Watching a Documentary of H. P. Lovecraft

Dear Stephen King,

The children hogged the two available Netflix channels this afternoon, so I could not get my fix of Fringe. Yes I realize I am way behind. I had not given it enough of a chance when it was airing live on the television. I tried it again a few weeks ago and now I cannot stop watching it now... except when the kids have control of Netflix.

While I was hiding away on my day off inside the house and looking for any excuse not to write my own work, I started surfing some of the other movie providers, and that is where I found a documentary on H. P. Lovecraft. I got drawn in and could not stop watching. This man was a wonderment and led a sad, exciting and expressive life. I knew about him, but I never knew his life story.

I don't really want to talk about Lovecraft himself though. I want to say something about the inspiration to go write when I watched this film. There is something to be said about seeing the success someone else has and using that excitement as fuel to get yourself writing again. I find myself tired and not really wanting to write after a long days work.When I sit down to write my own story, I will sometime only get a couple of paragraphs down before my mind is exhausted and I move to the couch in front of the TV. I should really get rid of that thing.

I am wondering what other documentaries are out there, whose biography can I look into and become inspired by. I have been inspired by the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. He has a lot of great experience that we can use in our own lives; things like his notebook stating the points he tries to avoid in his daily life. If he breaks one of the rules he set for himself, he would mark his notebook and at the end of the three month period, he would see how he was progressing by observing how many marks were in his notebook. He would wipe the notebook clean and start again.

I have also enjoyed your writing memoir, "On Writing." Even though you are giving advice about how you personally made it in the business and what you learned along the way, I find your personal success story inspiring. It makes me want to sit down and BE you. It makes me wonder, Who were the inspirations for you? Who made you want to sit your butt in the chair and keep writing?

Here's to making today memorable history for tomorrow.
Robert T Gasperson

Stephen King's Writer's Workflow

Dear Stephen,

I searched and searched and searched for my copy of your book "On Writing." I bought it back in 2000, when you first had it published. I've read it a couple of times. Then after I got married and life got filled with all the other things that happen, I believe that book along with most of the other books I had got sold or donated to make way for cribs and toys and all the other things that come with having a family.

The reason I was looking for the book was because I am curious about your processes for writing everyday. I want to know how you are able to sit down and get so many words out, allowing you to publish 2 or more books per year. Researching the information online things I found a blurb from "On Writing" where you say you write 10 pages a day without fail, even on holidays. That’s a lot of writing. If I work out the math that would be 250 words per paperback book page which means you have to write about 2,500 words per day. If you write 10 pages single spaced in an 8.5x11 page format, then you will have almost twice that at about 5,000 words per day. I suppose that is what you can do when your career is writing.

Lisa Rogak wrote in her book about you, "Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King" a statement you made, “There are certain things I do if I sit down to write, I have a glass of water or a cup of tea. There’s a certain time I sit down, from 8:00 to 8:30, somewhere within that half hour every morning, I have my vitamin pill and my music, sit in the same seat, and the papers are all arranged in the same places. The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon."

This makes me want to find a routine in my own life where I can sit down everyday and write. My schedule is so unpredictable. I am working all kinds of hours. The kids always have something going on that needs my attention. I just have to find that hour everyday where I can sit down and write. I would love to find the consistent time, the time that happens each day where I am not doing anything, where I can place that block of writing time. At this moment, I believe that perfect time would be right when I get home from work and before I start making dinner for the family. That is usually the time I sit or lay down on the couch and rest for a while. Maybe this is the time I should be writing.

I think I am going to hunt down another copy of "On Writing." I really want to read it again. The thing is I want my first edition back and it seems it is a little difficult to find. Even on Amazon, there are only 2 used editions available. I am also going to see if I can find a copy of that book club release called, "Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing". I am sure there is a lot of great information in that book I could use to become a better writer.

I hope you have a great week. Here is to being productive.
Thank you for allowing me to carry on as I do.

Your Buddy,
Robert T Gasperson