11/22/63 by Stephen King

Okay, so as a writer of literary fiction, I’m supposed to be an intellectual snob and turn my nose us at commercial writers like Stephen King, but the truth is, one of my all-time favorite novels is The Stand.

Recently I ran into a friend at the post office. Last time I saw her was at the Lighthouse Writer’s Workshop Christmas Party. She confessed that she had just finished reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King and couldn’t put it down. She offered to loan it to me, but later that evening I was at Barnes & Noble and couldn’t resist (I’m a total book addict). I bought a copy of 11/22/63.

11/22/63 by Stephen King is a novel about a time traveler who attempts to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which occurred on November 22, 1963 (the novel’s titular date).

That weekend I went out of town for a few days. I’ve been going on writer-camping trips in order to finish my own novel, A Siren’s Lament. I started reading 11/22/63 and couldn’t put it down! When Stephen King is good, he’s phenomenal. I want to figure out what it is he does that makes some of his books impossible to stop reading.

Do you love Stephen King novels?  What do you think he does that makes him a good writer?  Please post a comment.

If you’d like to learn how to write like Stephen King, check out my Monday Night Writers Workshop or any of my other writers workshop and sign up today!

 

Two weeks ago I began a course in The Artist's Way at Colorado Free University. The Artist's Way is a 12-week program designed to help artists get unblocked. One of the first realizations that came to me was that we need to begin with what we love. In other words, we need to follow our bliss. I took a look at the different things I was doing as part of my career as a self-employed writer, teacher, and entrepreneur. I discovered there are some things I'm extremely passionate about. My greatest passions are writing, teaching, compassionate communication, and helping people fulfill their dreams. Some of the other activities were more about making money, and although I don't intend to eliminate them from my repertoire, I decided not to put more of my energy in those directions. I will focus more of my resources toward the activities I truly love. This led me to an idea for combining compassionate communication with creativity. In compassionate communication, a language process developed by Marshall Rosenberg in his book Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life, there is a very specific way that we begin to think and communication with ourselves and with other. The basic process is: Observations, Feelings, Needs, and Requests. We learn to make observations without judgements or evaluations. "Just the facts." We learn a vocabulary for identifying and expressing feelings. We learn a vocabulary for our needs. And then we learn how to make requests. Through this process, we can communicate more authentically and therefore be more true to ourselves.

My Favorite Plane

Check this out. 

Fun & Play

Recently, as I was exploring some difficulties around issues of self-discipline, I've sought out a variety of strategies for overcoming self-sabotage.  However, I discovered that one of the primary reasons I was sabotaging myself, and not having the level of productivity I would have liked, was because I hadn't met my need for fun and play.

A Day in the Life of a Goddess

Have you ever asked yourself, What do the gods and goddesses do all day?  The Greeks imagined that they were sitting upon Mount Olympus, watching the humans, doling out favors or punishments.  But when I arrive at my friend Jessica Notkin’s house and ask how things are going, she has a litany of complaints about the struggles of creating a world.  In the business we’re in — storytelling, novel-writing, and RPG (role playing games) — world-building is one of the primary activities we partake in.

When I listen to her talk about it, it’s clear to me that she’s  a goddess creating a world.  It’s not an easy job.  You have to create planets, universes, languages, people, and sometimes give them supernatural or magical powers.  Wow!  It’s a lot of work!

We spend our days creating people and building worlds, just like someone else spent their days building our world and creating us.  Like children playing house, some day we’ll grow up to be just like our Divine Mother and Father.

Her world at Willow Quill will be available in 2014.