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.