Thank you, Mr. King for sharing this with students at Yale University! That is why you are one of the greatest writers of all time. I read your book "The Shawshank Redemption" when I was a senior and was breathless.
I've read a few Stephen King books, i absolutly love him, he's one of my favorite authors, and he has inspired me to write more than my usual yearly halloween short stories. thanks to him, i have been inspired to write a great horror/thriller
That final comment is the best kind of inspiration any creator can get. Not just for writing. For anything. And I love him for pointing it out cause it proves how important it is, for drive and confidence.
It really is a magical moment when after you read a book you are blown away by how much it really sucked. Its the only way to get courage and start the first steps towards getting published. To me it happened last year after reading a Charlaine Harris True Blood novel. If this got published then surely I got a chance. I think the only reason books like that see the light of day is to give confidence to all those talented but timid writers out there :D Way to go big K :)))
When I get stuck, I usually try reading something else. It doesn't necessarily need to be in the same genre, but just try reading anything. I've found that reading a little bit helps open me up to creative ideas so that I can expand on what I've already written. Trust me, writing is difficult, but practice is definitely key to improving your work. Just keep writing!
Stephen King hits the nail on the head... The same goes for musicians... millions of them who say "I want to be a musician" but very few who pick up thier guitars every day... and vice verse nor do they seem to "Listen" I teach music and the two things I stress to students... Play and listen. Looks like the same thing as "write and Read" to me. Go Stephen King go!
There's a nice quote to illustrate this one: "True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written; in writing what deserves to be read." - Pliny the Elder
I am 22 and I discovered Stephen King at the age of 12,in a long trip when my sister had his book :the shining,since then I haven't stopped reading his books or admiring him,I really really really want to meet him one day,lucky those ppl that were there
The part about writing is especially true. It's just like everything else: "Practice makes perfect." Perfect is a stretch, but the only way to get better is by writing constantly and fine-tuning your style. It's also important to remember that writing isn't just putting the words onto the page. I've known many people who write better in certain locations, at certain times of the day, etc. This is something that you can only discover aout yourself over time.
Haha I had one of those magical moments after reading the Twilight series. I then wrote an entire novel and am now trying to get it published. Thank you Mr. King!
That's the best advice anyone can offer beginning writers. When I was interviewing my friend Brian Keene for a magazine, I tried to trip him up. I asked his advice for beginning writers, OTHER THAN reading and writing every day. His answer was perfect: When you're done reading and writing for the day, read and write some more.
Totally true! Also, like I heard (or read) somewhere: first write with your heart, then write with your head. E'en tho' that's been a little difficult lately...
the man is a true genius! I love him dearly (as much as you can love someone you dont know, but reading hes books feels like coming home)and it is my big dream to sit down with him over a cup of coffe and just talk some day
gotta love how Stephen King can produce this amazing advise and give a detailed explanation, and all Stephanie Meyers can say is "write for the joy of writing and don't worry about the rest of it"....
I am writing a gangster short story triglogy. I hope to meet him sometime and get some more advice on writing. I heard once from him that you shouldn't plan a story before writing it. That helped me a lot. He also says you have to let it grow itself like a human being. I have more confidence in being a good writer.
i must say i never liked to read, but when i saw some of Stephen King's movies, i had a certain interest to read them too. This guy is a genius. Definetaly one of the top writer's in the 20th and 21st century.
Long live the King. His book -On Writing- is brilliant. Some of the things he said could be hard to swallow, but once you really think about it you'll find that more or less taking his advice will get you far as a writer, and as a person (it's partly a biography). At least that's how I felt!
I admire King's novels, and I plan on writing one day too. Right now I'm just drawing ideas for a fantasy novel I would like to write that has a setting in which it's sort of a combination of Japanese and European culture. Some say it might fail, but I plan on doing anything I can to make it great.
I know what you mean. I work a job i don't like and I'm also taking classes at community college(not this very moment. I finished my springs semester a couple weeks back) I want to write but then I got to get ready for work. Then when I get time, my inspiration goes dry. But I do wish you all the luck. One struggling writer to another. :)
King made Barker as popular as he is now. I didn't even bother him until I read that Steve King said Barker is the next Master of Modern Horror. Now I am a Clive Barker fan.
