While at work today I have been listening to On Writing by Stephen King(I have the audiobook not the paper edition). This is his book on the art of writing, but its also a bit of an autobiography. I’ve got about an hour and a half to go of it and it is an amazing listen. King himself narrates it and this gives it a much more heartfelt feel. He is direct and honest with his words and the advice he gives and its Stephen King! The man has written a shed load of books and short stories and is arguably one of the greatest writers of his generation. So it’s not like someone who has only had a couple of little sales here and there.

In the audio version King is also very easy to listen to and I would recommend that people get hold of this version because, as I said earlier it is a very heartfelt reading. What I have taken from it mostly though is inspiration. I will learn many things from this about the craft of writing but it is the sheer love of writing that we get from King that has struck a cord inside of me.

Despite my personal doubts I have been told that I can write and listening to King makes me feel like I am wasting what may be talent but not getting my arse into gear and getting the words on the page. Getting editing done and getting published.

I’ve asked Tracie to tell me to listen to On Writing whenever I feel down about my writing because I think it will inspire me to get cracking once more 🙂

One thing that King said was that writers need to read, this I know but I really need to get into gear and get more read. I’m going to get more audiobooks which will help me get some more good fiction read/listened (see previous post about audiobooks). That said I’m just about to start reading the second Hunger Games book, Catching Fire 🙂

On a more sober note, as I am writing this I am watching news reports about the Boston Marathon bombings. Words fail me when these things happen and my thoughts go out to anyone who is affected by this terrible act.