Linda Chen
Mr. Felder
AP Language & Composition
25 August 2016
Comparison of On Writing: A Memoir and On Writing Well Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, is a novel about King’s experiences as a writer and was effective in teaching amateur writers what it is truly like to be an author. Although his teachings are not as direct in his book as Zinsser’s, most of his rare advice are just as useful. Overall, Stephen King applied many of the concepts suggested by William Zinsser into his memoir, however there are parts in King’s book where Zinsser’s teachings are not applied. Nonetheless, most of the techniques that Zinsser believes makes a well-written novel is similar to those that King has as well. One of the first mistakes that …show more content…
In King’s memoir, he frequently uses little qualifiers—words such as a bit, a little, sort of, kind of, rather, etc.— that Zinsser says to avoid because they show hesitance in your persuasiveness and disrupts the writing style (70). Still, King’s writing can be seen with these qualifiers for instance, “This is how it was for me, that’s all—a disjointed growth process in which ambition, desire, luck, and a little talent all played a part.” (King, 18). Here it is obvious that Stephen King did use little qualifiers when he wrote “a little talent,” but this is not the only instance where King shows his hesitance. In fact, King has always shown some uncertainties regarding his writing saying that he wouldn’t have continued writing if his mom and his wife both encouraged him to continue what he enjoys (67). Nevertheless King, in this case, did not present Zinsser’s teachings in his …show more content…
Zinsser will never know about the drug addiction that King faced during his prime while King still doesn’t know the feeling of death (for now). Therefore, they will always have opposing views on certain subjects no matter what, however, this does not mean they are totally opposite people. In fact, King and Zinsser both have similar views when it comes to writing a well-formulated thought. Thus, Stephen King does effectively incorporate the teachings from Zinsser’s On Writing Well
Mr. Felder
AP Language & Composition
25 August 2016
Comparison of On Writing: A Memoir and On Writing Well Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, is a novel about King’s experiences as a writer and was effective in teaching amateur writers what it is truly like to be an author. Although his teachings are not as direct in his book as Zinsser’s, most of his rare advice are just as useful. Overall, Stephen King applied many of the concepts suggested by William Zinsser into his memoir, however there are parts in King’s book where Zinsser’s teachings are not applied. Nonetheless, most of the techniques that Zinsser believes makes a well-written novel is similar to those that King has as well. One of the first mistakes that …show more content…
In King’s memoir, he frequently uses little qualifiers—words such as a bit, a little, sort of, kind of, rather, etc.— that Zinsser says to avoid because they show hesitance in your persuasiveness and disrupts the writing style (70). Still, King’s writing can be seen with these qualifiers for instance, “This is how it was for me, that’s all—a disjointed growth process in which ambition, desire, luck, and a little talent all played a part.” (King, 18). Here it is obvious that Stephen King did use little qualifiers when he wrote “a little talent,” but this is not the only instance where King shows his hesitance. In fact, King has always shown some uncertainties regarding his writing saying that he wouldn’t have continued writing if his mom and his wife both encouraged him to continue what he enjoys (67). Nevertheless King, in this case, did not present Zinsser’s teachings in his …show more content…
Zinsser will never know about the drug addiction that King faced during his prime while King still doesn’t know the feeling of death (for now). Therefore, they will always have opposing views on certain subjects no matter what, however, this does not mean they are totally opposite people. In fact, King and Zinsser both have similar views when it comes to writing a well-formulated thought. Thus, Stephen King does effectively incorporate the teachings from Zinsser’s On Writing Well