on reading - stephen king

There are books full of great writing that don't have very good stories.
Read sometimes for the story... don't be like the book-snobs who
won't do that. Read sometimes for the words--the language. Don't be
like the play-it-safers who won't do that. But when you find a book
that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book.

- Stephen King

By Alexandra Nicolaevna Pregel

photo stories - brock davis

These photos by Davis, taken with his iPhone, delight me.
Not only do they flirt at story, but they evoke a certain
melancholic, dazed dreaminess.

And what's fun (and an interesting exercise) is to brainstorm
what causes the perception of one mood or another in these
photos - the sun glaring on fine blonde hair, wet pavement,
a scowl, the churning of the clouds, contrast or lack thereof.
Then think of how you could and would express these
elements in writing, how you could make them come alive,
dancing before readers' eyes as much as they do in the photos.

Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons
you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It's
not just a question of how-to, you see; it's a question of how
much to. Reading will help you answer how much, and only
reams of writing will help you with the how.
- Stephen King, On Writing

a dreamer's wisdom - on writing - persistence

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript
do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work
out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you
have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only
if you persist.  - Isaac Asimov

Dig until you hit rock. Then take out that jackhammer and go a
little deeper.  - Allison Brennan

the well written - stephen king

But Nadine had always and forever belonged only to Nadine.  She was
the aerth's child...  Aunt and Uncle were too old, they had been in their
mid fifties when she turned sixteen, the year she had run fleetly through
the dewy grass under the moon - the night of wine, when dreams
condensed out of thin air like the nightmilk of fantasy.  A lovenight.  And
if the boy caught her she would have given him whatever prizes were hers
to give...  But he hadn't caught her.  A cloud had drifted over the moon.
The dew began to feel clammy and unpleasant, frightening.  The taste of
wine in her mouth had somehow changed to the taste of electric spit;
slightly sour.  A kind of metamorphosis had taken place, a feeling that she
should, must wait.  And where had he been then, her intended, her dark
bridegroom?

- Stephen King, The Stand

By Dan-ah Kim

on writing - stephen king again

Sometimes you have to go on when you don't feel like it, and sometimes
you're doing good work when it feels like all you're managing is to shovel
shit from a sitting position.

With six weeks' worth of recuperation time, you'll also be able to see any
glaring holes in the plot or character development. And listen--if you spot
a few of these big holes, you are forbidden to feel depressed about them or
to beat up on yourself. Screw-ups happen to the best of us.

When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying
the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.

The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your
pen or word processor.

Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid,
or making friends. In the end it's about enriching the lives of those who will
read your work, and enriching your own life as well. It's about getting up,
getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy... this
book is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to
start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other
creative art.  The water is free.  So drink.  Drink and be filled up.

- Stephen King, On Writing

 Read the book here.

By Karlee Manix

on writing - stephen king

In many cases when a reader puts a story aside because it 'got boring', the
boredom arose because the writer grew enchanted with his powers of
description and lost sight of his priority, which is to keep the ball rolling.

Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.

Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons why you cannot
succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It’s not just a question of how-to,
you see; it’s also a question of how much to. Reading will help you answer how
much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how. You can learn only
by doing.

- Stephen King, On Writing

By Joe Mamer

on reading and writing - stephen king

If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

- Stephen King

By Rommel Joson

the well written - stephen king

I sit on the bench in front of Bell's Market and think about Homer Buckland
and about the beautiful girl who leaned over to open his door when he come
down that path with the full red gasoline can in his right hand--she looked a
girl of no more than sixteen, a girl on her learner's permit, and her beauty was 
 terrible, but I believe it would no longer kill the man it turned itself on; for a
moment her eyes lit on me, I was not killed, although part of me died at her feet.

-Stephen King, Mrs. Todd's Shortcut

A great short story. Pick it up and give it a read sometime.