Color Of Water Blog (Part 2)

As I read on through the book, I find myself findng a deeper appreciation for the book. My favorite aspect of the book so far is McBride's tribute to his mother. While there are some tidbits that he looks down on in his past, he still always writes with, what seems to me, to be appreciation for everything his mother did for him. One specific section would include when he is talking about his mother's pride. He addresses her pride when he writes on how she responded to the man who sold them spoiled milk. While McBride didn't understand his mothers reaction, he still portrays her as a strong women. Another aspect I enjoy is the contrast between Ruth and McBride's stories. She grew up in an all-white school wishing to be white, while he also grew up in an all white school but wanted so badly to be black and be around all black people. I have no idea why this stood out to me, but I enjoy in nevertheless. This book is depressing, but it is also simpathetic and I enjoy it.

Color of Water Blog 1

So this might sound frightening at first to some at first, but I strangely relate to the Color of Water. The mother in the book reminds me of my mom. Now, that may seem odd at first. As a disclaimer, I will say my mom NEVER encouraged me to not tell people things or not talk to them. However, my mom didn't have friends when I was younger. I was an only child growing up with my aunt, grandmother, little cousin, and mom. All she needed was us. My mom has always lived in her own little world, and she has always been carefree. So the character of Ruth is very similar to my mother. I strangely enjoy the story. While yes, the story has it's sad moments, it has a strange love behind it, and that stands out the most to me. I think this is because I appreciate eccentricity. No matter what though, I am thoroughly enjoying this novel.

Practice What You Preach.

Nadine Gordimer once wrote, "Writing is making sense of life. You work your whole life and perhaps you've made sense of one small area." While, Nadine may be right about how little we figure out in perception of our lives, that is not the part that stands out to me. Honestly, what attracts me the most is when she says you work your WHOLE life.

It is Stephen King's belief that one must write a lot to become a good writer, maybe even a whole liftetime perhaps. Now the question isn't whether or not the statememnt is true (even though I do believe it is) but rather does Stephen King exemplify his statement with his life. In others words, does he live what he preaches? Well, thankfully for our sake and King's, his integrity is good and he does in fact exemplify this belief throughout his career. My favorites include his early childhood, where King in fact wrote all the time. His writing often ended him up in the principal's office for trouble, but what matters the most is that he always kept writing. No matter what, he was always writing down his thoughts. I believe the smartest and most dangerous people, are the ones who go after their passion with everything and never give up. They are the ones who become successful, those are the ones that King says become good. You see, even someone with natural ability such as Stephen King had to hone his skills. So he wrote. and wrote. and wrote. He received rejection letters, and worked for little pay. In fact, he ended up having to do other jobs than just write because it took so long. No matter what though, Stephen King wrote a lot. Today, he is a well-known superb writer, and an inspiration to many. Why? Because he practices what he preaches.

Chapter 9 to the End

Writing has always been about joy for me, for the freedom when I was younger,. I wrote just to write, but I also wanted to impress others. This continued until this year. I constantly tried to mold my writing style to what teachers wanted to hear. However, after reading "On Writing", I have realized that I have been writing for the wrong "Ideal Reader" as Stephen King would say. So now, with that being said, I am writing for me. I don't care for the toolbox- the grammar or the length of my vocabulary I care for the words, the language, the story. Metaphors are great, but I care about plot more than imagery, and clever wordplay. My favorite section of Stephen King's in the last part is when he says that even if you don't have some special message hidden deep down, you still have a story. He also says that he doesn't write for money, but for the buzz of it. What struck out to me mostly in his book wasn't the actual advice on writing, but his advice on WHY you should write and WHO you should write for. I believe this advice is what will stick with me, whether I pursue writing as a career or continue to only journal for myself. I cannot say I fully understand how to write or understand King himself, however I believe I now understand myself and my writings more now. From that, I now have gained an appreciation for "On Writing".