Linda Chen
Mr. Felder
AP Language & Composition
25 August 2016
Comparison of On Writing: A Memoir and On Writing Well Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, is a novel about King’s experiences as a writer and was effective in teaching amateur writers what it is truly like to be an author. Although his teachings are not as direct in his book as Zinsser’s, most of his rare advice are just as useful. Overall, Stephen King applied many of the concepts suggested by William Zinsser into his memoir, however there are parts in King’s book where Zinsser’s teachings are not applied. Nonetheless, most of the techniques that Zinsser believes makes a well-written novel is similar to those that King has as well. One of the first mistakes that Zinsser explicitly warns to beginning writers is clutter. While most students or even adults believe the longer the writing the better, having too many words leads to convoluted sentences and the real purpose of the passage becomes unclear to both the author and the reader in the end. This is supported by Zinsser as well when he states, “But the secret to good writing is to strip every sentence to the cleanest components…clear thinking becomes clear writing” (Zinsser, 13). This shows that excessive words are not always helpful to writing and simplicity is truly what makes a passage clear. In addition, King also mentions this technique in his memoir. When he met John Gould, editor of Lisbon’s weekly newspaper he learned an important lesson on writing: “When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.” (King, 57). This was one of the first memorable lessons that King ever received from another person and he took it to heart ever since. This novel is no exception and Zinsser’s definition of simplicity can be seen mostly throughout King’s book. Another lesson that Zinsser introduces to his fellow writers is writing for yourself. The audience is important and should be kept in mind, but shouldn’t …show more content…
In King’s memoir, he frequently uses little qualifiers—words such as a bit, a little, sort of, kind of, rather, etc.— that Zinsser says to avoid because they show hesitance in your persuasiveness and disrupts the writing style (70). Still, King’s writing can be seen with these qualifiers for instance, “This is how it was for me, that’s all—a disjointed growth process in which ambition, desire, luck, and a little talent all played a part.” (King, 18). Here it is obvious that Stephen King did use little qualifiers when he wrote “a little talent,” but this is not the only instance where King shows his hesitance. In fact, King has always shown some uncertainties regarding his writing saying that he wouldn’t have continued writing if his mom and his wife both encouraged him to continue what he enjoys (67). Nevertheless King, in this case, did not present Zinsser’s teachings in his …show more content…
Zinsser will never know about the drug addiction that King faced during his prime while King still doesn’t know the feeling of death (for now). Therefore, they will always have opposing views on certain subjects no matter what, however, this does not mean they are totally opposite people. In fact, King and Zinsser both have similar views when it comes to writing a well-formulated thought. Thus, Stephen King does effectively incorporate the teachings from Zinsser’s On Writing Well
Mr. Felder
AP Language & Composition
25 August 2016
Comparison of On Writing: A Memoir and On Writing Well Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, is a novel about King’s experiences as a writer and was effective in teaching amateur writers what it is truly like to be an author. Although his teachings are not as direct in his book as Zinsser’s, most of his rare advice are just as useful. Overall, Stephen King applied many of the concepts suggested by William Zinsser into his memoir, however there are parts in King’s book where Zinsser’s teachings are not applied. Nonetheless, most of the techniques that Zinsser believes makes a well-written novel is similar to those that King has as well. One of the first mistakes that Zinsser explicitly warns to beginning writers is clutter. While most students or even adults believe the longer the writing the better, having too many words leads to convoluted sentences and the real purpose of the passage becomes unclear to both the author and the reader in the end. This is supported by Zinsser as well when he states, “But the secret to good writing is to strip every sentence to the cleanest components…clear thinking becomes clear writing” (Zinsser, 13). This shows that excessive words are not always helpful to writing and simplicity is truly what makes a passage clear. In addition, King also mentions this technique in his memoir. When he met John Gould, editor of Lisbon’s weekly newspaper he learned an important lesson on writing: “When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.” (King, 57). This was one of the first memorable lessons that King ever received from another person and he took it to heart ever since. This novel is no exception and Zinsser’s definition of simplicity can be seen mostly throughout King’s book. Another lesson that Zinsser introduces to his fellow writers is writing for yourself. The audience is important and should be kept in mind, but shouldn’t …show more content…
In King’s memoir, he frequently uses little qualifiers—words such as a bit, a little, sort of, kind of, rather, etc.— that Zinsser says to avoid because they show hesitance in your persuasiveness and disrupts the writing style (70). Still, King’s writing can be seen with these qualifiers for instance, “This is how it was for me, that’s all—a disjointed growth process in which ambition, desire, luck, and a little talent all played a part.” (King, 18). Here it is obvious that Stephen King did use little qualifiers when he wrote “a little talent,” but this is not the only instance where King shows his hesitance. In fact, King has always shown some uncertainties regarding his writing saying that he wouldn’t have continued writing if his mom and his wife both encouraged him to continue what he enjoys (67). Nevertheless King, in this case, did not present Zinsser’s teachings in his …show more content…
Zinsser will never know about the drug addiction that King faced during his prime while King still doesn’t know the feeling of death (for now). Therefore, they will always have opposing views on certain subjects no matter what, however, this does not mean they are totally opposite people. In fact, King and Zinsser both have similar views when it comes to writing a well-formulated thought. Thus, Stephen King does effectively incorporate the teachings from Zinsser’s On Writing Well