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Questions
1.
AOTW: King touches on the not-so-silent dread of all writers,
from novelists to columnists to college students at exam time: writer's
block. What methods, or tricks, if you will, have you utilized to
overcome the blank stare at the blank page?
—Answers
2.
AOTW: King states in the Second Forward to On Writing
that "[F]iction writers, present company included, don't understand
very much about what they do --- not why it works when it's good,
not why it doesn't when it's bad." I strongly disagreed with that
statement; but now I've got a whole group of people here in a much
better position than I am to test that statement. Do you know why
what you do works? Or are you whistling through the graveyard every
time you send something off to your respective publishers?
—Answers
3.
AOTW:King prescribes two things which every aspiring writer
must do: 1) read a lot and 2) write a lot. Now, the first of those
is all too easy to do; the second is a difficult practice to begin.
How do you balance and/or schedule your day so that both of these
activities are included?
—Answers
4.
AOTW: King considers reading to be an important, but by all
means not the only, element necessary for an author to develop a
style. You each have developed respective styles that your readers
have come anticipate and to some extent expect. Did you have a moment
when you said, "THIS is it!" Or was this something that you did
not realize had occurred until after the fact?
—Answers
5.
AOTW: In On Writing, King describes his workplace, his
"writing room," if you will, and how it has changed and evolved
or time. What is yours like? And has the setup basically remained
the same over the years?
—Answers
6.
AOTW:To outline or not outline --- that is the question. Jeffery
Deaver recently authored an article in Writer's Digest which discussed
the importance of outlining; King seems to do what he does without
one, and Robert P. Parker, for another, professes that he has no
idea what's going to happen when he begins a book. Do you outline
before you begin a novel? Or do you sit up and let things proceed
as they may?
—Answers
7.
AOTW: One of the many nuggets of advice contained in On Writing
is to do a first draft, put the bad boy in a drawer for six weeks,
and then take it out and read it again. King notes, however, that
this method, while it works for him is not universal; some authors
write and revise a page until it is right, then proceed to the next
page, and so on. What do you do?
—Answers
8.
AOTW: Do you have people outside the publishing industry ---
friends, significant others, family members --- who you show your
work to before you submit it for publication? And are they the same
people each time?
—Answers
9.
AOTW: New and would-be authors undoubtedly find On Writing
a welcome guide by a respected scribe. All of you, however, have
forged successful careers without the benefit of this book. What
works, if any, helped to guide you when you were beginning to take
your first tentative steps toward making a living by writing? And
what books continue to be of help?
—Answers
10.
AOTW: Have any of you ever considered writing a book like On
Writing?
—Answers
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When
Stephen King's book, On Writing, came out in October 2000, it was
the talk of the publishing and the reading world. Everyone wanted
to see what the prolific master of horror had to say about writing
--- especially after his car accident, which he openly admitted
had temporarily paralyzed his inner muse. AuthorsOnTheWeb was curious
as to what authors thought of King's book, so our Senior Writer
Joe Hartlaub asked seven professional writers --- from bestsellers
to lesser-known authors --- what they thought about the book and
how their own writing style corresponds to King's. Join our round
table discussion as we talk to the following authors about what
they do best…
