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Stephen King's 20 Rules for Writers (2018)
- greggeter 8y agoHis book "On Writing" is great in audio version. King reads it. It's the only audio book I've listened to multiple times. Great stuff.
- smt88 8y agoFor almost all of these rules, I can think of multiple phenomenal, respected writers who break it regularly. It's pretty likely that a certain set of rules works for a certain writer and the content he wants to create, and it won't work at all for someone else. The only reliable, universal rule for being a good writer that I've ever come across is: practice.
- bradknowles 8y agoIt’s been my experience that most “X rules of Y” are more guidelines than strict rules, at least when it comes to anything that is any kind of artistic endeavor. The key is knowing which rules to follow when, and which rules to break — and when. But, if you want to write as well as King, and in the same genre or a related genre, I think you could probably do much worse than to start off by following his rules.
- technofiend 8y agoFor anyone seeking guidance, try the Writing Excuses podcast. Staffed by successful authors with regularly rotating guests, this Hugo-award-winning show covers writing topics in depth over 15 minute episodes. https://writingexcuses.com/about-2/about/ https://writingexcuses.com/about-2/about/
- jamestimmins 8y ago4. Avoid adverbs, especially after “he said” and “she said.” I heard this years ago, and since then, I've noticed how often these adverbs are used as a crutch. It's a classic example of telling instead of showing. The best writers almost never break this one.
- kgwxd 8y agoIt's excesive in kids books and, because it comes after the quote, you've already said it out loud and you feel obligated to go back and fix your bad inflection.