My brother Tim likes to say he created the monster that is me because in the winter of 2017, he gifted me Stephen King's "On Writing" for Christmas. To a great extent this is true. My primary instincts as a writer come this work.

The book, written in 1997, has achieved cult status among writers. It is considered the gold standard of writing advice. I could review the book for paragraphs upon paragraphs, but that wouldn't be a very interesting read for you. So I'd like to shave off some verbiage and focus on how the book affected my own writing.

The most important advice King gives to any writer is "...read and write every day." In truth, that's the only real beginning advice a writer can be given. Everything starts there. You can't build a foundation without working into something that looks like that. Now, how that manifests for different writers varies wildly. Some writers do that for months at a time, and then take breaks. King himself said he takes two weeks off after a book. Other writers have to do it every day. John Hodgman, he insinuates, goes months at a time without. But you have to, when actually working on a project, read and write everyday. It can't be twice a week. It can't be when you feel like it. It has to be forced through your fingertips, even when you're not feeling "the vibe."

That advice is priceless. And that advice is why I suspect some people who would be unbelievably good writers never do it. They're not built to sustain something like that. I thank God I had ADHD and a mother who metaphorically whooped my ass. I thrive off routine. So I write everyday, because it makes me happy to have assignment everyday. I'm that kind of guy.

So not everyone can follow Stephen King's advice about writing. But it has helped me, and really, as cliche as it sounds, transformed my life for better. Why? Because King also tells you how to write.

Writing is meditation. King tells you to turn off your brain to an extent when you write. As he phrases it, "Write with the door closed, edit with the door open." In other words, don't edit as you write. Don't correct yourself as you write. Put it all down on paper, and see how it comes out. What King doesn't tell you is how therapeutic this is.

I always feel much better after I write. Not like a weight's been lifted, because I often have more questions about my plot and my characters running around in my head afterward. But I feel like my brain just went for a jog. There's a cleanse to it, but you also just built something up. It's difficult to describe, and it's hard to do when you're tired, but it feels good.

Writing in a meditative state for an hour a day can be life-changing for many. It was for me. I feel like my brain is quicker, my empathy is more attuned, and my heart is lifted more easily since I started. Following the advice of writing every day is a great way to build efficacy in a lot of surprising areas.

I will admit, it doesn't work for everybody. And more importantly, there's a lot more steps to becoming a decent writer. I say decent because that's where I'd put myself currently. I'm not great, but I'm not bad. And it's because after I started writing an hour a day, I also sought out other writing advice and feedback, and grew my skills.

Other advice King has that I follow resolutely include things like "The editor's always right," "Omit needless words," (which he takes from E.B. White), and "Find the beat." The book really is a treasure-trove of literary wisdom.

I highly recommend his book to anyone who writes, or is interested in the lives of writers. Not to mention the fact it's fun to read, because it's so damn well-written.

Happy Reading,

-Frosty Rosty