Lesson 5: On Writing and Further More, Part I: Door Shut, Door Open

• Introduction
• Lesson
• Summary & Tasks

Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to: Recognize reading as an active, constructive process. Develop knowledge of creative writing and appropriate vocabulary for discussing it. Develop abilities to write creatively and expressively

Overview

Perhaps the most beneficial advice to aspiring writers are the On Writing and Further More, Part I: Door Shut, Door Open sections.  In these sections, King discusses the importance of reading, forcing one's self to write daily, and then goes into great detail about taking a work of fiction through the stages of writing. 

 

Check It Out

Paul Valery, a French poet, said, "A poem is never finished, only abandoned."

How often do you settle with the first draft in your writing? 

Very few professional and successful writers are content with their first drafts.  Editing and rewriting are as important as brainstorming and writing.  Writers like Gustave Flaubert and James Joyce are famous for the quest for perfection and their astute attention to detail, but even popular contemporary fiction writers like J.K. Rowling believe in the drafting and revision process.