Color Your Life Happy

Of the many blogs I read daily, one recently stood out. 

Amy Palko, while researching for her thesis on Stephen King, discovered that there are great lessons writers can learn from Stephen King.  Although the lessons she lists are directed at writers, they can apply to all of our lives as well.

As a guest blogger on Write to Done, Amy shared some of the following examples of Stephen King’s bravery and willingness to tackle challenges

He has refused to stay true to his typecast, and has frequently published work which doesn’t belong to the genre he became famous for.

He stands up to the literary establishment and demands that his writing is taken seriously.

He experiments with new media.

He will try his hand at just about any kind of fiction: short stories, serial novels, comic books, screenplays, e-novels.

He offers his work up to others for their own creative interpretation.

As Amy points out in her article, Stephen King may be known for writing that strikes fear in his readers, but he is fearless.

I’d like to add to Amy’s observations. 

Stephen King is also generous. He was one of the first authors to make his work available free on the Internet. He also sends free copies to military personnel who request them.

Once someone achieves fame and fortune, the public seems to think it happened magically or overnight. There is nothing mysterious or scary about King’s path to success. He wrote in all his spare time while he worked as an industrial laborer and later as an English teacher. He passionately pursued his writing in spite of rejection and uncertainty.

King’s self-assurance and integrity he stays true to what he believes is right, even if it means refusing the riches folks may dangle in front of him.

It seems to me that we can learn a lot from King.  Even if he had never become a highly paid, respected and famous author, Stephen would still be passionately turning out compelling stories and novels.