thank you mr. king

(pic source) 

I just finished "On Writing- A Memoir of the Craft" by Stephen King.  Love, love, loved this book.  I read it in two days and marked it up a shameful amount.  I was really excited when I found out that he had written this book with all his golden nuggets of advice.  


The first half is a memoir of his life- an overview of the things that happened to him that influenced him as he became a writer.  The second half is specifics on writing itself- the mechanic and the evolution of his stories.  And lets be honest... he IS Stephen King!  He knows what he's talking about.  For years now I've gone to author's websites and read everything I can to find things like this.  I am always hopeful that there will be a section 'for writers.'  This was like those sections... on crack.  Everything you need to know, stripped of all of the fluff, brutally honest and crammed with insight.    


I enjoyed this book so much that I want to share the things that were important to me in my writing.  Here are some of the nuggets of advice from Mr. King that had a large impact on me:

• "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others:  read a lot and write a lot."  This is by far the piece of advice that all authors/writers agree on and vehemently advocate.  Mr. King talks about how there is a learning process going on every time you read, and thats why its so important.  You pick up on grammatical lessons, plot structure and good vs. bad dialogue.  You will be a much better writer if you READ.  At the end of his book he give a list of books he's read in the last few years (well, at the time he wrote it) and it is quite extensive.  He says each book influences you and your writing style so it is important to read a lot of different authors and styles.  "Constant reading will put you into a place (a mind-set if you like) where you can write eagerly and without self consciousness.

• You've got to pound the pavement.  You have to actually WRITE.   He talks about how you have to be involved in writing without first waiting for your "muse."  If you spent enough time writing... the muse will come.  "If you don't have time to read, you don't have time (or the tools) to write.  Simple as that."  Stephen King wrote "The Running Man" in one week.  WOW.

•  The writing program he suggests is 4-6 hours a day behind a closed door.  1000- 2000 (increasing as you go from beginner...) words a day, six days a week. 

• NEW COMMITMENT- I am going to try this out.  I promise to write at least 1000 words, 6 days a week, starting TODAY.

• The writing room- He suggests you have a room that you can close the door, leaving all of the distractions outside.  It also programs your brain and your subconscious to know that you are going to write.  You can't leave the writing room until you have hit your goal.

• Tell the truth and be true to your characters.  Your stories should be CHARACTER driven, not PLOT driven.  "Plot is, I think, the good writer's last resort and the dullard's first choice."  This was a very interesting piece of advice to me because I HATE HATE HATE the story-boarding part of writing.  But I hate REWRITING even more than story-boarding, which is why I get stuck sometimes trying to figure out what to do next.  He suggests that if you just let your characters take over, they will lead you in the most true direction the book could go.   I loved this part:  "...If you do your job, your characters will come to life and start doing things on their own.  I know that sounds a little creepy if you haven't actually experienced it, but its terrific fun when it happens.  And it will solve a lot of your problems, believe me."  I have had that happen, and he's write- that's the BEST part of writing.  Because then your characters are REAL.  I have gone back and forth between writing like that and trying to figure out endings.  He says that most of the time he doesn't know how things are going to end up.  He has 'hoped' something will turn out one way, but it may or may be the way it ends... and its up to the characters, not him.

• NEW COMMITMENT -  Character driven.  Ok, Im going to go with it and see what happens.  I need to let the characters just BE themselves and see where it takes me.  

• First draft should be completed behind a closed door and without any help from anyone else.  He says when you are wanting to share it with someone, to resist that impulse and to keep the pressure on.  The hope of success and the fear of failure will drive you forward.  

Basically, if you are writing anything... go get a copy of this book.  The suggestions in ON Writing are fantastic.  I really couldn't put it down.  I love that someone as accomplished and famous as Stephen King took the time to write a book about how he does what he does.  To people like me, eager to learn and just starting out, the advice was invaluable.   It's a pretty amazing thing that something he wrote back in 1999 can have such a heavy influence on me, in 2010.  And there we have the magic of writing... thank you Mr. King.