12 Lessons on Writing by Stephen King

What I Learned from Reading the Master of Suspense’s Memoir

“What is writing? Telepathy, of course.” — Stephen King

When I was young I was infatuated with the book Misery. Annie Wilkes haunted me in my nightmares.

Stephen King is one of the most read authors in the world. So, if he shares his insights on writing, you listen. It took me a while to finally pick up his memoir and start reading. This summer I finally got to it.

It gives the reader great insight into the author’s mind and journey. He’s blunt but in a fatherly way. He doesn’t like to waste time, and neither do I. Let’s move on to the lessons I learned from the master of suspense.

#1: Write for Yourself First

“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.”

Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.

Stephen actually learned this lesson himself from his boss and editor John Gould at his job writing for Lisbon’s Weekly Newspaper.