“On Writing” is a book filled with secrets and advice on how to become a successful writer, in fact, there are so many tips it’s hard to choose which ones are most important. Here are the ones we thought would be most beneficial and inspiring as high school students.
1.Write for yourself
The first piece of advice that Stephen King swears by is, to write for yourself. “When you’re writing a story, you’re telling yourself a story. When you rewrite, you’re taking out all the things that are not the story”. This is a big lesson that Stephen King taught himself from his editor John Gould when writing for Lisbon’s Weekly Newspaper. Essentially this means that when you first start writing a story, you should pour out all your thoughts and emotions without fear of being judged and after your done writing you should try and rewrite the story looking from a different lens to see what fits and what doesn’t.
2. Be yourself
The next important tip is to be yourself when writing. “Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex and work”. Each person thinks differently and has unique ideas, trying to suppress these thoughts and emotions to “fit in” to a certain type of writing is definitely going to have its effects, negative ones may I add. Having the courage to write about topics and beliefs that you are passionate in, will give your writing, a natural flow and will resonate with many more people. This also ties into another piece of advice mentioned in the book. It is to let go of any fear of failing to impress others with your writing. Harnessing your fear of failing to impress others when writing, will have an immediate reflection in your novel, short story, or poem. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable in a piece of literature may seem scary, but it will give readers something special to hold on to. “Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation,Affectation itself, beginning with the need to define some sort of writing as ‘good ’and other sorts as ‘bad’, is fearful behaviour. Good writing is also about making good choices when it comes to picking the tools you plan to work with.”
3. Read
The next advice is to read. “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write”. Reading is one of the best ways to become a writer because you’re able to learn so many different aspects of writing while being entertained. Firstly, you’ll be able to learn different ways to describe, build plot, and build characters. Next, you’ll earn which tones and settings are suitable for different genres and you’ll be able to build on your vocabulary. But, most importantly reading will help you become motivated and inspired to continue on your path of writing.
4. Stop procrastinating
The following tip is to quit procrastinating. Thinking about writing often stops us from actually writing. As Stephan king stated, “The hours we spend talking about writing is time we don’t spend actually doing it”.It is important that we do not waste our precious time talking or thinking about writing, but instead actually setting aside time to write. The more we procrastinate writing, the more it becomes easy to resent. When you write, you are given the opportunity to escape reality for a little while and enter in a world that is uniquely your own. It is crucial that you don’t procrastinate writing and that you carve out time each day to write, as this will allow you to stay in touch with your writing and expression. By writing each day and not procrastinating your characters will start to seem less like characters and more like real people.
5. Get rid of all distractions when writing
The art of writing requires focus and passion and both of these character traits perfectly describe Stephen King. In order to write with focus and passion you must “Eliminate every possible distraction”. It is ideal to have a healthy writing environment, a place where you feel inspired each time you begin to write, free from the outside world, with no distractions. It is essential that this becomes a habit, where you will return to your “writing sanctuary” each day at the same time and be one with your thoughts. This will allow for your creativity to be expressed and increase productivity.
Lessons Learned "On Writing" 