Huy Pham Mrs. Phillips English 1301-4 25 August 2011 On Writing The writing process develops over time.

Each is different and is made uniquely for the person in mind. My own writing process is simple on my own terms and varies slightly according to what is needed in the writing. The steps presented in this essay are those that I follow. The first part of my process involves tasks that start even before the writing begins. I try to find a room where it is nice and quiet, with adequate lighting. That is a given. Moreover, I usually do not bring water or food, phones, or music. Those could ruin a good paper or distract me from continuing my writing. Recently, I developed the habit of closing the door as I write my drafts for stories and essays. For me, each tale begins with an idea and grows into a story as I write, centered around that one idea. Novels do not require planning. They form on their own. Essays, on the other hand, require myself to devote about half a sheet on planning-usually consisted of just simple jotted down ideas and sources. Once my draft is written and finished, I usually take a few hours off to refresh myself. When I come back, my first objective is to edit and check for errors-grammatical, spelling, and capitalization. For revising, I fix run-on sentences, make clear my thoughts, and recreate my writing to make it smooth and flow naturally. I rearrange my word order to make it less confusing, possibly combining or shortening sentences along the way. When I revise, I ask myself what is it exactly that I want this to say at this part. This step is where life experiences and influences come predominantly into my writing. Personally, the books and movies I have read have had the most influence on my writing. Fiction tales of new worlds full of fantasy; horror tales with grueling tricks. These are the stories Ive read the most and written about the most. This does not mean all my stories are like this. I can write some lovely romance and poetry, but I write more of the fantasy genre. Teachers, second best to books, have helped me abundantly with advice. They have helped me make stories clearer, correct simple mistakes, and best of all, promoting reading and writing. My third grade teacher always asked us to write stories each week; anything we wanted to write about was great. She would read it to us individually when were done, helping us with anything the needed tweaking. I remember I did a story about horse that lived in the center of the Earth. It was not

Pham 2 the best thing I have written. It probably was even horrible, but she, along with all my other teachers, helped me develop my own style of writing. This is the way my writing style is; how it is done and how it has been developed.

Huy Pham Mrs. Phillips English 1301-4 25 August 2011 Life Experiences and Influences Award-winning author Stephen King brings together his influences and experiences in life into each of his well-crafted books. His writing style did not come natural or all at once as people may think about authors with his kind of talent. Each experience and person he encountered has altered his writing in some kind of form. A few of these would be the movies he watched as a young child; or another would be his wife, who offered her opinions and support. Stephen King is known for his horror fiction novels. He loved the AmericanInternational films he saw at the Ritz, one of the movie theaters he frequented to watch amazing, horror films. Of all the Poepictures, the one that affected Chris [his friend] and me the most deeply was The Pit and the Pendulum (King 47). There was a shocking scene in this movie which King had never forgotten. After this movie and on his way home, he thought, I would turn The Pit and the Pendulum into a book! Would novelize it (47). The movie he watched influenced his writing and helped him write his new bestseller. The scene that King remembered was an experience that he saw. Using it in his first book, he perfected it. This was one of many influences on his writing. Kings wife undoubtedly influenced Stephen Kings writing, but not in the way of the movies. She helped edit his books, providing insight on his problems and concerns. She was a reason for him to keep writing and develop his skill. In one of his first books called Carrie, he would not have finished, refined, and published it without the help of his wife Tabitha. He abandoned his story. I threw it awayWhen I came home from school, Tabby had the pagesShe wanted me to go on with itShe said shed help me (77). She helped him with this book when it became unbelievable. He could not understand how he should write certain things and his wife helped him with that. Aside from this book, she has helped Stephen edit other famous works and make his novels truer and more believable. The encounters and influences in Stephen Kings life have shaped his writing style into the great books that he has written.

Huy Pham Mrs. Phillips English 1301-4 25 August 2011 Toolbox Stephen King talks of a figurative toolbox of the mind in his book On Writing. This toolbox contains tools to help aspiring writers write to the best of their possible ability. The tools he discusses are required for skill, which in turn is needed for good writing. Each persons toolbox is different, but there are some things which are a necessity in any toolbox. Some of these tools are believed to be grammar and form. Grammar is a necessity not just for writers, but to those who have a need to communicate with others; that should be most everyone. Incorrect grammar can lead to confusion and misinterpretations in this simple phrase King says simply, Bad grammar produces bad sentences (King 120). Grammar may be boring and hard to grasp for some, but it is an important tool that needs to be learned. It helps bring a clearer message to the audience and leaves them unconfused at what the author is trying to say. Grammar is the pole you grab to get your thoughts up on their feet and walking (121). It helps you put your thoughts straight into words that a reader can understand. Grammar, though, cannot do everything alone on paper. Form helps bring a sense of correctness to writing. On opposite sides of the spectrum, each book has a form that works for it: a historic novel, a childrens fairytale book, a directory. King said, Easy books contain lots of short paragraphs-and lots of white space (King 129). These would be childrens books or illustrated story books. Hard books, ones full of ideas, narration, or description, have a stouter look. A packed look. (130). These books are going to be essays and literary classics read during school. In essays, the formation of paragraphs should be organized and never wandering from the topic of the essay. Form is not used as often in fiction novels, but is needed when there is transitioning and changing. For me, though, a tool that Stephen King does not address is the use of a nice, elaborate introduction. Introductions are supposed to capture the readers attention. I usually make my introductions showy and somewhat wordy. This should make the reader engaged into reading the rest of the writing. Also, I like to use short and simple conclusions unless a fully explained conclusion is needed. This could be a tool that is not a good one to have in my toolbox, depending on what the reader gets out of my writing. This is a tool that I use, but may not work for someone else and should not utilize it. These tools are some of the tools that are important for those who wish to write better.