Monday 25 January 2010

Stephen King's Wisdom On Writing.

I want to quote two things Stephen King wrote in his book, 'On Writing' - because they are both things I really feel and believe, and I think they're quite important.

"I have spent a good many years since - too many, I think - being ashamed about what I write. I think I was forty before I realized that almost every other writer of fiction and poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all."

And this one really moved me because it is so powerful, true and important.

"Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you
makes a lot of difference. They don't have to make speeches.
Just believing is usually enough."


Care to share?

7 comments:

  1. "On Writing" was one of the best books I've ever read on being a writer. It was so interesting. It's been a few years since I read it. I should go back and do it again.

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  2. Wow. I'm definitely going to read that book. Great quotes.

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  3. Brilliant book. Read it in a couple of days after I got it for my birthday. Highly recommended!

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  4. I agree with the above, like King or not that little book has more useful advice about writing than any that comes to mind.

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  5. I enjoyed that book and wouldn't mind reading it again.

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  6. "On Writing" is fantastic. My favorite part was how he ended up moving his writing desk away from the center of his study room - essentially making it less of a priority than his family. I loved that because you don't get a lot of artists who speak in defense of having the people they love as their center. In fact, I know more than a few writers who scoff at social outings because they want to write instead - but Stephen King finds a good balance between the two.

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