Stephen King is one of the greatest writers and for sure doesn’t need an introduction. So if you are looking for the writing advice, King is great in what we consider creative writing. And we highly recommend using Senstone to record and automatically convert your audio to text. It will give you the freedom you need to easily capture what’s on your mind. So check out top writing tips from this brilliant author.
1. If you don’t succeed, get a bigger nail.
When Stephen King started sending his first stories to magazines in hopes to get published, he was getting so many rejection slips that the nail he was putting them on fell out of the wall. He didn’t stop trying; he went and bought a bigger nail. Tip number one: don’t give up.
2. Write 6 pages a day.
For Stephen King, six pages a day is the standard he set for himself to get novels finished on time – and the reason for him being a prolific writer. It doesn’t have to be six pages for you (even one page is fine), but the principle behind the rule is clear: learn how much you can accomplish without overextending yourself, find your pace, maintain it.
3. Go where the story leads you. Plot is a last resort for bad writers.
You gather ideas and characters, you put them at the starting point, and then you let them go. Unlike some writers, Stephen King doesn’t follow the plot. Instead, he follows his characters wherever they lead him.
4. The good ideas will stay with you.
If you’re obsessed with an idea, if it sticks with you and doesn’t let go, if you don’t need a notebook to write it down because you know you can’t forget it, that idea is a good one.
5. First, you read and copy other writers, then little by little you develop your own style.
Stephen King is of the opinion that all writers are self-taught, and they learn by reading books, getting a feel for trade secrets, trying to disassemble the mechanism. During that time, would-be writers usually copy the style of their favorite authors – and shape their own in the process.
6. Writing is self hypnosis, you need to have a routine.
At the end of the day, writing is a habit. Set up a routine, and your brain will know when to switch into the writing mode.
7. Start with short stories and let them develop into novels or screenplays.
Many novels started as a short story. Writer’s task is to let it grow. You can start with a few recordings a day with the help of your portable voice assistant.
8. Learn to write for different mediums.
For many writers, books may seem superior to film, but the reality is that movies operate a different kind of language. According to Stephen King, the only way to figure out how it really works is to try and write a screenplay of your own.
9. Look for ideas that you would really enjoy writing for longer periods.
Don’t think too much about the audience. Choose ideas based on what you would like to spend the next couple of months shaping into a book, so that the final chapter would leave you hungry for more of the story.
10. Get immersed in your writing process until the outside world is gone.
Writing is an ultimate escape. You sit in front of the keyboard, or at the seaside with the dictation tool in your hands, and the first 10 minutes are tedious, but then something happens and the world around disappears. That state of mind, where there is nothing but your story and your ideas, is what gets books written, but it can also be quite addictive. Exercise caution! With on-the-go features, you can convert audio to text and never miss a single idea for your next book.
