On Writing by Stephen King

  • Some levels in your writing toolbox:
    • Vocabulary - use the first word that comes to mind (not a more complicated one)
    • Grammar - if you don’t know, it’s too late. “Grammar is not just a pain in the ass, it’s the pole you grab to get your thoughts up on their feed and walking”
    • Do not use the passive voice, and “the road to hell is paved with adverbs”
    • Paragraphs are almost as important for how they look as what they say: they are maps of intent
  • If you want to be a writer, you must read a lot and write a lot
  • We read to:
    • see the band and know what we shouldn’t do
    • See the good and measure ourselves against the great
    • See different styles
  • **Write 1000 words a day 6 days a week
  • Write only for yourself and the Ideal Person (your first reader) who will read it first
    • Write with the door closed
  • “One of the things marriage is about is casting the tie breaking vote when you just can’t decide what to do next (example of how his wife helped him get back into writing after his accident)
  • "Writing is the water of life, so doing, drink and be filled up"