I couldn't agree more with this. Stephen King is one of my favorite writers and I've always loved his style. Being from Maine, I didn't get to see anything big coming from there in the news or in movies, but King always writes the most delightful (and sometimes scary) things that are set in Maine. I try and will continue to try my best to follow his advice
This was a good read on learning how Stephen King made himself one of the most well-known writers by having these rules in mind. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” I do believe in this rule as every book has a story to tell, lesson to teach. If we read a lot, we soon will be able to define which a bad book is, and which is good by analyzing the style, narration, plot development, and many more elements that create a fascinating story. More importantly, by reading a lot will create a bridge from our knowledge to our writing, and it only gets strengthened.
These tips really are quite helpful for not only writers but to most creative professionals. My favorite tip by far (I think applies to all aspects of life.) 20. Writing is about getting happy. “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. Writing is magic, as much as the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.”
I loved the simplicity of his two secrets listed at #11, but many people could not do the same. The 20 rules really gave me an idea of just being yourself and then worry about everything else. Awesome theories!
Awesome rules. I think one of the biggest things that many people have a problem with is rule #13. So many people think that they can multitask effectively, but it is not true. It has been proven many times that when you simply eliminate distractions and focus on one thing at a time that much more gets done at a much higher level. I also love rule #11, "stay physically healthy and stay married," and rule #20, "writing is about getting happy, not about money or anything else."
I agree to some extent with writing for yourself. However, if you're writing for yourself, then you wouldn't be trying to publish it. I think it's awesome that he pretty says that if you don't have time to read your shit, then you don't have time to write your shit. Being a divorced, military veteran, I'm not going to agree with his two secrets of success; I'm just going to leave it at that. You should definitely take a step back once in awhile and get away from your work to reset yourself. If you keep drowning yourself in the same thing for too long, they all mush together, and you'll never really see much wrong with it or get frustrated on how to fix any problems. Also, I don't know what King is talking about; I write to be rich and famous. :)
I found this rule, 7. Read, read, read. ”If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” the most important. Because to learn how to do something we learn by example. And the much more exposure you have to well written things the better writer you become. It is like osmosis, you absorb what you read and employ it in your own works.
Compared to Kerouac's rules on spontaneous pose, I find King's rules on writing to be much, much better. While browsing through, I found myself agreeing with a great deal of what he had to say. Such as needing to read to develop the proper tools to write; setting it down for a time to see it with a new set of eyes; and of course, kill your darlings.
I kind of like that Stephen King has a practical approach to writing. He listed some things about limiting distractions to help focus on writing. I strongly agree with rules 6 and 7. He said "I'm convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing" and "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write." I think a lot of us say we're bad writers (when we haven't even tried) because we're afraid of failure. And I think reading does help us to become better writers because we're looking at examples of what other people have wrote and we can always learn from that.
i couldnt agree more with what he was saying. After writing the Kerouac paper, i felt so much better and i still feel happy. i was able to put myself on paper and not have to worry about being judged or criticized for it.
Really cool advice! I really like those things listed there, several I had never even thought about before. Then Again I do not read or write much. I really do like what he said about the opening sentence, but I always give the writer at least a paragraph to grab me.
I like King's writing style. I seems a little Koureac has found its way into King's writing points. But all in all he has a very simple approach to writing, very straight forward. I tend to write like King's points, and now I have a little more insight.
I like it; it is straight to the point. It is short, it is simple, it states facts, everything sounds strong and it also makes you feel as if writing was easy (which it is not for me).
While I'm not a fan of Stephen King, I found his list interesting and insightful. His rules to succeed as a writer are mostly founded in common sense, but a few of them make the "blank canvas" that comes with any form of art, less intimidating.
I really enjoyed going through these. Having always wanted to write my own stuff ive never really known how to start or had much of a process to begin with. I will be using these tips for the future, present, whenever I get around to writing.
Inspiration. I needed this. His 20 rules are almost the same exact way I live my life! in other words, BE YOU! Go to the beat of your own drum because when you do, that is when your stuff gets done to the best of YOUR ability. YES YES YES!!
A lot of these rules are really good and dont just apply to writing. Like setting a time limit in order to do something or doing something for yourself and not other people.
For the most part he talks about worry more about story-telling flow than grammar and being able to write freely which seems like something Kerouac would have supported. So pretty much once you understand the foundations of Kerouac's writing style you get the gist of it, all except for #11... Not all great writers have a happy family and/or a healthy lifestyle. (i.e. Kerouac, Sylvia Plath, etc.)
