Good Advice for Writers from Stephen King

For this 900th post on WORDS ON THE LINE, I thought it would be helpful to highlight Stephen King's advice to aspiring writers. The article, "22 Lessons from Stephen King on How to Be a Great Writer," summarizes excerpts of King's best-selling book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, originally published in 2000. While each of the 22 lessons is valuable, I'll stick to the three here that have helped me the most. 

The first point King makes in the article is the most important: Read. This means cutting back on watching television in favor of reading widely and frequently. The focus on widely will expand your knowledge, and the attention to frequently—every day—will make reading as second nature and essential as breathing.

The second tip, expect endless criticism and failure, is an undeniable and inevitable truth. I have heard criticism of the greatest writers in history, and I am sure they heard it too. But the negativity did not stop them. That's the attitude you have to take. 

The eighteenth guidance in the article, write every day, goes hand in hand with the first. Stop making excuses. Just do it. Before you know it, you'll have enough material for several novels, screenplays, essay or poetry collections, or whatever it is that moves you.

The article by Maggie Zhang originally appeared in Business Insider in  August 2014 and was updated on August 11, 2015.  It is timeless journalism.

Perfect? Take It from Anne Lamott

Anytime I hear someone say, "I won't accept anything less than perfect," I think of Anne Lamott's retort: "Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor."

Let's be clear. Perfection is something to strive for, like eternity, as long as you know you'll never achieve it. Insisting on perfection means letting that naysayer in your head get the best of your judgment. As an example, look at the three-word sentence at the top of this paragraph. I gave little thought to it, but now these six of an infinite number of alternatives are crossing my mind:

1. Let me be clear.
2. To clarify ...
3. So what's the point?
4. The point Lamott is making ...
5. Lamott's point is so clear to the thoughtful writer.
6. (Omit the sentence.)

Who cares? Just write the darn thing. Life is too short to mess around with a sentence whose "perfection" is entirely subjective. A writer needs to produce words, sentences, paragraphs, and documents, not slave over the impossible idea of perfection. Perfectionism falls under the if-you-had-one-wish category. It's a pipe dream. Thanks for the reminder, Anne Lamott! 

700th Post for WORDS ON THE LINE: Thank you, Mr. Edison

On January 4, 2005, I posted my first blog entry. Now, 700 posts and 4,268 days later, WORDS ON THE LINE continues as a resource for effective writing at home, school, or work. 

After 11-plus years of reporting new ideas while maintaining a writing consulting business, developing my own creative work, and loving my family, I must agree with the Thomas Edison aphorism, "Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration." I do not pretend that this blog is a work of genius, but I do say that it's all about the work. 

Three other Edison quotes come to mind:

• "We don't know a millionth of 1 percent about anything." True, and the quicker we believe that, the harder we will work.
• "Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits." Indeed, don't just sit there; keep learning and applying what you've learned. The benefits will surely follow.
• "I never did a day's work in my life; it was all fun." With a mindset that writing is playing with words, writers will never work a day in their life. I admit I struggle with writing, but it's a struggle I enjoy.

Quotable and Inspirational Einstein

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was, among many other things, a master of the aphorism. Here are three of them that hold true for writers. 

• "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Is it any wonder that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein by age 20, and Carson McCullers wrote The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by 23? They could not have been so full of wisdom by their age, but they were surely full of imagination. Writers need to start from this premise.  
• "Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them." Writers need to know what they don't know and then get it, if they are to expand to points of reference, depth of insight, and command of language.
• "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Pete Rose had more base hits than anyone in baseball history, but he also made more outs. Thomas Edison failed in inventing electric light more than a hundred times before he succeeded. Writers need this reminder: create fearless of failing, transform those failures into successes, and expect failures again. At least you're trying. Enjoy the experience.  

One Quote,Two Tips from Ruskin

English critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) once wrote, "Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them." Ruskin renders two suggestions: make every word count and keep it simple--great advice from a prolific writer who speaks from experience.

Tips for Aspiring Writers

Here are some quotes from great writers collected by Thought Catalog that will either make aspiring writers laugh or crush their spirit. My favorites are from Paul Theroux ("My advice to any young person who wants to write is: leave home"), Harper Lee ("I would advise anyone who aspires to writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide"), W. Somerset Maugham ("There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one know what they are"), and the best, Stephen King ("If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time--or the tools--to write").

Why Asking Questions Matters

In a May 27, 2008 interview with Charlie Rose, playwright Edward Albee said:

If you're going to spend a hundred bucks or more to go to the theater, something should happen to you. Maybe somebody should be asking some questions about your values or the way you think about things. And maybe you should come out of the theater (with) something having happened to you. Maybe you should be changing or thinking about changing. But if you just go there and the only thing you worry about is where you left the damn car, then you've wasted your hundred bucks.

