I finished Steven King's "On Writing" yesterday. As Roger Ebert would say, "thumbs up." I'd recommend it to anyone who loves his work or is looking to be a writer. "On Writing" is essentially Mr. King's formula for good writing. Some advice that Stephen gives that I enjoyed (there is a lot more in the book):
Read/Write 6 hours a day at least 6 days a week. (Stephen does it 7 days a week, more or less 365 days a year.)
Story is more important than plot.
Omit needless words whenever possible, less is more, adverbs are your enemy.
Find your "Ideal Reader" -- your spouse for example, and write your stories with that person in mind. Your ideal person should also be honest, they should tell you what is good and what is not.
When you've finished a piece, put it away for several weeks then go back to it, and reread it, etc for a fresh perspective.
Though you can't please all readers, all the time...you must please some of them or who will purchase/read your work?
Also, I found it interesting that some of Stephen's first published work appeared in literary magazines such as "Jugs" , "Cherri", and "Playboy"....:) Ya...I read 'em for the stories too....lol.
-posted by Nobius 11:44 AM 