Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.
When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.
The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor.
Books are a uniquely portable magic.
If you're just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than strip your television's electric plug-wire, wrap a spike around it, and then stick it back into the wall. See what blows, and how far. Just an idea.
Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.
The town kept its secrets, and the Marsten House brooded over it like a ruined king.
Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.
It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.
You know," King said, "I'm not much good at telling stories. That sounds like a paradox, but it's not; it's the reason I write them down.
His name is Legion. He is the king of nowhere.
The King is in his Tower, eating bread and honey. The Breakers in the basement, making all the money.
But it's writing, damn it, not washing the car or putting on eyeliner. If you can take it seriously, we can do business. If you can't or won't, it's time for you to close the book and do something else. Wash the car, maybe.
Writing is seduction.
Upon being asked by a fan how to become a writer, Stephen King replied, "Write.
The most important things to remember about back story are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn’t very interesting.
Optimism is a perfectly legitimate response to failure.