If you want to read an interesting piece of writing, look at Stephen King's "The Pop of King" on the last page of the April 27/May 4 Entertainment Weekly. The teaser starts, "I went through rehab 20 years ago...."
Say what you will about Stephen King's literary ability, he provides captivating content. He made the editor's job easy providing such a delicious pull quote to entice a read. King does what Red Smith advised, he, sits down at the keyboard and opens a vein. King's book, On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft, is a great read because it gives real clues, assists, helps, and advice, on the writing craft, but it is an even greater read because King pulls his guts out of his belly and spreads them on the table for the reader to examine.
King seems fearless when he writes. What does this mean? It means he is providing content that connects him to the reader in visceral ways. I can say that I love Stephen King because I know that he is an addict, a drunk, a man who was brutally hit by a van and suffered terribly, a husband who learned to accept love, a papa who hung in there and devoted time and energy to his children even though his unresolved shit was hitting the fan.
King is the king of content, and, if you immitate him, you will discover some of the finest satisfactions the writing life is able to provide. You might not get published and read widely, but you will (among many others) discover yourself, you will discover ways to meet hidden aspects of yourself and connect to others in ways that living an unobserved life does not offer.
Sit down, place your digits on the keys, open a vein. It's a great, grand, glorious, brilliant, ADVENTURE.
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