Stephen King Quotes

I do not put myself in a box and say, for instance, I'm writing post-colonial literature. I don't know what I'm writing. That's the business of professors and critics. My job is to tell a story, and that's it.

I've had trouble with criticism, I guess. It's hard to know what role criticism plays in either encouraging poets or in getting other people to read them.

The writer probably knows what he meant when he wrote a book, but he should immediately forget what he meant when he's written it.

The first book is the book you have to write to get back at your parents; the book you always had in you. Once you get that out of your way, you can start writing books.

When I wrote and got out of the way, writing did writing.” (p.90)

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it. You may be ashamed of it later, but that's another story.

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

I have stacks and stacks of journals. I'll change the names if I ever decide to publish them.

I think everything we do, on one level or another, as writers, most of our writing is informed by our world view.

Live life and write about life. Of the making of many books there is indeed no end, but there are more than enough books about books.

Creatively, it's great, because when you write your own movies, you get to create whatever you want.

As far as I am concerned, I write novels, and other people can do the labelling.

I write what I write.

The author may not interpret. But he must tell why and how he wrote his book.

Every writer hopes his or her book will be its own thing.

I like writing my own stuff. If a book came along I would maybe do that.

I think too many people edit themselves way too soon. There's plenty of time to edit, and it is a crucial part of it all, too.

I wrote the first draft of 'Madame Bovary' without studying the previous translations, although I gathered them and took the occasional peek.

I don't really think about genre. I like to write books that I'd love to read myself.

As authors, we know that it is very difficult to unleash one's creativity.

Writing is more important than being a writer.

The first draft of anything is sh*t.

Had I to give advice to writers (and I do not think they need it, because everyone has to find out things for himself), I would tell them simply this; I would ask them to tamper as little as they can with their own work. I do not think tinkering does any good. The moment comes when one has found out what one can do - when one has found one's natural voice, one's rhythm. Then I do not think that slight emendations should prove useful.

It might be more difficult because you haven't got a book or a prop, but for the most part I like to write unpaid... initially and my own stories.

The best advice on writing was given to me by my first editor, Michael Korda, of Simon and Schuster, while writing my first book. 'Finish your first draft and then we'll talk,' he said. It took me a long time to realize how good the advice was. Even if you write it wrong, write and finish your first draft. Only then, when you have a flawed whole, do you know what you have to fix.