It's funny to read the comments on this article to see so many people go against Stephen King's theory. The one that stuck to me the most was "write to yourself not to the audience." The essence of King's words couldn't have been so true. In other words, I find amateur writers or even screenwriters in this matter worrying so much on whether if they like it or not. Whether YOU like it should come first, target audience can come later.
I totally agree to write for yourself first, then worry about everyone else like your audience. Also for me I always worry about grammar and spelling so it is hard to break out of that habit, but it's interesting that he says to not worry about it. I love reading, so that is easy for me, and I actually feel like that has helped me to be a better writer, especially spell better and makes you feel better about yourself and your intelligence. I am a little surprised that he says that your first draft of a book should only take 3 months, that seems awfully quick, but I guess by going off of his other tips like writing for yourself and don't worry about grammar as much would make it easy to breeze through your first draft in 3 months.
I agree in what King said, everything he said was very useful. It gives me uplifting feel about writing. Maybe I should change my major and become one, SIKE! But well said, Mr. King!
I agree in what King said, everything he said was very useful. It gives me uplifting feel about writing. Maybe I should change my major and become one, SIKE! But well said, Mr. King!
Stab them with your opening line. Strangle the adverbs. Kill your darlings. Stuff the research in the trunk. Bludgeon the boring parts. Decapitate distractions. Smash your T.V. Drown your phone in acid. Don't stalk perfect grammar and poison the timid lover. All valid advice from the master of murder, and a KING of writing.
I have admiration for him. Deep and profound. Gonna go read more of his books now.
What an inspirational guy King is! I'm not much of a writer, but his guidelines make so much sense. His tidbit on distractions was spot on; I couldn't agree more. This follows true with myself. I get so much more done in a quiet empty room than in a room full of TV noise and music playing in the background. I loved his last rule, "Writing is about getting happy." It shouldn't be about the money; don't let that be a driving force. If you have a passion for something, do it because you love it! Great advice from a very wise man!
I actually read a good portion of On Writing way back in the day as I wanted to learn more about Steen King and how he gets his inspirations. Really good read, amusing at times, but a lot of the little things he mentioned have stayed with me. Unfortunately, like everything else I ever started, my life got in the way and I never finished it.
In my opinion, King seems to be restating common logic, or more likely reassuring logic, in order to make the writing experience and action more effective. Eliminating distractions, reading material, taking breaks; we've all heard these tips before from someone before, but they are honestly the only tips that must be remembered constantly.
This was cool because this can come in handy when writing my story's not just for this class. It's a good check list to have or just do some of the rules.
Every writer has their bag a tricks that they use to help influence writing. I think what works for him will probably not work for me because it does not fit my writing style or how I approach a writing assignment.
This caught my attention at the beginning, and I stuck reading it without much difficulty. It was an easy read and an interesting read. I think every writer has their own style of writing, but everyone should stick to some of the basic rules such as no TV or phone. Definitely Take a break, weather you are writing something, or even any other projects you might face. It is always good to take a small break and come back so it is fresh again. I think its funny how Rules 3 and 4 are both "Don't Use Adverbs" Which shows how important he believes this is. I enjoyed this read and it is an eye opener. It helps me put that into terms such as homework, because a lot of times I can get distracted easily just because I have distractions in the room somewhere.
I agree with everything King said in this. What I enjoyed most of all was that King said that writing is only for you and not others. Its to tell yourself a story and make yourself happy. It makes a story much more intimate.
This is excellent advice. I found that its true having some of the anxieties and hesitations in writing, trying to appeal to so and so, or fit a certain style are best left forgotten. I loved the comment about the reader, how we appeal so much to the invisible reader, we often lose a bit of what we intended to write in the first place.
Comment by Travis Mossbarger Writing is suppose to be happy is such a key thing, cause you will get the best out of your thoughts. This is some really good advice to look at writing and what to do while writing.
It's so hard not to use adverbs to write such interesting stories but i do see his point in why not to. It's just I enjoy it so much. Especially with Steven King talking about not worrying about grammar, i see that it is important to free write to avoid readers block when writing and than going back and correcting typos after you finish. that is how i go about it.
The points he makes are very interesting coming from someone who doesn't write often its very interesting to know certain words you should avoid like "he said" "she said" and "kill your darlings" makes a lot of sense because if we don't we get stuck with one idea and can't let it go.
I couldn't agree more with this. Stephen King is one of my favorite writers and I've always loved his style. Being from Maine, I didn't get to see anything big coming from there in the news or in movies, but King always writes the most delightful (and sometimes scary) things that are set in Maine. I try and will continue to try my best to follow his advice
ReplyDelete-Codey Robinson
This was a good read on learning how Stephen King made himself one of the most well-known writers by having these rules in mind. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” I do believe in this rule as every book has a story to tell, lesson to teach. If we read a lot, we soon will be able to define which a bad book is, and which is good by analyzing the style, narration, plot development, and many more elements that create a fascinating story. More importantly, by reading a lot will create a bridge from our knowledge to our writing, and it only gets strengthened.
