You probably know Stephen King from his novels and fiction books. While King might not be as renowned as some other contemporary writers, he does know how to sell books.
The Positivity Blog recently published an article with Seven writing tips coming from Stephen King’s “On Writing.” Here is a quotation from point four:
King has an honest voice in his fiction and in his memoir. He tells it like it is and makes us relate to him and his characters. Since King´s fiction often is of an odd kind with strange plots that seldom happen to normal people I think one of his strengths as a writer is being able to write relatable content anyway.
One of the keys to doing that is to have an honest voice and honest characters with both bad and good sides to them. People we can relate to with all of their faults, passions, fears, weaknesses and good moments. King´s characters seem human. That creates a strong connection to the reader who starts caring about the characters.
Another key to being honest and relatable is keeping a conversational style. Keeping it simple and using language that isn’t unnecessarily complicated. Using the words that first come to mind.
If you are wondering, the seven writing tips are:
- Get to the point
- Write a draft. Then let it rest
- Cut down your text
- Be relatable and honest
- Don´t care too much what others may think
- Read a lot
- Write a lot
If get the chance, King’s book on writing is very worthwhile. Half of it is an autobiography of sorts, specifically about his writing experience, while the other half is a treasure of writing tips. It’s one of the few books about writing that was both interested and useful.
Gal
I suspect the last tip “write a lot” is one of the most important. Especially for new bloggers who are not used to writing 500+ words a day.
I never even knew that he had a book on writing. i have to go check this out. Thanks for the tips.
King is one of my all-time favorite writers. How someone can be creepy and so accessible / approachable at the same time? It’s an enigma but an excellent combination for his work. These are good tips — thanks for posting. I’m going to see if I can apply these to my blog writing – jpoyer.wordpress.com. … my goal is to post once per week, and I find that I do not make time to write and walk away — and then come back. I need to do that more. I think several of my posts could have benefited from that additional step.
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Amazing!
I have been trying hard to be a permanent writer and now on the way to my own destination. By reading this tips I would like to add something more that writing is an art of giving birth of your innerself. It is the art of how you cement yourself in the memory of life. It is heroic act against the power of forgetfullness.
I like to learn reading and writing
do you have a website on how to write a business letter or how to write a summary
do you have a website on how to write a buissness leter or how to write a summary
Those are probably the best, yet most basic writing tips in existence. The fact that they’re said by Stephen King seems to give them extra credibility that they don’t really need to be able to stand on their own, though. Most good writers already know these, but many will look at them after having heard the same advice elsewhere and say “oh, if Stephen King said it, it MUST be true, because he’s a millionaire”.
Selling books doesn’t make you a good writer. It makes you a good storyteller.
I LOVE the story of Dune, by Frank Herbert, but honestly, Frank doesn’t know how to write: his books are a pain to read through, and come off more like anthro-political essays than novels.
I find King doesn’t really stand out in style, but in substance. It is the content of his stories, not their deliveries that make him good.
That said, I’m just a voice on a post, so why pay attention to me?
One little trick I learned from King:
He’ll introduce a song somewhere along the story (a popular one), so now you’ve got the song in the back of your mind while your reading. The song usually fits in well with what’s taking place in the story.
One good example is in his book The Talisman.
Towards the end of the story, he introduces the song “better run through the jungle”, by CCR, as the crew travels across country in a luxury car. The driver is a cool wolfman.
Check it out!
I came across Stephen King’s book quite by accident, while researching what it takes to become a first-time author. It is an excellent read – I covered most of the book on a six-hour train journey – that provides basic but very useful tips from a master storyteller. I highly recommend it.
thanks for all the tips especially the concise ones from king himself.