Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Been reading Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft...

I heard that it was a wonderful book on writing, but I didn't know I would love it as much as I do. When one of the most successful writers in the world, talks about writing, aspiring wannabes should listen.  So I went into the book with a manual mindset.  I figured like many other books on writing, I'd be greeted with methods and writing protocols I should follow.  Or perhaps the best way to get your manuscript published.

Instead I found much more.

I found that even the great Stephen King, suffered through endless rejection letters.  But what's more, he also experienced that guilt I've felt so many times.  The guilt that I should be working on something more important than the YA novels or Sci-Fi thrillers I've been wrapped up in.  That I shouldn't waste time writing anything that isn't the next great american novel.  That if I'm going to spend all my free time writing, I need to focus on worthwhile endeavors.

I'm nobody.  I have never published a damn thing.  I don't know where I get off having this guilt.  But I do.  Sometimes its so strong, I can't write another word.  I close up my laptop and call it a day.  I love the stories I write.  Why else would I spend hours and hours and years working on them?  I think they're good stories and worth telling.

But they are not exceptional.  I'm not going to redefine how writers write or readers read.  They're just good fun.

I know how to go about writing what I write.  And I get better at it every day.

I like my stories.

I wish others would share my joy, but that's besides the point.

And yet, part of me wants more from me.

At least, I'm not the only one.  Thanks Mr. King!  Misery does love company.

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