Writing is an art form that millions attempt, but few master. Those that do may become like
world famous author Stephan King. Mr. King has written fifty novels in his life time, one of them being
Stephan King: On Writing. Stephan King wrote the book conveying his thoughts on what he believes
makes a successful writer. King 's thoughts fail to give a concrete answer on what makes a good writer
(he states this directly multiple times in the novel), however he provides examples of what he believes
makes a writer great. In the beginning of Stephan King: On Writing Mr. King states the events that
turned him into the writer he is today, while mainly following chronological order there are several
events placed out of order. Following
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One of his strategies he believes connects all of
the other ones is that the writer needs to read in abundance. This is shown in the following quote, “If
you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot” (145).
Writing a lot is a given due to the very title of the book, however King also connects reading to being a
good writer. This can be connected to his first thesis because the more someone reads the greater their
vocabulary. While he also connects it to many of his other strategies throughout the book including
description, dialogue, and expanding the knowledge on potential writing styles. However, King 's ideas
also focus on the philosophical side of writing. King attempts to answer questions about writing
philosophy as shown in this quote, “Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about?
And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want. Anything at all..as long as you tell the
truth” (158). This quote is self explanatory showing that King believes that the writer can write about
anything they want. King believes that the writer should tell the truth, however which means
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In this quote King
refers to the reader as you and this makes the reader feel like King is talking directly to them. This kind
of individualized attention from the author may motivate the reader even more because it feels like
King is address the reader directly. This is an effective strategy because again King is speaking directly
to the reader and this allows the effect to be stronger. The first person point of view also gives the
reader King 's thoughts on his strategies and it just allows him to be more personal overall. For instance,
“The problem was the teaching. I liked my co-workers and loved the kids...” (73). This is in the
autobiographical section of the book he is speaking of the issues he was having with writing and
teaching was too time consuming. The first person point of view allows him to give his own thoughts
instead of someone having to read, “Mr. King like his co-workers and loved the kids.” This feels
impersonal and the reader may not feel the same connection when reading this because it 's simply
stating this instead of getting the thoughts of Stephan King. Just feeling the personal connection
In any argument that you come across, you are going to show the audience (if it’s one person or a larger group of people) that you are right and try to change their mind or make then look at the subject of topic differently. If King did not have the reader on his side it would have been extremely difficult to get the outcome he was looking for. The way that king was able to get the clergymen to listen to him was making himself their equals by saying, “I have honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every Southern state with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia." (701). This was one of the strategies King was able to use. This allowed his audience and fellow clergymen to listen ...
By using the description of personal events and being extremely open about his feelings, King is open in creating a sense of responsibility in the readers for not standing up and saying or doing something. His concrete examples aid in the pathos of the letter because they invoke feelings of liability in the readers.
King's essay, overall, features more of the characteristics, as well as the accessibility to produce a higher level of comprehension and relevance for the reader.
what a good writing consists of. King manifests the idea of the more we read can equivalence to
... writing about different genres and topics. He also adds personal experiences which interests many readers. He knows from his schooling and experience how to engulf a reader and keep them glued to his stories.
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
...vely to lack attention given to them. King lures his readers in by using an
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
What Douglas Martin had to say when he came to our class is probably the most valuable advice I've heard so far this semester. Martin's reasoning is right in tune with my own thinking about writing, and probably why I'm a Creative Writing major versus an English or Lit. major.
Many people think that reading more can help them to think and develop before writing something. Others might think that they don’t need to read and or write that it can really help them to brainstorm things a lot quicker and to develop their own ideas immediately (right away). The author’s purpose of Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, is to understand the concepts, strategies and understandings of how to always read first and then start something. The importance of this essay is to understand and comprehend our reading and writing skills by brainstorming our ideas and thoughts a lot quicker. In other words, we must always try to read first before we can brainstorm some ideas and to think before we write something. There are many reasons why I chose Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, by many ways that reading can help you to comprehend, writing, can help you to evaluate and summarize things after reading a passage, if you read, it can help you to write things better and as you read, it can help you to think and evaluate of what to write about.
Even though they both achieve their goal of captivating their audiences’ attention, they achieve it differently. Whereas X achieves it by using a conversational style, King achieves it by using a sophisticated style. King has respect to the audience to whom he is addressing; therefore, his rhetoric needs to reflect that respect; the respect that the people from God deserve. In order for him to be taken seriously by the clergymen, he must show them that he is one of them through his writing. We can see how King reflects his respect to them when he writes, “Since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth…” His respect is accompanied with a sophisticated tone which makes him stand out and shows his audience the type of person who he really is. As King writes: “On sweltering summer days and crisp autumn mornings I have looked at the South 's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward.” Over all, his rhetoric is focused, addressed, and specifically used towards his audience; to show the clergymen that they all held the same position and
The third part of the book’s purpose is that by attaining the first two, “it would encourage more enjoyable and articulate communication between the two [Professor and pupil]” (pg. X). To do so, Corrigan endeavors to excite readers with the possibilities that lay in writing: sharing experiences, analyzing themes and imagery, and simply writing about the most popular and entertaining medium around.
... He addresses his audience with honesty and respect, without making his readers feel like they are being vanquished. Instead, they were being made aware of what their actions were doing to society, and that they could make a difference. Dr. King uses a very strong pathos while speaking to his audience.
To become a writer was not expected, but with his strong passion, he made the impossible happen. Writing caught his attention, imagination which then opened a door for him and changed his life. Writing is a hard field to work on. I think the important lesson in becoming a writer is to learn how to write from the inside to express our feelings and moments as an example of Russell Baker. A reason for that is because words will come out while writing. It will be meaningful and we could express our self, thoughts and moments. We should write in our own words for us to feel it and recapture the memories because it will help us to enjoy it while writing. Also, this will grab the
In today’s fast growing social media world, the quality and skills of an education such as writing are in need of a drastic positive change. A 2011 nationwide test found that nearly twenty four percent of students in eighth grade and twelfth grade were proficient in writing and only three were advanced in writing skills. If that’s not scary, the world’s leading social media empire Facebook is the world’s largest news source. Writing happens in everyday activity, whenever it is writing a grocery list or texting a friend. It is essential that every individual possess and learns superior writing skills to be successful in life.