How do you improve your writing?

Yep. Got On Writing when it came out. It's excellent, a real keeper. The first part of it is autobiographical and funny. He explains how he was pretty much a horror and sci fi geek obsessed with weird stories. Then how he began writing them. He transitions to his own take on the craft, how he struggled writing short stories for a market that was rapidly disappearing.

The second half of the book is all about writing, his take on it anyway. There are a few writing exercises and some sound, simple advice on grammar. There are not a lot of amazing groundbreaking revelations on writing, not for me anyway. He says it's all about reading a lot and writing a lot.

King doesn't plot stories as many authors do. He says he has an idea and builds upon it by creating characters that end up coming to life and making moves that he admits sometimes surprise him. The book is loaded with practical advice for writers. It think the best thing about it is that it illustrates how an oddball, everyday person with some talent and a relentless drive to get published can make it big.

The thing I really love about this book is the casual writing style. You're learning and laughing as you go but none of it is formal instruction like so many stuffy writing books. It's like you're talking to an old friend about the craft. I read it for about the 10th time last month. I get something new every time. Check around used book stores, there are lots of copies floating around.

This is definitely something that a lot of people don't realize Gail. The best writers don't often have to spend 20-30% of their writing time checking for spelling/grammar mistakes because they have seen so much that it comes naturally. Reading can be just as good a practice for writing as the actual task of writing itself.

I'm not saying that great writers don't make mistakes or proofread though. Heck, I still catch errors in my own work long after publishing from time to time. No one's perfect, but if the content is well written and your errors aren't numerous you can get away with one or two slip-ups.

I concur on reading being a vital ingredient to improve your writing skills. Reading books in a plethora of genres is helpful as well, especially if you are a ghostwriter or freelancer as clients ask for different writing tones for different projects.

Practicing writing is another great exercise for improving your writing skills.

One exercise I've used in the past, is to choose a topic and then write a piece in different writing styles. For example, write one in a humorous tone, another with the same topic in an informational tone, another using a parable for comparison, another using examples targeted for women, another with examples targeted for men write another in story form...well, you get the picture.

You will find that the more you read and write, the more you do improve.

Oh, and another Stephen King fan here.

Terra