On Writing by @StephenKing is the writing class I always wanted but never had. Here are a few notes from the book.
Writing is telepathy. You share your thoughts without opening your mouth.
Writing is time travel. You allow future generations to visit your era.
Bad writing comes from fear. Fear your reader won’t understand. So you overwrite. You add too many words.
Build a writing toolbox. Top drawer is vocabulary and grammar. But don’t worry about following the rules, write it as you hear it in your mind.
Next drawer in the toolbox is paragraphs and sentences. Paragraphs are more important to structure than sentences.
Always use the active voice. ‘I carried the body’ is stronger than ‘The body was carried’.
Minimize adverbs (words ending -ly). The context should be sufficient. You shouldn’t need to write ‘he laughed heartily’.
There’s no shortcut to being a better writer. You must read and write.
Create a physical writing space. A humble room with a door you can close. No distractions.
Create a routine to habituate good writing. Write at the same time every day, and schedule it when you have the most energy.
Situations drive stories. Ask ‘what if?’ Huge difference between stories and plot. Don’t plot. Stories are organic. Plots are stiff.
Stories are relics of the past. Fossils. Dig them up. Discover them.
Stories make themselves. You just create the environment for them to grow. Don’t worry about the ending. Don’t be a control freak.
Be honest. Tell the truth. Write only what you know. Readers can tell if you’re authentic.
Description brings a story to life. The question is how much? Don’t bog down a good story with too much description.
Never tell a thing when you can show it. Dialogue shows it. Don’t write ‘He’s smart,’ instead write dialogue that shows he’s smart.
Good dialogue is hard to write. It’s best written by good listeners.
Write first draft fast. Let it sit for six weeks. Lock it in a drawer. Go fishing. Then go back and edit. Look for holes. Dig up themes. Find resonance.
Always cut on the second draft. Never add. Second draft should try to cut 10% from first. That’s @StephenKing’s secret formula: 2 = 1 - 10%.
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