Advice from Stephen King You Might not Have Heard Before by Warren Bull

Advice from Stephen King You Might not Have Heard Before by Warren Bull

Image from Joseph J Cotton on Upsplash

Of course, Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft should be in every writer’s library. His advice is as practical as it is memorable. For example:

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. When you find something at which you have talent, you do that thing (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes pop out of your head.”—On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

But there are other ways to learn about writing from the master storyteller. One of them is to read his fiction and search for the gems about reading and therefore about writing that he scatters throughout. 

“There are books full of great writing that don’t have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story…don’t be like the book-snobs who won’t do that. Read sometimes for the words—the language. Don’t be like the play-it-safers who won’t do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book.”—Hearts in Atlantis

Take chances as a writer.

“For readers, one of life’s most electrifying discoveries is that they are readers—not just capable of doing it, but in love with it. Hopelessly. Head over heels.”—Finders Keepers

Write from joy.

“A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger.”—Skeleton Crew

Different type of writing requite different skills.

“Come to a book as you would come to an unexplored land. Come without a map. Explore it, and draw your own map…A book is like a pump. It gives nothing unless first you give to it. ”—Hearts in Atlantis

Give your imagination a chance to lead.

“When a long book succeeds, the writer and reader are not just having an affair; they are married.”—The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

Write from love.

“Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not. Time takes it all, bears it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again.”—The Green Mile

Don’t wait for inspiration. The only time to write is now.

“No great thing is created suddenly.”—Doctor Sleep

It takes as long as it takes. Good writing cannot be hurried.

“The most important things are the hardest things to say.”—The Body

Writing is rewriting.

“It ain’t the blows we’re dealt that matter. It’s the ones we survive.” — Rose Madder

A writer writes. Persistence outperforms talent in the long run.

Whose writing have you learned from?