ReplyDeleteThese tips really are quite helpful for not only writers but to most creative professionals. My favorite tip by far (I think applies to all aspects of life.) 20. Writing is about getting happy. “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. Writing is magic, as much as the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.”
ReplyDeleteHuh... Looks very useful! Might use it sometime...
ReplyDeleteI loved the simplicity of his two secrets listed at #11, but many people could not do the same. The 20 rules really gave me an idea of just being yourself and then worry about everything else. Awesome theories!
ReplyDeleteAwesome rules. I think one of the biggest things that many people have a problem with is rule #13. So many people think that they can multitask effectively, but it is not true. It has been proven many times that when you simply eliminate distractions and focus on one thing at a time that much more gets done at a much higher level. I also love rule #11, "stay physically healthy and stay married," and rule #20, "writing is about getting happy, not about money or anything else."
ReplyDeleteI agree to some extent with writing for yourself. However, if you're writing for yourself, then you wouldn't be trying to publish it. I think it's awesome that he pretty says that if you don't have time to read your shit, then you don't have time to write your shit. Being a divorced, military veteran, I'm not going to agree with his two secrets of success; I'm just going to leave it at that. You should definitely take a step back once in awhile and get away from your work to reset yourself. If you keep drowning yourself in the same thing for too long, they all mush together, and you'll never really see much wrong with it or get frustrated on how to fix any problems. Also, I don't know what King is talking about; I write to be rich and famous. :)
ReplyDeleteI found this rule, 7. Read, read, read. ”If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” the most important. Because to learn how to do something we learn by example. And the much more exposure you have to well written things the better writer you become. It is like osmosis, you absorb what you read and employ it in your own works.
ReplyDeleteCompared to Kerouac's rules on spontaneous pose, I find King's rules on writing to be much, much better. While browsing through, I found myself agreeing with a great deal of what he had to say. Such as needing to read to develop the proper tools to write; setting it down for a time to see it with a new set of eyes; and of course, kill your darlings.
ReplyDeleteI believe #20 should be number uno.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like that Stephen King has a practical approach to writing. He listed some things about limiting distractions to help focus on writing. I strongly agree with rules 6 and 7. He said "I'm convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing" and "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write." I think a lot of us say we're bad writers (when we haven't even tried) because we're afraid of failure. And I think reading does help us to become better writers because we're looking at examples of what other people have wrote and we can always learn from that.
ReplyDeletei couldnt agree more with what he was saying. After writing the Kerouac paper, i felt so much better and i still feel happy. i was able to put myself on paper and not have to worry about being judged or criticized for it.
ReplyDeleteReally cool advice! I really like those things listed there, several I had never even thought about before. Then Again I do not read or write much. I really do like what he said about the opening sentence, but I always give the writer at least a paragraph to grab me.
ReplyDeleteI like King's writing style. I seems a little Koureac has found its way into King's writing points. But all in all he has a very simple approach to writing, very straight forward. I tend to write like King's points, and now I have a little more insight.
ReplyDeleteI like it; it is straight to the point. It is short, it is simple, it states facts, everything sounds strong and it also makes you feel as if writing was easy (which it is not for me).
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not a fan of Stephen King, I found his list interesting and insightful. His rules to succeed as a writer are mostly founded in common sense, but a few of them make the "blank canvas" that comes with any form of art, less intimidating.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed going through these. Having always wanted to write my own stuff ive never really known how to start or had much of a process to begin with. I will be using these tips for the future, present, whenever I get around to writing.
ReplyDeleteInspiration. I needed this. His 20 rules are almost the same exact way I live my life! in other words, BE YOU! Go to the beat of your own drum because when you do, that is when your stuff gets done to the best of YOUR ability. YES YES YES!!
ReplyDeleteA lot of these rules are really good and dont just apply to writing. Like setting a time limit in order to do something or doing something for yourself and not other people.
ReplyDeleteThat was a really interesting idea. I think this will improve my writing skills.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part he talks about worry more about story-telling flow than grammar and being able to write freely which seems like something Kerouac would have supported. So pretty much once you understand the foundations of Kerouac's writing style you get the gist of it, all except for #11... Not all great writers have a happy family and/or a healthy lifestyle. (i.e. Kerouac, Sylvia Plath, etc.)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny to read the comments on this article to see so many people go against Stephen King's theory. The one that stuck to me the most was "write to yourself not to the audience." The essence of King's words couldn't have been so true. In other words, I find amateur writers or even screenwriters in this matter worrying so much on whether if they like it or not. Whether YOU like it should come first, target audience can come later.
