Summary
In the except for Stephen King’s memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, King explains that writing is a skill to be built upon. King makes the analogy of a toolbox. His uncle own a toolbox that “had three levels, the top two removable, all three containing little drawers as cunning as Chinese boxes. It was handmade, of course. Dark wooden slats were bound together by tiny nails and strips of brass. The lid was held down by big latches; to my child’s eye they looked like the latches on a giant’s lunchbox” (112). King’s uncle carried this massive toolbox with him on every handyman job and when a young Stephen questioned his uncle—after all, carrying the entire toolbox when all that’s needed is a few screws and a screwdriver seems pretty impractical—his uncle replies calmly “It’s best to have your tools with you. If you don’t, you’re apt to find something you didn’t expect and get discouraged” (114). King carries this advice into his writing and encourages writers of all abilities to have their own writing toolbox.
King believes that the writer’s toolbox should have vocabulary and grammar within reach on the uppermost level. Although vocabulary is the most exercised tool used by writers, King does not believe writers should work on vocabulary at all. Vocabularies will either strengthen as writer’s read or it won’t. But, forcing complex words into a sentence when a simpler word would be more appropriate is harmful to the writing overall.
Grammar is just as important as vocabulary, and King implores writers to understand the difference between active and passive voice and to make an effort to say away from passive voice. Although the passive voice is safe and alluring to newer writers, it is ultimately detracting from the power of the words. King expresses similar views about adverbs—they’re nice, but still detracting from the power of the prose. King attributes the use of passive voice and the overuse of adverbs to both fear and affection. A newer writer fears that their readers will not understand them—hence the overuse of adverbs—and the dependence on passive voice.
Under the vocabulary and grammar that make up the topmost layer of the writer’s toolbox, there should be a layer on the elements of style. King is specially referring to paragraph structure here. As essay writing and fiction writing are two completely different animals, it makes sense that the structure of the paragraphs would be different as well. King emphasizes the idea that paragraph structure will be different in expository prose as opposed to fiction prose, and that paragraphs in fiction will be far less structured.
Further Reflection
While I agree with the ideas of having a toolbox, I do not completely agree with King’s ideas about not working on vocabulary. As writers, it is our responsibility to actively learn and sharpen our skills in order to be the best writers we can possibly be. Vocabulary is included in this skillset. Even if you never use the word postulate in your own writing, it would be good to know what it means. At the very least, to be able to guess the meaning. I completely agree with King’s thoughts on paragraph structure. Paragraph structure is something I struggled with while making the leap between expository writing and fiction. The idea of a paragraph consisting of a topic sentence then supporting sentences was so ingrained in me that I could not fathom a paragraph as anything else.
Central Question
- What is your relationship to paragraph structure or writing structure in general? Do you see writing as something that needs to be structured?
- What would you put in your writer’s toolbox?
Links
Adverbs—should we really fear them?
Another opinion on adverbs
Active voice vs. Passive Voice
Active voice vs. Passive Voice (Part 2)
Works Cited
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Scribner, 2000. 111-31. Print.
“Why?” She Said Questioningly.” Reference For Writers,. N.p., 11 May 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
“When to Use Adverbs.” The Writing Café,. N.p., 16 June 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
“Active v Passive Voice (#storiesshouldn’tsleep).” The Writing Café,. N.p., 14 June 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