Albee knows what he's talking about. Not only because at age 85, he is an American icon with plays that have earned three Pulitzer Prizes, two Tony awards, three New York Drama Critics Circle awards, a Drama Desk award, and numerous citations for lifetime achievement in the theater. He is clearly the sage because his observation applies to so many other facets of life. For instance, if we paraphrase the opening of his quote with "If you're going to spend a hundred minutes or more to watch television," we would never spend a minute on reality TV. Or "If you're going to spend a few thousand bucks or more to vacation somewhere," we would choose a national park or foreign city over Disney World. 

I strongly believe what Albee says relates to my writing classes. In the closing of this interview excerpt, he suggests that answers are often unreachable, but this reality should never prevent us from asking hard questions and exploring possible answers. Sometimes people in my classes will want the right answer for what they should include in a proposal, how they should organize a report, or how they should phrase a sentence. I can offer possibilities, but I'd be a fool to claim I have a definitive answer.

I meet a lot of course leaders who teach as though writing instruction were little more than a collection of rules in grammar, diction, and punctuation. Far from it. Even though these points do matter, they are less important than purposefulness, completeness, structure, and clarity.

My goal is to help people think through writing: to question their own assertions, to test commonly held beliefs, and to challenge their audience to see the value of alternative ideas. As a result, they will become not only more accomplished as writers but more masterful as residents of Earth. When I impart this mindset, my time was well spent; when my students achieve it, their time was too.

More Sound Writing Advice from Master Writers

The nineteenth century British writer Isaac D'Israeli said, "The wise make proverbs and fools repeat them." I am not here to argue with a wise man, because his point is well taken. 

So just read the proverbs and don't repeat them, OK? You can get some great advice from writers, which you might also find inspirational. At WORDS ON THE LINE, I offer additional wisdom about writing here. 

A Cue from Coleridge

British poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) once wrote, “Works of imagination should be written in very plain language; the more purely imaginative they are the more necessary it is to be plain.”

Remember that wise piece of advice the next time you are struggling for an elaborate word that may not precisely denote the image you are trying to evoke!

Take Bradbury’s Advice

Ray Bradbury, world-famous author and editor of nearly 200 books and countless articles, said in an interview, “Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down. (Brown Daily Herald, March 24, 1995).

What great advice for getting started with the first draft of your next report, proposal, newspaper article, or whatever else you write. Just let your thoughts fly from your head through your hand onto the screen or paper. Do not concern yourself with quality the first time around. Write the first draft with your heart; you’ll have plenty of time to revise, edit, and proofread the next draft with your head.

Remember Bacon's Bit

One of my favorite aphorisms—and one to which many of my students immediately relate—is the Sir Francis Bacon gem from Of Studies, his 1597 essay (revised in 1625) :

"Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man."

Many students have interpreted this statement to mean that reading will make us full of knowledge. But knowledge without conferencing will soon be rendered useless, for we need to test what we learned in the world of interactive experience. Finally, when we write, we leave a permanent record which had better represent our ideas because once disseminated, it is subject to a misinterpretation devoid of the context in which we intended it to be read.

Bacon's concise 503-word essay remains worthy of a full reading four centuries later. For instance, early in the precis he notes:

"To spend too much time in study in sloth; to use them to much for ornament is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor of a scholar."

Bacon's entire lifework seemed a petition to depend on experience before anything else—especially before untested or impractical theory. The quote "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man" is easy to find in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations; however, the lesser known, less transparent, less quoted, and more profound sentence following it summarizes the essence of reading, conferencing, and writing with astounding poetic depth:

"And, therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. "

For sure! We can ponder the truth of that observation for an eternity. But then, look at all we would not be busy experiencing. So keep involved in a healthy balance of these three vital communication skills.

A Reminder from Alexander Pope

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learn’d to dance.*
How true. Just as trained dancers are among the most graceful movers, the best writers are those who consistently apply their practice. When the prolific poet and essayist Alexander Pope wrote those words at the tender age of 21, he was already speaking from experience. In writing, there are no shortcuts; proficiency comes from practice. Keep writing and seek feedback--you'll see improvement!

*Alexander Pope, Essay on Criticism, Part II, Line 162. (1711)

A Writing Tip from William Faulkner

In an interview, William Faulkner, a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, once proclaimed, “The artist is of no importance. Only what he creates is important.”*

Whatever you write at work, Faulkner's observation is a fine one to remember. Focus the reader on the purpose of the correspondence--not on your inclinations, motivations, or consternations. The document should not be about you but about moving your business forward.

* Malcolm Cowley, Editor. Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews (New York: Viking, 1957): 120.