If i start to thank writers i enjoyed reading and learned a considerable stuff of the craft from, it would stretch to be several pages. So i hope the others i don't mention here won't mind. And i am very sure no one in the area i am in have ever thanked the writers they read and learned from like me. Refrain oneself from giving credits to the teachers they learned from is indecent and surely not very comely. I thank Stephen King Dean Koontz Dick Francis r t raichev Sue Grafton ken follet John grisham and many many others and the classic Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy and most of all, marie corelli, made me think seriously about writing. Wilbur Smith too got my hopes soaring. The editors of online magazines have given me the very needed hope to take to writing in serious manner. I can't thank them enough because i have never ever seen a person or writer who encouraged me with kind words spending their own time. Those encouraging words are so precious to me. About being a successful writer: it is about fate and i believe it should be that way or no way
@HeavyMetalBandz i respect Stephenie Meyer because what she did was she took a leap of faith when she wrote the book. you want to know why most people don't like twilight? because they sparkle in the sunlight. she went far beyond the boundaries of the traditional vampire started by Bram Stoker in the late 1800's. and she was a huge success with it. i respect her, and i love her books.
I totally agree. I'm writing since I was nine, allways worked to get better, to get ART ouf what seems just some several thousand characters on white sheets. The thing is, that I'm hungarian, and even if I WERE so good, like him - which I'm not... yet, but maybe someday - I have no chance to achive sg like him. But still: if I could see only one of my stories published in Hungary, and a 2000 or so people would buy and read it, that would be heaven on earth.
Also recommended is Stephen King's book "On Writing." Tips on how to write woven into autobiographical interludes. A great read. Of course, the all time classic is Strunk and White's "Elements of Style." The 3rd edition is my preference. Finally, Bill Safire's "How Not to Write" is packed full of practical essentials and guaranteed LOLs.
i love king so much!! hes the best, and seems like such a kool guy!!! and funny, i laughed so hard when he said that comment on stephanie meyer, the writer of twilight. so true. your the man king!!!
Actually, that was Raymond Chandler's inspiration to start writing. He picked up a pulp magazine, thought one of the stories was so bad that even he could write better and ended up going down in history as one of the best mystery writers of all time.
It such common sense advice but it is the stark truth. Reading a lot also helps you think literaly and you find yourself judging sentences as you read them and re-wording them differently in your head if they don't sound right. Once your thinking that way it will help your writing improve.
Stephen King wrote a book on how to write books. It's quite good. He talks about how he wrote on every litlle break he had while working. This guy "had" to write, he had the passion. His book also talked about the importance of editing and re-editing several times.
Well, I guess I'll make a great writer then. I taught myself to read when I was 3 years old. Now I can go through about 50 books a week. And I've already completed my first story. It's all about getting it published now. =o]
you dont have to love his stories, but he is a great writer. His attention to detail and character development prove that he can write good if not great literature. not all of his stories are horror, shawshank redemption for example. :D but im a fan
So true. I picked up a book once and in the first few chapters I had no idea who the characters were or where the setting was. Every other line was in italics too. I put the book back and said "I can write better than that crap."
My first moment was when I read Cat & Mouse by James Patterson. After that I decided that I was going to start seriously writing my story ideas. I laughed when I first saw this video because that is exactly why I started being serious about writing.
A Quote from a work of Stephen King: "Oh but you will, you will, because there are no ghosts in Room 1408 and never have been, there is something in there, I've felt it myself, but it's not a spirit presence, in an old haunted mansion or castle keep you're disbelief may serve as protection, in Room 1408 it will only render you more vulnerable"
@MrSpanky87 Yeah. I seem to get new interests all the time. At the moment I'm into writing, playing bass guitar, biology, cooking, Atheist vs Christian debating. I also go to school. Unfortunately the thing I've been interested with the longest is computers and I'm quite addicted to it so it keeps me from achieving anything in my other interests. Like Stephen said, you need a lot of hard work. Many successful people say that you have to keep doing what you like and avoid doing anything else.
