Today while I was checking the books in my library I realized the huge backlog of posts that I have to write in the section " Book Review". As you probably know, Book Review is a page I created here in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning where I share reviews of books I read. I am thinking to create a separate website for book reviews but the idea is still in embryonic stages.
The first book I read last month was of Stephen King "
On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft
". Stephen King alone speaks volumes for himself and does not need any introduction from me. Although he exclusively writes fiction this memoir is an exception.
On Writing: : A Memoir of the Craft
is a guide, a manual packed full of important tips on the craft of writing. In this work, Stephen exposes to the world the secrets of his writing . It is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his memories from childhood through his emergence as a best selling author of all times.
I have personally enjoyed reading every single page of this book and have learned a great deal from it. Below are 10 quotes I selected for you :
1-
" It starts with this: put your desk in the corner and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support for art. It's the other way around. "
2-
" You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair, the sense that you can never completely put on the page what's in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, read to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry or because you want to change the world. Come to it anyway but LIGHTLY. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page. "
3-
" One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up your vocabulary, looking for long words because you're may be a little bit ashamed of your short ones...remember that the basic rule of vocabulary is to use the first word that comes to your mind. If you hesitate and cogitate, you will come up with another word but it probably wont be as good as your first one, or as close to what you really mean. Why in God's name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use ? "
4-
" Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affection....Writing is refined thinking. "
5-
" If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: Read a lot and write a lot. There is no way around these two things that I am aware of, no shortcut...If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time to write.Simple as that. "
6-
" Reading is the creative center of a writer's life. I take a book with me everywhere I go, and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in. The trick is to teach yourself to read in small sips as well as in long swallows. Waiting rooms were made for books- of course !"
7-
" Once weaned from the ephemeral craving for TV, most people will find they enjoy the time they spend reading. I'd like to suggest that turning off that endlessly quacking box is apt to improve the quality of your life as well as the quality of your writing. "
8-
" If possible, there should be no telephone in your writing room, certainly no TV or video games for you to fool around with. If there is a window, draw curtains and pull down the shades unless it looks out at a wall. For any writer, but for the beginning writer in particular, it's wise to eliminate every possible distraction. if you continue to write you will begin to filter out these distractions naturally, but at the start it's best to try and take care of them before you write."
9-
" Constant reading will pull you into a place where you can write eagerly and without self consciousness. It also offers you a constantly growing knowledge of what has been done and what hasn't; what is trite and what is fresh, what works and what just lies there dying on the page. "
10-
" The more you read the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor....Read a lot, write a lot is the Great Commandment. "
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