Blow up Your T.V and Read

Anthony Ferris

Mr. Delaney

English 101, Section 702

October 29, 2016

Blow Up Your T.V and Read

Rest assured that Stephen King and his literary achievements did not come from watching television. According to Stephen King in order to become a good or even great writer, the aspiring writer must read and write a lot. He provides a personal example of his own reading habits, which is an upwards of 80 to 90 books read per year. Some of the books read may be bad or even horrible, but Stephen King explains that reading bad books is an important part of the aspiring writers learning process. Reading the bad books gives the writer a working knowledge of what not to do. New and upcoming writers should also use the books that were good reads for tips and pointers that can be implemented into their own work. Stephen King says this to new writers “If you’re just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than to strip your televisions electric plug wire, wrap a spike around it, and then stick it back into the wall. See what blows, and how far.” -Stephen King

Stephen King is no stranger to what it takes to become a good or great writer, he even taught creative writing for a period. He shares his experience of what it takes, and provides pointers to writers abroad. Stephen Kings literary achievements have been recognized throughout the world, having received the:                                                                                              International Horror Guild Award (1997, 1999, 2001, 2003)

World Fantasy Award (1980, 1982, 1995, 2004)

World Horror Guild Master Award (1992)

Stephen Kings literary achievements have made him the wealthiest American writer, and earns our attention when discussing the topic of what it takes to be a good or even a great writer. Stephen King is a man of many words and therefore you will find that he is brutally honest with us in his quotes to aspiring writers on what it takes to be a great writer, some might even find him offensive with his brutal honesty. “If you want to be a writer, you must above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” -Stephen King

He shares his reading habits to provide us with an example of just what “a lot” of reading means to him. He tells us that he reads an upward of 80 to 90 books a year. That is “a lot” of reading for sure. 90 books a year is an average of 7.5 books a month. Mr. King was not joking around when he told us to metaphorically blow up our televisions. When reading that amount of literature, you are guaranteed to find good and bad writing and Mr. King tells us “we need to experience the mediocre and the outright rotten; such experience helps us to recognize those things when they begin to creep into our own work, and to steer clear of them.” -Stephen King