Oh man, so much love for Stephen King. He is funny, and he is a great writer. I have read so many of his stories and books and he is a favorite in my family.
I agree, Dream Catcher's ending, as well as half of the short stories from 4 Past Midnight really have disappointing endings. But, he's still the greatest in my opinion.
Excellent! I wrote my book "Layoffs & Hope", when I was angry that the book that I had purchased - which even had Layoffs as part of title "Sucked!" That day, I took a note pad and started to write. I never thought that I can write, or even publish a book! I owe my writing of my book to the other author that did such an awful job of writing his!
I have read Bag of Bones, Duma Key, Lisey's Story, and Rose Madder recently. All four are tremendous. Anyone that says Stephen King is not a good writer has either never read anything by him (or at least has not read his best efforts) or is just jealous of his success.
@HeavyMetalBandz i said i liked her books because of what she wrote about. i'm not saying she's my favorite author. far from it, actually. if i had to choose, i would read Edgar Allan Poe above anyone else. i simply said that i liked her books because she decided to change the image of the Vampire started by Stoker, and she was very successful at it. thats why i respect her. and so what if her methods are far different than anyone else's? it was her first book. not everyone can be like S. King
Hoo hoo boy! That magic moment came for me when I read the book "Wayfarer: Book One of The Shekinah Chronicles"! People who knew saw me reading it and avoided me for the next couple hours, because the crappiest book I ever read always put me in a foul mood. Why did I insist on reading it past pg 20? I always have to finish what I start.
I agree completely, damn near every "how to write" book out there is written by people who can't write anything themselves. Thank King for his book, it was a godsend to hear the opinions of a real writer for once.
Thank you, Mr. King for sharing this with students at Yale University! That is why you are one of the greatest writers of all time. I read your book "The Shawshank Redemption" when I was a senior and was breathless.
I've read a few Stephen King books, i absolutly love him, he's one of my favorite authors, and he has inspired me to write more than my usual yearly halloween short stories. thanks to him, i have been inspired to write a great horror/thriller
That final comment is the best kind of inspiration any creator can get. Not just for writing. For anything. And I love him for pointing it out cause it proves how important it is, for drive and confidence.
I've always appreciated Stephen king telling it how it is. He never has stock answers to questions, only true insight and honesty.
I was there when he spoke those words!
It really is a magical moment when after you read a book you are blown away by how much it really sucked. Its the only way to get courage and start the first steps towards getting published. To me it happened last year after reading a Charlaine Harris True Blood novel. If this got published then surely I got a chance. I think the only reason books like that see the light of day is to give confidence to all those talented but timid writers out there :D Way to go big K :)))
When I get stuck, I usually try reading something else. It doesn't necessarily need to be in the same genre, but just try reading anything. I've found that reading a little bit helps open me up to creative ideas so that I can expand on what I've already written.
Trust me, writing is difficult, but practice is definitely key to improving your work. Just keep writing!
Stephen King hits the nail on the head...
The same goes for musicians... millions of them who say "I want to be a musician" but very few who pick up thier guitars every day... and vice verse nor do they seem to "Listen" I teach music and the two things I stress to students... Play and listen. Looks like the same thing as "write and Read" to me. Go Stephen King go!
There's a nice quote to illustrate this one:
"True glory consists in doing what deserves to be written; in writing what deserves to be read."
- Pliny the Elder
Stephen King is now my inspiration, the last couple of seconds is how I feel about many books. Wow he took the words right out my mouth
I am 22 and I discovered Stephen King at the age of 12,in a long trip when my sister had his book :the shining,since then I haven't stopped reading his books or admiring him,I really really really want to meet him one day,lucky those ppl that were there
Him//he and Ray Bradbury are my two most favorite writers of all-times..!! Thanks so much for posting this..!!
