By Cheryl Rushing

Title: On Writing
by Stephen King

I’m reading the Kindle edition.

My confession for this review is that I am not a fan of Stephen King.  I read about half of Pet Sematary in high school and it gave me nightmares.  On the recommendation of several other friends I tried reading a couple of other books by him and didn’t get very far. 

I purchased this book several years ago on the recommendation of a writers group and started reading it then.  It was very good, but life happened and the next thing I knew it was 2010 and the dusty paperback ended up in a garage sale.

And that brings us up to this past week, when I finally read it all the way through, nearly in one sitting. 

So why did I read it?  Well, in case you didn’t know, Stephen King is quite the prolific best-selling writer.  Again, I am not a fan, but if this guy is going to take time out from counting his millions to give me the secrets to his success, who am I to turn my back on that?

I like to meet and know people who have passion for what they do.  There is nothing more attractive in a person, and no one more interesting than someone who can wax eloquently over the minutiae of his or her job.  King is that passionate about writing.

The Kindle allows one to highlight passages and post them to Facebook or Twitter, or keeps them in a notepad in your Amazon account.  This is the only book so far where I think I highlighted something on every page.

King’s whole book can be boiled down to these two rules:

1.  To be a writer you must write.

2.  There are no other rules.

This is very simplified, of course.  The book is many pages of interesting biography, gleeful nose-thumbing at the establishment, and examples of how and when to follow actual guidelines.

While this book is focused primarily on fiction writing, it is a breath of fresh air for any writer who feels like they can’t or won’t or shouldn’t.  You want permission?  King will give it to you.

Do I recommend this book? Definitely. Sometimes we get bogged down by the rules, or thinking we’re not doing it right.  King’s philosophy of “who cares if you’re doing it right, just write!” is one we all need to hear sometimes.

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“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

from On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft
by Stephen King

(review coming Monday!)

Image by Tony₂ via Flickr

I’m having one of those days where I need to remember that writing is the ultimate goal.  Here’s my to-do list for the weekend (thank heavens for rainy weekends):

1.  Create writing resume.

2.  Update writing samples page.

3.  Do SEO articles currently scheduled.

4.  Review freelance jobs sites and apply for at least 4 jobs, if not more.

5.  Work a bit on the novel.

6.  Put together a daily writing schedule.

Tropical storms make for great writing weather.  Should be a good weekend.

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When my favorite writers group splintered last year, I went looking for a new group.  A new one had been created from my old one, but it met too far away.

The same state association also created another group that meets in my area, but it didn’t have the same feel for me as the first one.  I then tried a different association, but it was also far away.

Most of these associations focused on book authors, something I do not believe that I am.  I have books in various stages of work, but nothing complete and I don’t know if that will ever happen to me.

I met with my friend and mentor, Lisa Wroble, last year, and she told me that she was a part of the Florida Freelance Writers Association.  I had never heard of it, but she told me about the group, and I thought it was worth looking into.

The group doesn’t have any meetings, but they have a ton of resources.  I joined online and got a (non-canned) confirmation e-mail and then a big packet of paperwork in the mail that included press credentials (!!) and the last 4 issues of the national and state association newsletters.

I decided not to renew my memberships to the other two state associations, which paid for this membership.  Already I’m impressed by what I’ve learned from the newsletters, and the amount of resources they provide.  I’ve only had the new packet less than a week.

I highly recommend Florida Freelance Writers Association.  If you decide to join, please let them know Cheryl Rushing referred you!

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I’ve spent a lot of time the past several years thinking that, as a writer, I had to write a book.  So I’ve started books.  Many of them.  I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo and failed miserably. 

All I’ve gotten for my trouble has been a large pile of half-finished manuscripts (ok, perhaps a jump drive full of them) and a lot of frustration.  When I’ve explored the publishing process, it just seems overwhelming.

I’ve watched friends and fellow writers get published.  Lauren Conrad has been published, for Pete’s sake!

And all the while, I’ve just been paralyzed by fear.

A couple of years ago I took a class about writing, and I got interested in magazine writing.  It seemed to be a bit easier than novel writing, plus I could probably finish a magazine article, right?

Thanks to a friend who is mentoring me, I’ve got an idea on how to get my foot in the door with magazine writing.  I’ve been compiling a list of articles I’d like to write, and I’ll be looking for places to get them published in the next month or so.

Write what you know… so I am!

This past weekend I had some inspiration on a novel I had started writing this past spring.  I wrote on that for a bit, then noticed in the same folder some documents from a novel I had started in 2008.

I spent Sunday morning reading what I had written in 2008, and falling in love with the characters and the story all over again.  I’ve got some ideas for that, and I’m looking forward to putting it all together.

I might just end up writing a book someday after all.

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It’s been a long time since I posted here, which is probably the most obvious statement ever typed in a blog post.

Over the past several months I’ve been shifting my focus when it comes to writing.  You see, I always figured that to be a writer, you had to be writing a book.

Well, I’m writing a book.  Three, in fact.  Which, in case you are wondering, is about two too many for someone who can’t seem to finish anything that is longer than a magazine article.

I’ve also been involved with writers groups that mainly focused on writing books, not that there is anything wrong with that.  I’ve made some great friends and I’ve learned a lot.  The most important lesson I’ve learned is this:

Writing books doesn’t pay the bills unless you are Stephen King.  Or David Baldacci.  Or Danielle Steel.

I wrote for the school newspaper and the yearbook.  I started out as a journalism major in college.  I like writing short stories and articles.  These days, blog posts and other articles are where the money is.

Not that I am writing just for the money.  I do love to write, like I love to breathe.

I just spent two years working on a professional designation that gives me more credibility as a writer of articles in my chosen field, which is how I plan to get my foot in the door (thanks for the advice, Lisa!).  I’ve got the designation, and now it is going to be full speed ahead.

I’m also considering taking Angela Booth‘s course Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON).  If anyone has any information on this, I’d love to hear it.  I have yet to see a bad review and that makes me kind of suspicious!

If you’re still reading this blog, thanks for hanging in there.  More content soon!