Here is where Steven King points out the necessity of the writer’s toolbox.
Simply put: You need what you need when you need it.
King goes on to point out a few of the toolbox components of worth noting.
- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Style
- No adverbs
- And overcoming fear
A writer should approach their task with an adequate toolbox at the ready. A toolbox haphazardly thrown together, not carefully considered, reeks of a lack of seriousness.
I need to do better on all of these points.
When the screen was secure, Uncle Oren gave me the screwdriver and told me to put it back in the toolbox and “latch her up.” I did, but I was puzzled. I asked him why he’d lugged Fazza’s toolbox all the way around the
house, if all he’d needed was that one screwdriver. He could have carried a screwdriver in the back pocket of his khakis. “Yeah, but Stevie,” he said, bending to grasp the handles, “I didn’t know what else I might find to do once I got out here, did I? It’s best to have your tools with you. If you don’t, you’re apt to find something you didn’t expect and get discouraged.” I want to suggest that to write to your best abilities, it behooves you to construct your own toolbox and then build up enough muscle so you can carry it with you. Then, instead of looking at a hard job and getting discouraged, you will perhaps seize the correct tool and get immediately to work.
-Stephen King, On Writing
