— Notes From Stephen King's "on Writing".

— notes from stephen king's "on writing".

I read Stephen King's "On Writing" (well, listened to it) so you don't have to. Whether you need creative inspiration, want some quick writing advice from the book, or didn't read it for an assignment, here you go.

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These notes are only from the "On Writing" portion of the book which comes after the memoir-heavy portion and a section called "Toolbox" which emphasizes the importance of grammar and knowing your craft. The end also has a section called "On Life" which discusses how he was hospitalized after an accident and writing helped him find him way back to himself. Two essays from his sons (one's an interview transcript) about writing and their life with their father are also featured at the end.

[ 𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 ]

- If you don’t want to work your ass off don’t bother - If you want to be a writer you have to read a lot and write a lot - Reading - "you cannot wish to sweep someone else away by the force if your writing unless it has been done to you" - If you don’t have time to read you don’t have the time or tools to write - Constant reading brings you to a mindset to write more freely, and to know what’s been done before - King talks about 4-6 hours of reading and writing per day - Writing is best when it’s "an inspired plague", writing feeling like work is the kiss of death - King does about 10 pages/2000 words a day - Attributes his success in part to staying active/a healthy body and a healthy relationship - Recommends 1000 words per day as a starting point for writing daily, allowing even one day per week off - Most important part of a writing space is a door to close that says you mean business - You want to get rid of the world around you because you’re creating your own world - Ensure “the muse” knows where you’ll be everyday and when do it will start showing up - He says to not just feel limited to write what you “know”, but what you know includes imagination and feeling too

[ PLOT ]

- King doesn’t plot he believes in giving the story a place to grow - Not just the novels creator but but it’s first reader - The idea of plot wheels when you're stuck, apparently used a lot in the 1920s - Strong situations for writing can be asked as a what if question ( ex what if vampires invaded New York City? ) - An exercise: write 5-6 unplotted pages from a situation - "Description begins in the writers imagination but should be in the readers" - It’s as easy to over describe as it is to under describe - Fresh images, simple vocabulary

[ DIALOUGE ]

- Never tell if you can show us - Dialogue is usually done best by people who like to speak and listen to people (( Don’t love how he just read two slurs out loud in the audiobook version !!?? )) - Talk should be true on the page, no matter ugly or profane, it shows character - If I have to tell you I lose as the writer if you can figure it out yourself I win - If you do your job your characters will come to life and start to do things on their own - Try everything if it works it works if it doesn’t delete it - Hemingway’s “kill your darlings”

[ SYMBOLISM ]

- Symbolism and theme in second draft as things arise … I agree with this I tend to look back and double down on the motifs and patterns that naturally arise in the first draft instead of trying to insert or plan it - Symbolism and the other adornments are bells and whistles, the story is still the most important part

[ THEME ]

- On theme - every book is about something, look at the forest of the book after staring at all the branches closely - Boredom is good for creative jams - Thinking above the curve - Asking yourself what are you writing about/why are you spending the time on this specific story (what’s worth it) - Most writers seem to have the same themes or obsessions in their works.. the same things will likely re-arise throughout your works - Don’t START with theme.. the story idea tends to come first. Once the story is on paper, then ask what it means and work with it

[ REVISION & IDEAL READER ]

- King does 2 drafts and a polish .. rewriting varies by writing - Write the first draft without input from others.. like laying fresh snow without tracks from others yet - When you let someone into the draft don’t let them talk to you about it until you talk to them about it - Take some time off to let your book rest, he suggests about 6 weeks - Waiting makes it feel like someone else’s… it’s easier to kill someone’s else’s darlings rather than your own - Character motivation is something you’ll see better (why did a character do X or Y if it seems they never would, etc) - He focuses on “big questions” (resonance— what’s it all about and how do I make it clearer without spoon feeding it) mostly in the first read through alongside things like glaring spelling errors, needing clarifying sentences in places - Every novel has an ideal reader in the back of their mind - You can’t let the whole world into your story but you can let in the ones that matter most - Envisioning your ideal reader helps you get outside yourself - Nothing wrong with fast paced novels but you do risk losing the reader or wearing them out, despite modern day publishers sometimes encouraging quick pace - Every story should unfold at its own pace--too slow is a risk too - Look back to "ideal reader" and how they would feel reading the book/the pace (ask: is it over/underexplained to them, etc) - Pacing = “just take out the boring parts” -- kill your darlings, even when it breaks your ego - KILL YOUR DARLINGS !!! - Second draft: first draft-10% !! - In general, reader more interested in what’s going to happen than what already happened (re: clunky backstory) - A) everyone has a history, b) most of it isn’t very interesting.. stick to the parts that are - Research should be as far in the background as you can get it -- remember you're writing a novel, not a research paper

[ WRITING CLASSES ]

- I have a lot of my own ideas about these since my degree is in writing, but I agree with some of the points King made that they're beneficial in ways but also put your writing on the spot a bit too much, expose your writing to empty critiques, and can end up giving you some writers block by making you feel you need to write something "important" or within a certain topic, etc.... - You learn the most by writing and reading more... you don't really NEED any writing classes. (My personal favorite part was engaging with other writers) - Intellectually stimulating and fun but often lack the "nuts and bolts" of writing

[ PUBLISHING ]

- Publishers are mostly looking for hot new writers who can write and sell a lot of books - Not all agents are good agents - "The most important thing you can do is read the market" - Get smaller magazines and stories published (being able to supply a list, even short, of reputable publications) - "You cant make them like their story, but you can make it easier for them to try to like it" -- go in looking like a professional, word counts and correct paper and staples and cover letters, etc (small cover letter example in the book) - Being a new writer you need to remember that anyone can publish an ad as a literary agent or claiming to be one

King says a lot of his writing knowledge feels more like instinct .. and he has written because it fulfills him for the buzz and the joy ("if you can do it for the joy, you can do it forever"). "Writing isn't life, but it can be a way back to life".

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The notes are largely unedited because they were originally just for me, but I hope someone gleans something from them!