When I first picked up Steven King's "On Writing", I was expecting an excruciating slog through disjointed morsels of advice. Instead, I was greeted with a genuinely enjoyable memoir of King's life with sincere writing advice peppered throughout. Many books required by instructors tackling the topic of writing rarely entice me to read more than what is required, but "On Writing" has been a breath of fresh air.
As I was reading through the first 18 sections, many of the childhood events King described resonated with me. One such event was the story in sections seven to eight when he copied "Combat Casey" books and showed them to his mother. He loved how his story made his mom smile and was inspired to write his own when she encouraged him to write something even better than comics.
The desire to please and amaze one's family members was incredibly familiar to me. I had no siblings or friends to talk to when I was younger, so I gravitated towards the adults. Having no one to share my interests with made me feel lesser in comparison to everyone else, so I craved approval from my parents and teachers to make me feel less like a failure.
After finishing his original comic, King showed his final product to his mother. He explained that "she said it was good enough to be in a book. Nothing anyone has said to me since has made me feel any happier. I wrote four more stories about Mr. Rabbit Trick and his friends."
This quote reminded me of how powerful encouragement can be for children. A simple acknowledgment of potential could give children aspirations that could follow them through adulthood. It's something I wanted more than anything else as a kid. I wanted to make great art and become fluent in every language but couldn't find an audience that could help me nurture the dream. That isn't to say I couldn't start now, but it would have been nice to have had that extra push in earlier years.
I didn't know that much about Steven King's personal life before, but I'm glad I do now. Although we grew up in different generations, our childhoods shared the same air of uncertainty and self-discovery. In a climate where media often pits generations against each other, it's nice to know that we share something in common.
Although I have only just begun to read this book, I can already tell that it will be helpful for my future writing endeavors. The anecdote about King's comics can be applied to Feature Writing by focusing on the constructive criticism given by King's mother. Instead of wallowing in his defeat for not fully impressing his mother, he decided to push forward and make something even better. Taking criticism in stride instead of personally is an important thing to do in all aspects of life, especially in writing.
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