Here are some awesome snippets from King’s book “On Writing” (I review these every chance I get)
- It’s hard work finding the muse, it’s deep down in there and doesn’t care, but it has a bag of magic that can change my life.
- Writing at its best is ALWAYS inspired play for the writer, not “work.”
- Train my waking mind to sleep creativity and work out the vividly imagined waking dreams which are the stuff of great fiction.
- Book buyers want a good story to take with them on an airplane, one that pulls them in and keeps them turning the pages. This happens when people recognize the characters in the book, the way they walk and talk, their behaviors, echoes of their own lives, etc.
- Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered, pre-existing world. It’s my job to dig it up as unscathed as possible.
- The spark of story ideas are simple, they start out with a moment, putting characters in some sort of predicament.
- Skills in description, dialogue, and character development all boil down to seeing or hearing clearly and then transcribing what I see or hear with concise clarity.
And finally:
- Always, always be honest. Write from the heart.
Comments
True, yes you can spend a lot of time just rearranging the pnceils. And yes, you ought to write anything just write to get things going. But I find that whenever I’m wanting to write, there’s no use in forcing it. You need space, not just physical space although that can often help but you need mind space. I need to have my mind uncluttered of life’s trivia, so ideas can find their way in and not get snarled up. I can write to order if needs be, if there’s a deadline, but something worthwhile needs a combination of mental intensity and expansiveness at the same time.