Stephen King is an American short-story writer and novelists whose books revolve around horror and fiction. Since he is amongst the most read authors worldwide, it would be foolish to not listen to his insights on successful writing.
His memoir, On Writing, provides a great vision towards the author’s journey and mind. You will find him to blunt but in a fatherly way. Additionally, he does not waste your time by talking about unnecessary things, everything that he has written in his memoir is on point and important.
1. Write for yourself first
“When you’re writing a story, you’re telling yourself a story. When you rewrite, you’re taking out all the things that are not the story.”
By this Stephen means that do not let anyone or anything interfere while your first channel and write down your story. Let it come to you on its own without judgment, without even looking through a particular lens. Be objective. Then, when you’ve finished the first draft of any story, it’s time to put on some different glasses and rewrite with an open mind.
2. Write Everyday
“Once I start work on a project, I don’t stop and I don’t slow down unless I absolutely have to. If I don’t write every day, the characters begin to stale off in my mind — they begin to seem like characters instead of real people. The tale’s narrative cutting edge starts to rust and I begin to lose my hold on the story’s plot and pace.”
If you are writing a novel or a story, adding to it every day would ensure that it comes out alive, and not just characters and plot. When you take a hiatus and get back to your writing, you are bound to experience disassociation with your story. You will then have to invest a few days to get back on the track.
3. Do
“The hours we spend talking about writing is the time we don’t spend actually doing it.”
You are a writer because you love writing. That means you enter a different zone while you sit to write. If you procrastinate and postpone your writing, you will miss out of some creative ideas. Take a pledge to write a certain number of words each day. Use wordcounttool.com to keep a track.
4. Read
If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write.”
When you write fiction, you can study the greats. Learn from others. Learn how to describe, build the plot, build a character. Recognize patterns, study the tone of voice and pace. Get inspired and incorporate some aspects into your own work.
5. Setup Good Writing Environment
“Eliminate every possible distraction.”
Your working space should induce creativity in you as soon as you sit there. It should be very comfortable so you can sit there for long hours. Your phone, TV, video games, distracting lights, the family should stay away from your isolated space. Keeping a fixed place is important as it triggers familiarity with the storyline and ideas conceived earlier.
