I enjoyed reading this book. Even though my experience of King has been limited to the movie adaptation of his books, one audio tape and his writing on entertainment weekly, I feel like I've known him for a long time.
He is a great storyteller and speaking about writing doesn't change his easiness and connectivity.
The book tough me a big deal about writing and the craft. But it also helped me understand talent, hardwork, process and storytelling.
Stephen King writes for the average men, the middle class, he says. And that makes his thoughts on writing direct and heartfelt. But in the process of exploring his mind and his life, he made me think about the value of writing. Putting pen to the paper and just getting it done. Because it is the only way, he says, that one can learn to write, to let out the talent and the only way it can be sharpened.
writers never ask each other where we get our ideas. We know we don't know.
I'm smiling while I write this because as a creative, I know the process to get there and I know what inspires the idea, but I have no clue as to the where they come from.
writers don't understand what they do, why it works when is good and why it doesn't when it's bad.
This is a common confession made by writers, creatives, screenwriters and any body whose job is to create for a living. The magic happens unexpectedly, but you need to be prepare to identify it the moment it happens.
The equipment comes with the original package.
All people have at least some talent, and those talents can be sharpened. I believe, or I need to believe that this is true. It makes me think about two recent reads, the one about 10,000 hours of practice from M.Gladwell and this one, and how I became a better soccer player by sharpening some talent that I had given to me. And how, without really knowing it, or planning it, I played more soccer during 3 years than any other kid in my circle, and that made me really stand out within that period of time, ahead of many other players.
Good ideas come from nowhere. Two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new.
I believe this to be a great definition of creativity and the creative job. To know this is to pay attention to the world around us and recognize the patterns.
The better we look we more connections we find, the bigger the possibilities of creating something new.
(When you are young) Optimism is a perfectly legitimate response to failure
I was disgusted with myself for not seeing the outcome in advanced.
I relate to this feeling. I really eat myself up when I make a mistake, overall when is a mistake I could have avoided. I always try to see all the possibilities and I tortured myself for not seeing obvious things. Knowing that S.King feels the same way made understand him better.
When talking about a teacher he had, he says: ... she didn't want to be your inspiration. And it made me think: if you don't want to inspire people as a teacher, what is your purpose?
writing advice #1 when you write a story, you're telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story. Write with the door close, rewrite with the door open.
writing advice #2 the writer's original perception of the characters may be as erroneous as the reader's.
Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.
Inside the writer's toolbox.
vocabulary. don't change it. don't dress it up.
grammar. unless you are certain of doing well, follow the rules. (avoid passive tense, adverbs are not your friend)
the elements of style.
writing advice #3 read a lot and write a lot. there is no shortcut.
we also read to measure ourselves against the good and the great, to get a sense of all that can be done.
I've always felt that watching soccer, reading, watching movies and commercials allowed me to "get a sense" of what can be done. I think I am constantly using them as references with other people precisely because they represent possibilities. An open door that until that isntant remained hidden to me.
writing advice #4 your job is to make sure your muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon.
an insight? when readers hear strong echoes of his, hers own life and beliefs, he will become invested in the story.
write what you like and blend in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex and work.
writing lesson #5 in my view stories consist of three parts: narration, which moves the story from A to B and finally to Z.
Description, which creates a sensory reality for the reader and
dialogue, which brings characters to life through their speech.
the plot is nowhere. mainly because our lives are plotless. and second because plotting and spontaneity of creation are not compatible.
Stories make themselves, and the job of the writer is to give them a place to grow.
the situation comes first , the characters come next, once they are fixed in my mind, I start to narrate.
Description begins with the visualization of what is you want the reader to experience. Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's.
Description usually consist of a few well chosen details that will stand for everything else.
writing lesson #6 Practice never makes you perfect. say what you see and get on with your story.
writing lesson #7 the key to writing good dialogue is honesty.
building characters comes down to two things: paying attention to how real people behave and then telling the truth about what you see.
in real life everybody is the main character.
good fiction starts with story and progresses to theme.
kill your darlings. let go of your favorite parts, characters, etc...
writing is magic, as much the water of life is as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. This advise is especially significant today for me. There are so many things that one can do just with the power of his own mind and will. So much that can be created. As he says: the water is free, drink! start something, get it done. Repeat.
This book has come at a very relevant time for me, as a writer and as a creative. What King shares are the craft and the pains of writing, of creating, of the commitments we have with our talents, the characters we create and the people we create for. Writing plays a double purpose; one for us, as creators to use our imagination as a release valve. But the second purpose is to give to others the magic of our creation.
I'll look for unrelated ideas that will become a story... with dimensional characters, no adverbs, a good pace and strong descriptions of what I see, and all these will turn into a great a theme that many people will read and enjoy.
I'll drink the water.
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