Stephen King Writing Advice You Might Not Have Heard

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Stephen King has given us plenty of writerly advice over his decades in the public eye. So much so that some of the tips just don't get as much attention as they should. I've found a few of those tips and I think we can use them to make our stories better.

OTHER WRITERS:

As usual, I've chosen some interesting writing tips from famous authors and given you my opinion on them, let me know if you agree with me, Stephen King, or neither of us!

Whatever kind of stories you write, I think it's useful to look at other writers and see what we can learn from them.

Some of the most useful advice about writing I've ever come across was from famous writers I hadn't read beforehand.

Let me know what you make of Stephen King's tips in the comments!

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[KierenWestwoodWriting]

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[memofromessex]

The best advice I heard recently is that your first draft is the sandpit, you keep filling it with sand (ideas) so the next draft you can properly start shaping it into a sand castle.

[tdd]

I love the point to focus on finishing. You can fix a lot of things in revision. Or file it as a learning experience. But finishing is the primary goal.

[hlt]

I have 35 published novels, have been both an editor and a literary agent, and still learned a great deal from your video. Thank you for thought provoking content on subjects that usually aren't touched upon in writing advice.

[tdd]

To your first point. Many many many famous writers write rather slowly. They simply persevere.

[malinheleneanderberg]

Perseverance is not easy. When despair sets in. Watch inspirational vids. Take a break and visit a place, any place where you can sit and just jut down a description of the place or feeling, mood. Go for a run/walk. Pamper yourself. Clean the cave. Organize notes the way you like them. Write a political pamphlet for your protagonist or list of their favourite jokes. Get to know their enemies or collaborators better by doing the same things for them. Sign up for a course in writing dialogue. Read a script from a radio drama of old. Ask people on forums how they would react to a situation or action you are struggling with. I haven't finished my books but am quite happy in my landscape where I visit knowledge and improvement like they were quests. Ecology (dependence, interaction, space) not a single well paved road to success. Writing together. I would love to try ping pong writing with a complete stranger. They give me their char description and I will be that char for them and then they for me. Just for fun and learning.

[B.matrix]

Reading Project Ventus now and have noticed how perfect the description is. Just enough and always with purpose. I aspire to do the same in my own writing.

[dantespimp]

I'm an artist, so I'm a visual-oriented person. I've discovered that, when I write, I'm basically describing what I see in my head. My goal is to basically transfer what I see to my readers while leaving enough room for participation/interpretation. I enjoy descriptive writing since I grew up enjoying Nathaniel Hawthorne's work - full of wonderful dream-like imagery and metaphors. Still, I also know TOO much description kills the pace. There's nothing more intimidating for a reader than seeing massive blocks of text, so I try to balance things out.

In the end, the writer has to decide on their personal end-goal. Inviting readers into the story requires the writer to be mindful of how they present their work - to make the reading process easy on the reader. On the other hand, the writer's end-goal may be to challenge their readers, in which case, they may not care about breaking up paragraphs often or having massive run-on sentences.

[wimleybuckets]

That second bit of advice... I'm an artist, too. And one thing I do in editing is shrink the window down to where it's not even readable. The text is just lines. And I eye things up to make sure there aren't any walls of text, or (less often) too much white space where the dialogue goes on uninterrupted for too long. If either extreme is present--the way I write, it's probably an issue. The story is either being bogged down by narration, or coming off the rails with nebulousness.

[zkins]

Pure gold, pleased i found you. I was thinking of tossing my story that i have spent years working on. You've given me a new hope to continue. Thanks

[JonSolo]

This is so great, thank you for talking through this. I definitely feel encouraged to keep writing.
On the subject of “being boring”; I’m a tabletop role-player and I heard some advice from Graham Walmsley, about not trying to “be clever” in your creative suggestions, but rather, sometimes suggesting the thing that is most obvious to you, will not in fact be obvious to others, because we all have different perspectives. So don’t be afraid to say the obvious thing happens.

[NotSoAlarmed]

Needed to find this. Writing the 1st draft was fun. 92, 000 words. Editing the 2nd draft is hardwork, especially as a new writer. Videos like this are helping me to keep going.

[juliepettigrew]

Thank you, Kieren. Content is concise and useful (as always).
Congrats on such great sponsorship 🎉

[JaRyCu]

That subtle repeat of your affiliate code at 11:!5 caught me so off guard I actually spit out the bite of lunch I was eating while watching this. Well done Kieran! LOLOL

[tattoodude]

I've only read a few King books and I would not call myself a fan of his books. What I would say I am a fan of is his philosophies about writing, and I have found that he and I share a similar writing style / approach. My editor (who quit after only doing five chapters of the third book of my trilogy and still being three months behind schedule!!! - Sorry - Still recovering) was constantly worried about the theme and plot and structure - and yes, these things are very important - but her thinking was so rigid and that we just butt heads at times. It also didn't help that she took longer to edit a book than it took me to write it in the first place and then would make up her own scenarios within my world, then ask me about them - at which point I would have to ask what the heck she was talking about because those things did not happen in my story! Sorry again - like I said, still recovering...
I am a character driven writer, so my favorite quote form King is, "I always felt that plot was the last resort for bad writers. I'm much more interested is character and situation than plot." That resonates deep with me. I create deep characters and then put them in situations and worlds, then sit back and see what happens - gently guiding them where the story needs to go while still allowing them the freedom to tell ME the story. This does not work for everyone. Many have to plan and plot and diagram and outline. If that works for you - great. I remember King talking about a fellow author (can't remember who at this moment) who writes his ending first and then goes back and builds the story to that climax. King seemed just as baffled by that method as I am - but if that works for you, do that. There are no rules, as long as the end product is a compelling story.

[schlumbl]

I have the feeling that many writers use too much of their head when writing. Doing it from a place of FEEL AND PASSION is way more important than being overly correct and perfect. Ive read pretty much every King story and, yes, he can be boring at times, but you feel that his work comes from the heart and its always passionate.
Ive seen many writing advice videos now and there are way too many authors who have a way too intellectual approach on that subject matter. I myself never do that. I just want to write the stories my imagination comes up with. I dont even give a monkey's about plotting. The story tells itself through the eyes of my characters. Its a pantser thing. And I really enjoy King's advices about writing, since he is one of the best pantsers out there and why his stories have a very character-driven style.

[ggmagnusssx]

The problem with Stephen king advice that it’s 90% it’s directed to genre books and not “drama”fiction but this list was pretty good!

[steaminghottake]

Nice work. On Writing has been a book I dip back into all the time. I loved his idea that writing and reading is the closet thing we have to telepathy.

[leehunts]

I think the first advice is the one that resonates with me most. I have start drafting in order to brainstorm, so those first chapters are always the hardest. I'm often writing right up to the end of my outline. But it gets easier, the deeper into the story I get, with a complete outline emerging within the first third. And then I can edit those first chapters in the context of the whole story in the second draft. Just push through, even if it feels off kilter.

[quantumindicesfuturestrade]

He's amazing. It's not easy. I don't know if it's talent as much as it's perseverance and taking the journey. The mind is more powerful than you think. I'm 67 and sitting down to write those old scripts of mine I put in a drawer long ago. It was lack of patience, perseverance and ideas. Or so I thought.