On Writing (part tres)

    The conclusion of On Writing didn't fail to impress me.  First of all, obviously, King deserves some serious man-points for surviving that van accident.  Another thing that really strikes me about King is that he continually reinforces the idea that he really does not care what people think.  He tries to convey this idea to the reader, that one must have a thick skin and can't try to please everybody, because it will result in the pleasing of nobody.  As King specifically said, "You can't please all of the readers all of the time; you can't please even some of the readers all of the time, but you really ought to try to please at least some of the readers some of the time."  But what King showed me that impressed me most of all was his commitment and how he tried to show the reader that this trait is completely necessary.  Google defines commitment as  the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose, and if writing a book after being hit by a van doesn't fall under this definition, I'm not sure what can.  King admits that writing can get insufferably irritating, but he regularly repeats that staying committed to the task at hand will produce the best results.
    King's goal with this book was to relate his tale of how he became a writer, and provide some tips for aspiring writers.  In layman's terms, King succeeded.  I have proved this over the course of three blog posts, and King proved it when he said: "I didn't bring you all this way just so you could start up the same old shit."  Fin.

State of the Union Speech

    I feel as though through Obama's entire speech, he was just trying to dodge a bullet.  He knew, as did everybody, that he was under enormous pressure to deliver an epic speech, and I believe that in this aspect he failed.  Granted, he is a good public speaker and has great charisma, but his speech seemed to contain promises that seem impossible to uphold, including his idea about electric vehicles("1 million electric vehicles by 2015". America cannot break it's current dependency on oil this quickly.  And besides, there are 300 million people in the country, so 1 out of every 300 people driving an electric car is a breakthrough?  I'm baffled.) and his plan for a nationwide high-speed rail system (This won't work.  Not when cars and airlines are so reliable and the huge amount of regulations that would inhibit the rails from traveling any faster than a car can.).
    His words on education seemed to be hopeful and full of positive statistics, only these statistics are flawed.  Sure, schools may be graduating students at higher rates, but this is only because the number of dropouts (students who would bring the failing percentage up) is increasing and the likelihood of failing a class is decreasing exponentially (There are multitudes of schools in the country that will do whatever is possible to prevent a student from failing a class to improve the school's image.  As long as they're passing, the school looks good, and the flawed statistics "improve".).  When reality is attributed to these skewed statements, they seem much less impressive, do they not?
    I would like to say that I'm glad he's deciding to finally deal with the issue of illegal immigration, but I can't.  I want the issue dealt with, but the rate that Obama is fulfilling former promises (here's a link: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/), I'm a little concerned that he may soon forget about it or just disregard any further discussions on it.
    Several other comments he made seemed tremendously vague, probably on purpose so that he could walk the line between parties.  Take, for example, his statement that South Korea has greater home-internet access than America.  The word 'access' was probably intentionally used because of it's vague connotation that could be used to describe availability of internet, or the ability to use internet?  If it refers to availability, data has repeatedly shown that 95% of Americans could have internet if they had the desire, but only 66% of the population has a broadband connection.  It's true that the only country to surpass the US in network traffic is South Korea, but this traffic is not from the aforementioned home.  It's mostly from government affiliated jobs and locations of that origin, thus disproving Obama's claim that South Korea has greater home-internet access than Americans do.
    So, as much as I'd like to hope that Obama meant what he said he was going to do, I find it hard to believe that he honestly thinks the stuff he's saying is really going to help.

On Writing (part dos)

    King continues to impress me with his nonchalant style of, for lack of a better statement, not-giving-a-crap.  As he moved onto a more education centered section of his book, he resumed using his straightforward style and priceless vocabulary (Cozening raconteur? Definitely. Insalubrious dithyramb? Not so much.) to convey his vast knowledge of writing.  I used to think I was a fairly decent writer, but the more of King's novel I absorb, the more I begin to question my own talents.  For instance, I envy his ability to form hilarious short statements, which he cranks out like a Twinkie factory distributing morsels to Oak Grove.  Among these are the ever-amusing "it's perfectly all right to prick your finger, but very bad form to finger your prick", the gut-busting "a British advertising man with a proper education can make magazine copy for ribbed condoms sound like the Magna goddam Carta", and the side-splitting "I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops".  Could I  devise but one such statement I would stop writing altogether in an effort to preserve the reputation I would have built.
    I identify with Mr. King on several factors, such as his extreme animosity towards passive voice (which I occasionally fall victim to) and his idea that one should never fish for a better word than the one they first thought of.  Admittedly, I do periodically crack open a Thesaurus to embellish my writing, but I make every effort not to do so.  There was also a time when I thought that a good writer had no need for a working knowledge of grammar (I still wish it were so.), but I have come to realize that it is a necessary component of writing.  As is apparent when reading, King has accumulated an enormous library of information in that perverse mind of his over the course of his life.  I've come to the conclusion that there are few and far between who can compare with this man when it comes to writing and grammar (Shoemake tops the list.).  As I said before, I'm anxious to continue reading, but dreading the conclusion of this wonderful piece of... Well I don't know exactly what to call it.  The reader may fill in the blank as they wish.

On Writing (part uno)

     While reading about Stephen King's tragedy-plagued life, I learned loads of information about the man, probably more than was necessary.  Despite his rough language and lack of beating-around-the-proverbial-bush, his writing and unique perspective enabled his writing to contain enough meaning that it can be considered serious literature.
     King's bluntness and apparent absence of a conscience were what made me continue reading, even though I was completely disturbed by several events.  At times I found myself refusing to give in to my gag reflex, like when he was "yarking" eggs and when teenage girls were throwing tampons at each other.  However, somewhere deep down in my twisted conscience, I found myself chuckling along the way, completely disgusting myself in the process.  My reaction sums up what King's writing epitomized, which was a mixed reaction including both hilarity and atrocity.
     There was not one single section that I enjoyed the most, but all the little statements over the course of the pages that enthralled me.  A few examples include: "Colonel Sanders sold a hell of a lot of fried chicken, but I'm not sure anyone wants to know how he made it", "standing in front of a group of author-struck fans and pretending you don't put your pants on one leg at a time like everyone else", and "Someone made a break for the fence and had to be knocked down" (referencing the failure of Dodie to regain her social status).  It was these collective statements that continued to amuse and intrigue me throughout the forewords and What Writing is, and, admittedly, I find myself dying to keep reading.