Stephen Kings Top 20 Rules for Writers: (I will tell you in advance that I have two problems...one is the word Rules and two or maybe its three, are #s 3 and 4. Adverbs are used to modify verbs or anything else for that matter. They tell us when, where, how, in what manner or to what extent something is performed. Example: Well, Id have my feelings hurt if you didnt. She smiled again, gave him an almost imperceptible wink, turned and walked toward the kitchen with a sashay known only to southern girls. Now, in my opinion, that passage would lose all meaning if I removed the adverbs...dont you think? 1. First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience. When you write a story, youre telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story. 2. Dont use passive voice. Timid writers like passive verbs for the same reason that timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe. 3. Avoid adverbs. The adverb is not your friend. 4. Avoid adverbs, especially after he said and she said. 5. But dont obsess over perfect grammar. The object of fiction isnt grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story. 6. The magic is in you. Im convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing. 7. Read, read, read. If you dont have time to read, you dont have the time (or the tools) to write. 8. Dont worry about making other people happy. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway. 9. Turn off the TV. TV—while working out or anywhere else—really is about the last thing an aspiring writer needs. 10. You have three months. The first draft of a book—even a long one—should take no more than three months, the length of a season. 11. There are two secrets to success. I stayed physical healthy, and I stayed married. 12. Write one word at a time. Whether its a vignette of a single page or an epic trilogy like The Lord of the Rings, the work is always accomplished one word at a time. 13. Eliminate distraction. Theres should be no telephone in your writing room, certainly no TV or videogames for you to fool around with. 14. Stick to your own style. One cannot imitate a writers approach to a particular genre, no matter how simple what that writer is doing may seem. 15. Dig. Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered pre-existing world. The writers job is to use the tools in his or her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible. 16. Take a break. Youll find reading your book over after a six-week layoff to be a strange, often exhilarating experience. 17. Leave out the boring parts and kill your darlings. (kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribblers heart, kill your darlings.) 18. The research shouldnt overshadow the story. Remember that word back. Thats where the research belongs: as far in the background and the back story as you can get it. 19. You become a writer simply by reading and writing. You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself. 20. Writing is about getting happy. Writing isnt about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. Writing is magic, as much as the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:24:52 +0000