The part about writing is especially true. It's just like everything else: "Practice makes perfect." Perfect is a stretch, but the only way to get better is by writing constantly and fine-tuning your style. It's also important to remember that writing isn't just putting the words onto the page. I've known many people who write better in certain locations, at certain times of the day, etc. This is something that you can only discover aout yourself over time.
His book "On Writing" is OUTSTANDING. I read it in swedish (I am swedish) and loved it from the start. One of the greatest writers all time.
He's as funny in person as on paper. I love him! Btw, is it bad if that 'magic moment' comes while one is reading Fifty Shades of Grey?
Haha I had one of those magical moments after reading the Twilight series. I then wrote an entire novel and am now trying to get it published. Thank you Mr. King!
That's the best advice anyone can offer beginning writers. When I was interviewing my friend Brian Keene for a magazine, I tried to trip him up. I asked his advice for beginning writers, OTHER THAN reading and writing every day. His answer was perfect: When you're done reading and writing for the day, read and write some more.
Go Stephen King! I'm Reading "IT" right now!
I've wanted to be a writer since I was nine and I'm still plucking away and I'm happy to say it's going extremely well. ^^
This has made me love Stephen King even more^^ someone tried to tell me his works sucked and I really let them have it that morning.
I love his shirt here.
I love this author, I think he's done very well for himself and his writing speaks for itself.
I have so much respect for this man.
I agree with that! I was very amazed what King stated. That really inspired me a whole lot.
Totally true! Also, like I heard (or read) somewhere: first write with your heart, then write with your head. E'en tho' that's been a little difficult lately...
Thank you, my friend. Took the words right out of my mouth.
"read everything & write everything!!!" as simple as that
Stephen King... The only man I will ever truly love with all my heart. His word is law
the man is a true genius! I love him dearly (as much as you can love someone you dont know, but reading hes books feels like coming home)and it is my big dream to sit down with him over a cup of coffe and just talk some day
gotta love how Stephen King can produce this amazing advise and give a detailed explanation, and all Stephanie Meyers can say is "write for the joy of writing and don't worry about the rest of it"....
i really love this dude im only 14 and im already inspired by him i want to be a writer and follow his league.
I am writing a gangster short story triglogy. I hope to meet him sometime and get some more advice on writing. I heard once from him that you shouldn't plan a story before writing it. That helped me a lot. He also says you have to let it grow itself like a human being. I have more confidence in being a good writer.
i must say i never liked to read, but when i saw some of Stephen King's movies, i had a certain interest to read them too.
This guy is a genius.
Definetaly one of the top writer's in the 20th and 21st century.
Long live the King. His book -On Writing- is brilliant. Some of the things he said could be hard to swallow, but once you really think about it you'll find that more or less taking his advice will get you far as a writer, and as a person (it's partly a biography).
At least that's how I felt!
I really needed this, after getting my upteempth rejection slip. Write on
I have finished a book and said, "How did THIS get published!! I need to write!" I LOVE SK!!!!
I admire King's novels, and I plan on writing one day too. Right now I'm just drawing ideas for a fantasy novel I would like to write that has a setting in which it's sort of a combination of Japanese and European culture. Some say it might fail, but I plan on doing anything I can to make it great.
an incredible book. You are in for a hell of a ride!
I know what you mean. I work a job i don't like and I'm also taking classes at community college(not this very moment. I finished my springs semester a couple weeks back)
I want to write but then I got to get ready for work. Then when I get time, my inspiration goes dry. But I do wish you all the luck. One struggling writer to another. :)
The King of amazing! He is a great inspiration!
Yes, that's is right, to be a writer you must read books. King you are amazing
Stephen King is my inspiration. He's an insanely hard worker.
I read It, Danse Macabre, Carrie and the first book in the Gunslinger series so far, he's such an awesome writer!
Absolutely agree with his idea of discovering the magic moment. You can only get that through reading other's works.
translation please ? what is the question at the beginning ?
Ιρίς μου η κοπέλα ρωτάει τι συμβουλή θα έδινε σε αυτούς που θέλουν να επιδιώξουν μια καριέρα σαν συγγραφείς
Thank you :)! But i'm not Greek .. i just started to learn ancient greek recently
wow sorry i figured out from your name that you were , well then the question was
I read Stephen King's IT recently, and I think it's really helped me with my writing style.
