On Writing by Stephen King

Deepak Shukla’s Notes On On Writing by Stephen King – Notes:

Hey guys,

I finished reading this book on the 10th of January 2021.

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And here are the actual notes I took whilst I was listening to this on Audible:

• Non-specific critiques are useless 100% of the time.
• Research is part of the backstory. Belongs in back
• Long-life stories are best received in bars and only if you are buying.
• Formula is 2nd draft = 1st draft – 10%
• Kill your darlings (ie parts in the story that get in the way of the pace of the story)
• The pace is the speed at which the story develops.
• Think of this person as being in the room with you when you write.
• IR is your old English teacher.
• That person is your ideal reader.
• Who is the one person you write for that you want to wow?
• If several people separately say the same thing, you’ve got a problem and have to do something about it
• Once the draft is finished, show it to 4 people you trust who will critique the book.
• All novels are letters aimed at one person.
• Ultimately, looking for what I meant?
• What I want is resonance.
• I asked myself if this story was coherent. What will turn coherence into a song?
• In 6 weeks’ time, you’ll be able to see the glaring character and plot holes as well.
• Need to be so engrossed in something new that you forget what the old book was about
• Once finished. Take 2 days off ,then start something different for 6 weeks (write 100k words)
• Don’t show anyone your first draft AT ALL.
• But if you write consistently (every day), enthusiasm can outrun your self-doubt if you just focus on putting words to paper.
• Writing fiction, especially long works of fiction, can be a lonely job.
• The book should be a minimum of 100k words.
• 2.5 drafts is how much a book should need to get it right
• Once you have a basic story on paper, it’s your job to ask what it means and then adjust.
• Good fiction almost always begins with the story and then progresses to a theme.
• Novelists have many interests but only a few thematic concerns powerful enough to power a novel.
• What am I writing about? Why am I bothering? What got my nose down to the grindstone anyway
• Thematic thinking is a powerful tool.
• Violence as a solution woven through human history
• Overlogic, or thinking about the curve, is when you have a flash or insight that brings a story together.
• In the 2nd draft, you should figure out what the book is about
• The story is like a fossil you’re trying to unearth; it was always there, anyway. When you dig it u,p see what shape it takes.
• The only story is about the story.
• Symbolism can also be simple, and if you notice it in your store, you should bring it out and make it shine.
• 2nd draft is where you can bring out certain patterns or themes you see more clearly
• Remember. There are no rules; you can do what you want!
• Hemingway said you must kill your darlings, and he was right.

• Sometimes villains feel self-doubt. Sometimes heroes feel pity. Sometimes good guys act badly. Sometimes bad guys act well.
• If you create fiction, every character you write ends up being partly you.
• If I have to tell you something I lose. If I can show you something. I win
• There should be no hero or heroine or bad guy, etc. We are all the stars in our own lives. So each character has colour, life and vibrancy.
• But the book should never be a character study.
• King starts stories situationally but always believes they should end up about people rather than an event.
• One of the cardinal rules in fiction is never to tell us a thing if you can show us instead.
• Practice your art. Your job is to say what you see and then get on with your story.
• Don’t ever use any clichés.
• Open your memory eye.
• The description that’s effective is a case of using a few carefully chosen details and leaving the rest to the imagination of the reader.
• The physical description should be kept broad so the reader can fill in the gaps.
• The description is what makes the reader a sensory participant in the story.
• A strong enough situation renders a plot irrelevant.
• Stories consist of 3 parts.

1. The narration moves the story from point A to point B to point z
2. The description creates a sensory reality for the reader.
3. And dialogue,e which brings characters to life through their speech

• And write about the things you like to read.
• What are you going to write about?
• Listen to white noise when you write.
• The door closed is to keep people out and to keep you in.
• Write 7 days a week, 2,000 words a day.
• The closed door of your writing space is all you need to write your great novels and books.
• A healthy body, a stable relationship, and a quiet workspace are keys to success in writing regularly.
• Stephen King does 2k words per day for 90 days straight.
• Some writers produce books within 2 days.
• Should work on this same book daily and not on any other book
• The 1st draft should never take more than 3 months.
• Stephen King believes that to be a great writer, you must read + write 4-6 hours a day.
• You must read a wide range of genres of books as well as types.
• If you want to be a writer, you must….
• Literary Toolbox: Consider vocabulary – write as you speak
• A farseeing place exists for all writers.
• What writing is: Telepathy
• Put your desk In the corner and every time you sit yourself down to write remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room.
• Sometimes you’re doing good when all it feels like is you’re shovelling shit from a sitting position.
• Sometimes, you have to go on when you don’t feel like it.
• Stopping a piece of work because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea.
• Learned from writing Carrie that the writer’s perception of the main characters may be as erroneous as the readers
• Writing is a lonely job. It’s important to have someone around who believes in you.
• Write first for yourself then write for others.
• First, write with the door closed, and then write with the door open.
• At one stage or another, you will meet people who say your work is shit.
• Recurring motifs in books often come from your childhood memories (it’s called the barrens. We called it the jungle)
• To write is human to edit is divine.
• No writer will take 100% of editors comments.
• The editor is always right.
• Omit needless words