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How To Be A Killer Writer According To Stephen King

   Nitish      November 18th, 2020

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When you read Stephen King in a title, the most common thing is that you start salivating like a dog when you hear a bell. If this does not happen to you, it can be for two things: one that you have no criteria, the other that you have lived the last 50 years in a cave. King is the king of horror literature and, for me, commercial literature as well in general. Anything that comes out of his pen turns to gold — and then to a movie.

We would all like to know the secret. I, for a time, was tempted to kidnap him and tie him to a bed. I even had bought the nurse costume and a mallet … But I figured the cake would smell a mile away and it wouldn’t sting, so I had to find another way to get into her mind — ideally one that didn’t need scalpels or frontal lobotomies.

I suppose there is no other way to do it than to read his work (if you have Instagram there is a hashtag right now called #constantreaderchallenge that tries to read the books of the master of terror), if possible with a critical eye and paying attention.

In addition, there are many Internet pages that talk about his work, it will not hurt to dive into that ocean and see if you catch something of value – I already warn you that there are many boots, all of the same brand, size, and model.

Stephen King the Letter Man

At this point, King exceeds 60 books published. Almost all of them have been bestsellers. Its sales exceed 350 million copies and, according to Forbes, it makes about $ 40 million a year, making it the Midas of literature – along with Rowling.

In 2002 he hung up his claws and teeth and dedicated himself to building that jewel that is While I Write, in which he offers you writing tips. This is a bedside book for all self-respecting keystrokes. There he talks about how he grew up professionally and what being a writer means to him.

Although it may be hard to believe, As I Write is the most popular writing book out there. On Amazon, it has thousands of opinions (in all languages). And do you know why? Dude, that book is magic.

You can read it as many times as you want. I will have done it about three and each time I do it, I notice how my prose improves noticeably. For some, it tells you about the foundations of literary creation. But if you are one of those select few who can read between the lines, you will find that there is much more.

When you get fully into his life you discover that ghost writing is something strange. It’s an adventure through strange worlds where you don’t know what will happen next. And his passion for writing is contagious.

It is impossible for you to read While I Write without finishing smiling and convinced that you were born to write.

What Distinguishes While I Write?

Most writing books focus on letters. They talk about structures, characters, story arcs … However, King talks about the joy of writing. Suddenly you find yourself wanting to write and not because of the fame and the money, but because you love it because it is fun. You don’t want to do anything else with your life anymore.

It has inspired me more than any other book I have read — perhaps La Busca de Baroja and The Guardian in the Rye would be the exception at this point. If I had to recommend just one book to beginning bloggers and writers, this is it.

To show you that I am not trying to sell you the bike, I have prepared a monstrous list – you better have time – with their best quotes and a few mental handjobs – this is already a gift from the house – on each of them.

1. I write because it fills me

Although it is difficult for us to admit it, those of us who blog do it for the love of art. We don’t charge and we do it because we love it.

Let’s see, I’m not going to lie to you either, I would love to have pasta, Ferraris, and a lot of fans at my door. But that’s not what makes me get up and sit at the keyboard to nag you every week. That is not what keeps us glued to a computer all day.

It’s not because of the fame, it’s because we like it. At this point in life, I have had so many blogs that I can’t even count them. It’s about seeing how your ideas sink into your audience.

The rest is fine and if you want to pay me, no one stops you.

2. Writing is not about making money

In fact, as I already told you, writing is usually synonymous with starving.

In the end, it is about helping people. If you want to make money, you take it raw. Instead of thinking: How do I get the dough out of these idiots? Think about how you can help. What does your audience want? What are they looking for from your blog? What can I tell you to share this article like crazy?

Ask yourself those kinds of questions and the visitors will come by themselves. The same will happen to you with writing, do not think about what you are going to sell, think about what you would like to read.

3. You’re not going to like everyone, all the time

Do you want me to give you the super magic formula that will guarantee you to have readers glued to your blog?

There it goes:

1.  Make a list of topics that you would like to cover on your blog.
2. Make a file of your ideal reader.
3. Highlight topics that you know for sure your ideal reader will like.
4. Write only about that.

Easy, huh? Well not so much. More than once you will find yourself writing something that you love and that will fall on deaf ears. Then you will write a birria article and share it with the Pope Emeritus.

Wonders of life.

4. Feel nervous when you write

What you can’t do is sit in front of the blank page without emotion. If you don’t feel anything when you write, if when you sit down to write your next article, you can only think: I don’t know what the hell to write, I’m going to feely to see what I find … Then just click on the gambling den and dedicate yourself to something else.

The blog is not your personal diary – be careful, if that’s your type of blog, yes it is, but you have to be consistent with what you do. You have to write with respect for your readers, you can’t make them swallow any shit.

If you want to be taken seriously, take what you do first seriously. Your blog is more than just a blog, it is your way of changing the world.

And you have to write as if the whole world is listening to you —even if only your mother and your modern aunt in town are listening to you.

5. Immense possibilities

After many months or years of writing on the same topic, you will surely think that there is nothing more to say. You have squeezed the subject to the core. You are convinced that you will not be able to write another article without being repetitive.

It happened to me … But it’s bullshit. It is impossible to run out of ideas. Most likely, you have become lazy or are in some kind of suffocation or blockage.

There are millions of things to write about. Search better, don’t focus on feely and Google, there are books, movies, documentaries… There are a million interesting topics out there.