King made Barker as popular as he is now. I didn't even bother him until I read that Steve King said Barker is the next Master of Modern Horror. Now I am a Clive Barker fan.
"When you put down some book and say 'This really sucks!"
That sums up my high school reading assignments perfectly.
He writes character studies. He is a MASTER at fleshing out characters.
If i start to thank writers i enjoyed reading and learned a considerable stuff of the craft from, it would stretch to be several pages. So i hope the others i don't mention here won't mind. And i am very sure no one in the area i am in have ever thanked the writers they read and learned from like me. Refrain oneself from giving credits to the teachers they learned from is indecent and surely not very comely.
I thank Stephen King Dean Koontz Dick Francis r t raichev Sue Grafton ken follet John grisham and many many others and the classic Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy and most of all, marie corelli, made me think seriously about writing. Wilbur Smith too got my hopes soaring.
The editors of online magazines have given me the very needed hope to take to writing in serious manner. I can't thank them enough because i have never ever seen a person or writer who encouraged me with kind words spending their own time. Those encouraging words are so precious to me.
About being a successful writer: it is about fate and i believe it should be that way or no way
king is a great writer because he's a genuine person and is actually very cool
Haven't got Dark Hollow yet (I'll pick it up next week, probably), but I just got my copy of Shades, which I'll dive into soon.
@HeavyMetalBandz i respect Stephenie Meyer because what she did was she took a leap of faith when she wrote the book. you want to know why most people don't like twilight? because they sparkle in the sunlight. she went far beyond the boundaries of the traditional vampire started by Bram Stoker in the late 1800's. and she was a huge success with it. i respect her, and i love her books.
thank you stephen king thanks to you i got two poems published
Two bedrooms, a great view of the skyline, and a complimentary Complete & Uncut Edition of The Stand.
True, I think his best book/movie is the Shawshank Redemption though, it's just really awesome.
That was awesome! Thanks for being a straight shooter Stephen King!
I totally agree. I'm writing since I was nine, allways worked to get better, to get ART ouf what seems just some several thousand characters on white sheets. The thing is, that I'm hungarian, and even if I WERE so good, like him - which I'm not... yet, but maybe someday - I have no chance to achive sg like him. But still: if I could see only one of my stories published in Hungary, and a 2000 or so people would buy and read it, that would be heaven on earth.
Also recommended is Stephen King's book "On Writing." Tips on how to write woven into autobiographical interludes. A great read. Of course, the all time classic is Strunk and White's "Elements of Style." The 3rd edition is my preference. Finally, Bill Safire's "How Not to Write" is packed full of practical essentials and guaranteed LOLs.
God, I love him so much.
awesome, thanks a lot for posting this.
i love king so much!! hes the best, and seems like such a kool guy!!! and funny, i laughed so hard when he said that comment on stephanie meyer, the writer of twilight. so true. your the man king!!!
Actually, that was Raymond Chandler's inspiration to start writing. He picked up a pulp magazine, thought one of the stories was so bad that even he could write better and ended up going down in history as one of the best mystery writers of all time.
It such common sense advice but it is the stark truth. Reading a lot also helps you think literaly and you find yourself judging sentences as you read them and re-wording them differently in your head if they don't sound right. Once your thinking that way it will help your writing improve.
Quitters Inc. Favourite story ever from him. On Writing is pretty damn good, too.
Stephen King wrote a book on how to write books. It's quite good. He talks about how he wrote on every litlle break he had while working. This guy "had" to write, he had the passion. His book also talked about the importance of editing and re-editing several times.
King's words r da truth!
