Stephen King "On Writing"

In Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, King describes stories as “found things” and “fossils”, much like seashells and dinosaur bones. According to him, stories have three parts: narration, description, and dialogue. Notice that there is no fourth part called “plot”. That threw me for a loop. I remember when I was younger I would laboriously write up plotlines for stories; then, just as laboriously, I would start writing those stories, making sure I stuck to that plotline. I was shocked that, by King’s standards, that makes me a “dullard”. Wow.

In the following paragraphs, King explains how plot constricts a story, how it breaks a fossil into so many pieces; it is better to let the story flow and watch what the characters are going to do next, instead of forcing them to do the author’s will. By the time King insisted plot be under house arrest, I agreed with him. I also found out that, perhaps, I’m not a dullard.

As much as I remember laboriously working on plotlines, I also remember those were the stories I absolutely hated. There were a number of stories where I knew where I wanted to go, and instead of writing plotlines I actually wrote the story, letting the characters take over. Those must be the stories Stephen King is talking about, the ones that don’t sound stiff and forced. It’s been awhile since I’ve sat down and written a story, though, so I think it’s time to dig out that toolbox King keeps talking about. It must be dusty.

Cocoa Cow Ice Cream

The Cocoa Cow Ice Cream parlor offers delicious, homemade ice cream in a variety of flavors. Our cozy parlor invites parties of all sizes to sit down, relax, and enjoy their treats. If it is a nice day out and you do not feel like sitting inside there is a park next door with plenty of picnic tables. Our signature ice cream flavor is Cocoa Chocolate; some of our other flavors are Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Mint. We serve all of our ice cream in homemade waffle cones. Due to popular demand, we are selling small cartons of our ice cream at the parlor. We hope that everyone enjoys their time with family and friends while at Cocoa Cow Ice Cream.