On Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’
‘On Writing’ by legendary horror author Stephen King is one of the best books on writing I have ever read. I have the audiobook too, read by the author himself, which is spinetingling in places.
‘On Writing’ is a masterwork, not simply dealing with many of the technical issues an author faces, but full of jaw-dropping biographical detail, including his near-death when he was hit by a truck and his family’s intervention when his addictions became too much. I recommend it highly. You can buy it here.
Where I divert from King is on his attitude to TV. This may have changed – ‘On Writing’ was published in 2000 – but back then, he advised “turning off that endlessly quacking box”.
“And how much of a sacrifice are we talking about here?” asks King. “How many Frasier and ER reruns does it take to make one American life complete? How many Richard Simmons informercials? How many white-boy/fatboy Beltway insiders on CNN? Oh man, don’t get me started. Jerry-Springer-Dr-Dre-Judge-Judy-Jerry-Falwell-Donny-and-Marie, I rest my case.”
I think that’s a case that needs to be reopened due to new evidence, especially for science fiction authors.
King is right, of course, that if the TV is on, you can’t write, and that in the wrong place – such as your writing space – having a TV could be a terrible distraction. And trash TV is no diet for a writer, unless you’re trying to write trash, or about trash.
But nowadays, the exposure of the average viewer to science fiction is through movies and increasingly through made-for-TV works, not books. Streaming services in particular have put us in touch with some of the most amazing science fiction and fantasy I’ve ever consumed. Sure, I still read – mostly via audiobook these days – but as a science fiction/fantasy writer, if you don’t watch TV you may as well cut off your own head.
The SF author needs to know what is going on out there in the world of science. You need to see what to do and what not to do, to be aware of technological and scientific developments which might radically alter what you’re writing. OK, so you can get this from reading (New Scientist and Wired are my favourites), but the material comes alive in the visual media.
I’d also argue that today’s SF author needs to be abreast of what’s going on with TV science-fiction too. You need to see what’s trending (in some cases to avoid it!), note the common tropes, understand what other producers are producing.
It’s always been said that writers read, and happily, TV is now much more akin to reading than the old way of watching TV, at the time King was writing.
When I’m reading, I don’t want to be limited to reading one chapter a week and I certainly don’t want to be assailed by ads for panty pads or gravy when my disbelief is suspended. I want to read on, I want to binge.
TV streaming allows us to do this, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that absent the demands of network TV, the writing of much long-form drama is changing too. Writers are not constrained to a particular episode length, don’t need to write cliffhangers every nine minutes to accommodate ad breaks.
TV, in short, has become a much more relaxed and relaxing medium.
When I watch Netflix or Amazon now, I’m looking at structure, character development, at plot arcs, watching for plot holes or abandoned sub-plots.
When I was living with my mum for a couple of months before I bought my new house, she looked over at me during an episode of ‘Bosch’ – Amazon detective series based on the novels of Michael Connolly (if you haven’t seen it, WATCH!!!) – and said “oh, I get it; this is like work for you now, isn’t it?”
She was right. Watching good quality TV is now part of my ‘job’.