Well, I guess I'll make a great writer then. I taught myself to read when I was 3 years old. Now I can go through about 50 books a week. And I've already completed my first story. It's all about getting it published now. =o]
I wish I was you, i cant beleev u met that brill author!
you dont have to love his stories, but he is a great writer. His attention to detail and character development prove that he can write good if not great literature. not all of his stories are horror, shawshank redemption for example. :D but im a fan
That is right, his sales as well, over 305 million books sold, almost enough for one book per every U.S. household.
you just gotta love this guy^^
So true. I picked up a book once and in the first few chapters I had no idea who the characters were or where the setting was. Every other line was in italics too. I put the book back and said "I can write better than that crap."
My first moment was when I read Cat & Mouse by James Patterson. After that I decided that I was going to start seriously writing my story ideas. I laughed when I first saw this video because that is exactly why I started being serious about writing.
I Really Look up To Him, My Favourite Gotta Be THE SHINING, 1st Book I Ever Read, And I Dont Think I'll Find One Better
Dark Tower...awesome series
A Quote from a work of Stephen King:
"Oh but you will, you will, because there are no ghosts in Room 1408 and never have been, there is something in there, I've felt it myself, but it's not a spirit presence, in an old haunted mansion or castle keep you're disbelief may serve as protection, in Room 1408 it will only render you more vulnerable"
Go for it, if you love it and you're good at it you will do just fine! ^^
I LOVE STEPHEN KING!!
@MrSpanky87 Yeah. I seem to get new interests all the time. At the moment I'm into writing, playing bass guitar, biology, cooking, Atheist vs Christian debating. I also go to school. Unfortunately the thing I've been interested with the longest is computers and I'm quite addicted to it so it keeps me from achieving anything in my other interests. Like Stephen said, you need a lot of hard work. Many successful people say that you have to keep doing what you like and avoid doing anything else.
Oh man, so much love for Stephen King. He is funny, and he is a great writer. I have read so many of his stories and books and he is a favorite in my family.
Whooaa, that's so weird... I had that moment after I finished reading Marked of the House of Night series.
this man has always been amazing... though i dont read much i do write everyday... ^_^
@HeavyMetalBandz So did I. It kinda pushed me to start writing more and to get my stuff published.
I agree, Dream Catcher's ending, as well as half of the short stories from 4 Past Midnight really have disappointing endings. But, he's still the greatest in my opinion.
Excellent!
I wrote my book "Layoffs & Hope", when I was angry that the book that I had purchased - which even had Layoffs as part of title "Sucked!" That day, I took a note pad and started to write. I never thought that I can write, or even publish a book!
I owe my writing of my book to the other author that did such an awful job of writing his!
I love this clip
He's such an amazing writer and on the plus side, he's funny!!!
I love this man
Thumbs up for The King!
I had my own 'this really sucks' moment when I was fighting with The Bourne Ultimatum. That book was so bad it offended me.
I have read Bag of Bones, Duma Key, Lisey's Story, and Rose Madder recently. All four are tremendous. Anyone that says Stephen King is not a good writer has either never read anything by him (or at least has not read his best efforts) or is just jealous of his success.
Great stuff! And so true.
Mr. King, you are a god
@HeavyMetalBandz i said i liked her books because of what she wrote about. i'm not saying she's my favorite author. far from it, actually. if i had to choose, i would read Edgar Allan Poe above anyone else. i simply said that i liked her books because she decided to change the image of the Vampire started by Stoker, and she was very successful at it. thats why i respect her. and so what if her methods are far different than anyone else's? it was her first book. not everyone can be like S. King
Cool video. Good, practical advice on writing; that's quite hard to find.
How awesome is it that he's wearing that shirt to give a lecture?
He's the master of Literature in general. he not only writes Horror, he writes fantasy, nonficton, Gothicka, the works
Hoo hoo boy! That magic moment came for me when I read the book "Wayfarer: Book One of The Shekinah Chronicles"! People who knew saw me reading it and avoided me for the next couple hours, because the crappiest book I ever read always put me in a foul mood. Why did I insist on reading it past pg 20? I always have to finish what I start.
I just love this guy. I wanna bottle his brain and keep it in my study.
I agree completely, damn near every "how to write" book out there is written by people who can't write anything themselves.
Thank King for his book, it was a godsend to hear the opinions of a real writer for once.
Stephen King..he's great