ReplyDeleteIts like little tips. As a writer I agree with King, your writing is for you. Otherwise you're just a sell out.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree to write for yourself first, then worry about everyone else like your audience. Also for me I always worry about grammar and spelling so it is hard to break out of that habit, but it's interesting that he says to not worry about it. I love reading, so that is easy for me, and I actually feel like that has helped me to be a better writer, especially spell better and makes you feel better about yourself and your intelligence. I am a little surprised that he says that your first draft of a book should only take 3 months, that seems awfully quick, but I guess by going off of his other tips like writing for yourself and don't worry about grammar as much would make it easy to breeze through your first draft in 3 months.
ReplyDeleteI agree in what King said, everything he said was very useful. It gives me uplifting feel about writing. Maybe I should change my major and become one, SIKE! But well said, Mr. King!
ReplyDeleteI agree in what King said, everything he said was very useful. It gives me uplifting feel about writing. Maybe I should change my major and become one, SIKE! But well said, Mr. King!
ReplyDeleteStab them with your opening line. Strangle the adverbs. Kill your darlings. Stuff the research in the trunk. Bludgeon the boring parts. Decapitate distractions. Smash your T.V. Drown your phone in acid. Don't stalk perfect grammar and poison the timid lover. All valid advice from the master of murder, and a KING of writing.
ReplyDeleteI have admiration for him. Deep and profound. Gonna go read more of his books now.
What an inspirational guy King is! I'm not much of a writer, but his guidelines make so much sense. His tidbit on distractions was spot on; I couldn't agree more. This follows true with myself. I get so much more done in a quiet empty room than in a room full of TV noise and music playing in the background. I loved his last rule, "Writing is about getting happy." It shouldn't be about the money; don't let that be a driving force. If you have a passion for something, do it because you love it! Great advice from a very wise man!
ReplyDeleteI actually read a good portion of On Writing way back in the day as I wanted to learn more about Steen King and how he gets his inspirations. Really good read, amusing at times, but a lot of the little things he mentioned have stayed with me. Unfortunately, like everything else I ever started, my life got in the way and I never finished it.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, King seems to be restating common logic, or more likely reassuring logic, in order to make the writing experience and action more effective. Eliminating distractions, reading material, taking breaks; we've all heard these tips before from someone before, but they are honestly the only tips that must be remembered constantly.
ReplyDeleteThis was cool because this can come in handy when writing my story's not just for this class. It's a good check list to have or just do some of the rules.
ReplyDeleteEvery writer has their bag a tricks that they use to help influence writing. I think what works for him will probably not work for me because it does not fit my writing style or how I approach a writing assignment.
ReplyDeleteThis caught my attention at the beginning, and I stuck reading it without much difficulty. It was an easy read and an interesting read. I think every writer has their own style of writing, but everyone should stick to some of the basic rules such as no TV or phone. Definitely Take a break, weather you are writing something, or even any other projects you might face. It is always good to take a small break and come back so it is fresh again. I think its funny how Rules 3 and 4 are both "Don't Use Adverbs" Which shows how important he believes this is. I enjoyed this read and it is an eye opener. It helps me put that into terms such as homework, because a lot of times I can get distracted easily just because I have distractions in the room somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything King said in this. What I enjoyed most of all was that King said that writing is only for you and not others. Its to tell yourself a story and make yourself happy. It makes a story much more intimate.
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent advice. I found that its true having some of the anxieties and hesitations in writing, trying to appeal to so and so, or fit a certain style are best left forgotten. I loved the comment about the reader, how we appeal so much to the invisible reader, we often lose a bit of what we intended to write in the first place.
ReplyDeleteComment by Travis Mossbarger
ReplyDeleteWriting is suppose to be happy is such a key thing, cause you will get the best out of your thoughts. This is some really good advice to look at writing and what to do while writing.
It's so hard not to use adverbs to write such interesting stories but i do see his point in why not to. It's just I enjoy it so much. Especially with Steven King talking about not worrying about grammar, i see that it is important to free write to avoid readers block when writing and than going back and correcting typos after you finish. that is how i go about it.
ReplyDeleteThe points he makes are very interesting coming from someone who doesn't write often its very interesting to know certain words you should avoid like "he said" "she said" and "kill your darlings" makes a lot of sense because if we don't we get stuck with one idea and can't let it go.
ReplyDelete