Seven Writing Tips from Stephen King

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

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Daniel Scocco on October 19, 2007 | Filed Under Writing Basics

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9 Responses to “Seven Writing Tips from Stephen King”

60 in 3 on October 19th, 2007 4:08 pm

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
Courtney TURTLE on October 19th, 2007 6:01 pm

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.
rosa on October 21st, 2007 4:42 am

I never even knew that he had a book on writing. i have to go check this out. Thanks for the tips.
jpoyer on October 22nd, 2007 2:54 am

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.
Luthubia abdul cader on October 28th, 2007 9:00 pm

hi
i wand a help about, how to put the proposition.
John de Santo on November 16th, 2007 12:49 am

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.
sapna on February 18th, 2008 7:37 am

I like to learn reading and writing