How to write like a king ~ Stephen King ~ get rid of the TV

I’m listening to Stephen King’s book “On writing” as he narrates it on Audible.

Mr. King is a fantastic storyteller and as everyone knows one of the greatest novelists of our time.

I’m enjoying this book with its hilarious stories and outrageous predicaments he gets himself into as a kid.

What stands out to me so far is this:

He didn’t watch TV as a young child.

He attributes, at least in part, his writing skills to his family not owning a TV until he was 10 or 11 years old. King was free to use his imagination and to be creative.

He thinks we’d do ourselves a lot of good if we pulled the television off the wall, saw sparks fly, then turn the thing into a science experiment instead. “Just a thought,” he says.

I’m only a quarter finished with “On Writing” so this is the biggest takeaway for me so far.

Many kids (and adults) wake up, turn on the boob tube, then eat their cereal in front of it like zombies. What about reading a book during breakfast? Or writing what we can remember of our dreams the previous night? Why not do something creative? Or at least move our bodies and stretch a bit?

I’m thinking about this for my own family as well. My kids roll out of bed, eat, then play 15 minutes of video games. Would they be better off doing something I mentioned above? Maybe? Probably?

On the other hand, I understand that my kids want to wake up slowly, play a fun game on the big screen, then get ready for the day.

Hmmm. I’m mulling this over.