Writing Lessons from Stephen King

"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-system for art. It's the other way around."   Stephen King

I’m sitting in a corner of a room I now call my writing room, at the antique mahogany ball and claw foot secretary desk I refinished some 30 years ago with my Aunt Helen. I’m reading A Postscript which wraps up Stephen King’s nonfiction book called On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft. Here he details the accident that nearly killed him in June 1999. He had been in the middle of writing this book when a van hit him on a highway in Maine during one of his walks. Right now I’m thanking whoever there is to thank, mostly Stephen, for not dying and for finishing this book. It has been a pleasure to read and an inspiration. I’m about to finish the last few pages. I’ve already started to reread this book by listening to a CD where the author is reading it.

I want to be a writer – a real writer; a fiction writer perhaps. I’ve been a business and technology writer most of my professional life. Writing about robots for the factory, small electric motors, office furniture, semiconductors and software. Now it’s time to really write – from my heart. Write about things I’ve seen and learned during my life.

Following Mr. King’s guidance, I will try to tell some good stories by writing interesting narration and dialogue. I will monitor my progress in this blog, since that’s also what some writers do these days. I will attempt to write a novel at the same time. I hope it’s worth reading. I will share it with my “Ideal Reader” at a minimum. Maybe one day Stephen King will read it and get some satisfaction from knowing that he helped to create at least one better writer.