7 Writing Tips From Stephen King

Now I'll be the first to admit, most of Stephen King's books frighten me beyond repair. I don't know why, but I can never quite remember that scary stories like his are actually fiction.

But his book on writing, appropriately titled, well, On Writing is absolutely brilliant. Basically, if you haven't read it already, I'd make sure you get a copy pronto. Not only does he pass along countless tricks of the trade on plotting, sentence structure, characters and the like, but there's plenty of encouragement packed in there, too.

Like gem #5 listed here on The Positivity Blog about not caring too much about what others may think about our writing. King is the first one to admit that yes, even he, an experienced writer, needs affirmation, especially from his wife. But he goes on to explain how we can't let our need for attention change how and what we write. Sure, we need to be strong enough to accept constructive critiques that will strengthen the quality of whatever we're working on, but we can't let the tiniest objections completely derail our gut instincts all the same.

I also love #6 on this list, too, namely to read A LOT! Not only does it give all writers permission to dig into a juicy new novel, something most of all love for pleasure, anyway, but reading other people's work can't help but inspire our own. Have you ever finished a fantastic novel and been so super energized that you can't wait to get to work? Yeah, that's what the best writing does, so if you're stuck, why not trying reading for a while? I'm pretty sure Stephen would, so why not you? :)