing progresses, Spacemouse 9 does things his way to rectify the situation (with me along on the ride as a scribe). I have an outcome visualized, but as King says, most likely the final outcome will be something I never expected.

Lessons From Stephen King - Part 1

I finished reading the first half of Stephen King's On Writing. Memorable quotes on the craft of writing thus far in the book include:

• "Verbs come in two types, active and passive... You should avoid the passive tense. I am not the only one who says so; you can find the same advice in The Elements of Style." (Ah, here he is pushing Strunk & White again. Yes, Stephen, I will get to it eventually.)
  
  
• "The adverb is not your friend... I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops." (Really? Oop, did I just use an adverb?)

So in a nutshell, Stephen advises using strong, active verbs and limiting adverbs to the rarest of occasions. Lessons learned! The first half of On Writing is more autobiography than writing lesson. Perhaps the second half of the book is where writing advice takes center stage. We shall see.

Another Book for the Reading List

I started reading Stephen King's On Writing this week. In the second forward of the book, King proclaims, "I'll tell you right now that every aspiring writer should read The Elements of Style." (by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White). Now most serious writers probably know of this book, but being a "noob", I had never heard of it. So I have added "Strunk & White" to my list of must reads. If Stephen King, a best selling writer of Science Fiction and Fantasy, recommends a book by E. B. White who wrote Stuart Little, one of the best known books to have a mouse as its lead character, how can I not put it on my reading list? ;)