#On writing a memoir of the craft how to

'Grammar is not just a pain in the ass it’s the pole you grab to get your thoughts up on their feet and walking.' Don't try to improve your vocabulary because it will be improved as you read more, and just write the first vocabulary that comes to mind rather than using the words that are not really what you're comfortable with. He said that on the top shelf of your toolbox is vocabulary. In the toolbox part, he compared the writing tools with the usual toolbox in his story with his uncle. I like how he has such metaphor for writing. Steve compared writing with telepathy and everything magical. What Writing Is and Toolbox Part 1 (page 103-118) It's a bit overwhelming and I think it's really brave of him to share his darkest moment to the rest of the world. It's about the afterwards of his problems and the end of this part. My friend's boarding house (finally out of my own room)

Tabby and his children loved him that's why they did not want to see him dead. In the end, she gave him two choices either he get a help from the rehab or he got out of the house. I got so much respect toward his wife who was really supportive and always there for him. He even got angry at people who won't finish their bottle of wine at a restaurant. It's sad to read how his mother died and then Steve got into a really bad case of addiction to alcohol and drugs. He also got a very supportive wife! He later got her a hair-dryer to celebrate Mother's day and his new book huge success. Of how his writing had not been recognized yet and then he told himself that many people only got success when they were on their old days. Of how he got sad that he was just doing the same thing as his mother despite being more educated. I think it's great he could find spirit after a very long time of hardships. Fantastic, huh? That's not without so much effort in his part, though. This part is about how Steve finally got his book to be published and got $ 200,000 royalty. In the end, Steve stopped working at the laundry and got a job as a teacher while still write in his spare time. After that, it is only about how they survived after college with two children with low-paying jobs. This part tells about how Steve met his love in college, Tabitha, whom later will be his wife. I also learned something from Gould! I finally know why Steve said at the first part of the book that editor's work os divine. Steve learned from Gould about how we should write with the door closed, and rewrite with the door open. What I like about this part is the part where the now-high-schooler Steve got a lesson from John Gould, an editor of Lisbon's weekly newspaper. Imagine his mother's expression getting home with a sleeping son in her cupboard with puke all over himself.Īll in all, this part had been great with funny stories about Steve's childhood. In that cupboard he threw up all over himself. Little Steve ate a lot of eggs and then getting locked in a cupboard. I immediately regret my decision to eat a snack while reading this.

In my room munching on a dry coffe-flavored donut However, he finally decided to write it in the end because of a fellow writer who told him in a very simple and direct way that it was okay to write it.

#On writing a memoir of the craft how to

Even if he had written and sold so may books, he did not think it's a good enough reason to 'arrogantly' told people how to write. What really caught my attention is the fact that Steve at one point wanted to write a book about writing but held back because he did not think that he had anything worth saying in such kind of book. First, Second, Third Foreword and C.V (page 7-18)