Writing
The Most Terrifying Thing Stephen King Has Ever Written
Hint: it ain’t fiction
If you lurk around on writing forums long enough, eventually you will see some version of the following:
I was reading Stephen King’s On Writing and I came across this bit. Do you guys think he’s right?
This is invariably followed by well-meaning-but-misinformed posters assuring OP that Mr. King doesn’t know his ass from his elbow. It’s the online equivalent of a recess monitor telling a bullied child not to worry about what the other children are saying. Here is the offending passage, the one that is the cause of so much wounded indignation, the one that has aspiring writers shaking in their boots:
[…]while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one.
Why is this so scary? It’s certainly not the message of hope at the end, the one that says improvement is possible through…
