On Writing Blog 3

   I must say, I have truly enjoyed this book! I'm not going to lie; at first, I was a bit worried that I was going to dislike this book, but I have been pleasantly surprised! The third and final "section" of the book really tied together everything King was trying to say.
   I really liked all of his tips and found most of them useful. I like the idea of the "IR". I think through all of my previous writing experiences and, somewhere in the back of my mind, I actually was writing "to" someone I just never put the thought into the thought enough to realize that this was a habit. At first I thought the idea of an ideal reader to be... Well, dumb. But the more I've mulled it over in my mind, I realize that writing to an intended IR is actually a very good tool to put into practice and to have in the mental toolbox.
  Another piece of advice that I found extremely helpful is the part where King said starting of with a theme and writing with thematics is "a recipe for bad writing". King says that a good story will write itself. I think that for young and aspiring writers it can be easy to get lost in figurative language and complex grammar and actually lose sight of the story. And, after all, isn't the story what creative writing is all about?

State of the Union 2012

    Obama mentions the economy post-WWII. I think his comparison is neat and I hope that our economy comes back the way it did after the war, but only stronger. Our country is in trillions of dollars of debt and the thought of paying that colossal debt is daunting; HOWEVER, I believe that with the correct leadership America can take the correct steps in bringing up the economy and not having so much debt.
    One thing that I agreed with the President on is bringing jobs back into the country. I was unaware that big companies and corporations caught tax break for taking their business overseas and was equally unaware that the loyal companies whose business remained in America were taxed more than those who were overseas ("one of the highest tax rates in the world")! That just sounds absolutely ludicrous and straight up wrong. I would think that it would make more sense to do the taxes just the opposite. I think by encouraging American companies to operate in America Americans would have more job opportunities (but then again, what do I know?). From what I can understand, I think that's what Obama was saying, too. However, I understand that by re-allotting taxes, that, in the end, America could lose money and that the whole tax-money-and-stuff system is quite complicated and that my understandings may be skewed (but I'm trying be familiar with the whole system). 
    Obama says that he thinks everyone should all abide by the same tax rules, or a progressive/graduated income tax. This is in a way a contradiction to his statements about the companies operating in America and the ones operating overseas. In essence, shouldn't the different companies have to pay based on their profits and not where they choose to operate? 
    I read a copy of the transcript and did not watch the speech on TV. I found it amusing that I could pick out where people were supposed to clap. I also found it strategic that Obama would drop in phrases such as "as long as I'm the President, I will..." to begin his campaigning for the next presidential election.

On Writing- Blog 2

     I was fearful that King was going to get boring in the upcoming chapters; however, I am still thoroughly entertained. King's wit and humor continue to make the book an easy-read. I am amazed by King's analogies and how he makes everything easily relatable. Many of his writing tips I find appliable to all aspects of life. An example is how he harps about "let the story tell itself"; cut the fluff and such and just stick to the truth. Many people would have easier, less-stressful lives if they would just stick to this simple rule!
    Where King talks about how a writer is born a writer (in more or less words) I feel he is dead on. Bad writers in elementary school are still bad writers in high school! I have always been taught if you try hard and put your all into what you're doing, you will succeed; however, I feel writing is just one of those things God gives you (or He doesn't). I, by no means, feel I am the next Jane Austen or Shakespeare, but words and writing has always flowed in my brain. I don't think that I am a great writer (somedays I'm bearly a good writer), but I feel that the creative process comes more easily to me than it does to others.
    King has several good tips about dialogue and plot that I have never considered before. I totally agree that some of the best stories are "plotless". Obviously, King knows what he is talking about, but I think his take has deffinitely put writing into perspective!

On Writing- Blog 1

All in all I’m thoroughly entertained with the first “chapter”. My only complaint is, what I feel to be, the unnecessary profanity.  However, I have made great use of my black pen by scribbling out the words that I do not like. Many of King’s recollections of childhood, especially recalling the name of an illness that isn’t quite correct, I find relatable. While he had “stripe throat” in the first grade, I often fell victim of “headdick aches”.

My favorite part of the book thus far is when he is writing about Tabby’s poem. “She smiled at me. I smiled back. Sometimes these things are not accidents. I’m almost sure of it.” I found myself smiling after reading these sentences. Being a 16-going-on-17 girl, I am a HOPELESS romantic and through the crude and rough-around-the-edge descriptions of a girl with a mill worker vocabulary, I can tell he was truly in love with this woman! Obviously he loves her very much (because he says so when the opportunity presents itself), but sometimes love isn’t always genuine; anyone can write that he or she is in love with someone else, but genuine, true love can’t always jump of the pages like the words do when King is describing his wife.

Although the poem and what followed were my favorite part of the book thus far, the part that has made me truly think the most is the part where he is describing Sondra and Dodie. I found myself thinking of people that are at our high school. I found myself wondering if, well, a matter of how many, girls would have a similar fate of Dodie, or how many would die alone like Sondra. After I finished the section about Dodie, I thought about a story my youth minister likes to tell: There’s this girl who just has a hard life and everyone gives her a rough time and one day she decides to kill herself. When she’s leaving for what she thinks will be her last day of school, the quarter back of the football team held the door open for her, wished her a good day, and smiled. The girl went home and wrote him and note and gave him the bullet she was planning on killing herself with; the quarterback saved her life! I wonder if Steven King wonders if Dodie could have been save, or if Sondra could have had just one friend other than Cheddar Cheese? I wonder if he even cares. For some reason I think the fact that he does care is the main motivation of why he included such details of these two girls.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the book!