Writing is easy. Grab a pen and a piece of paper, and you’re halfway there. Okay, maybe there is a little more to it than that. But if you have the passion, the technique will follow. In the meantime, your favorite writers have some advice for you. Scroll through these quotes to get your creative juices flowing so you can start (or finish) the story of your dreams.
Not always, but much of the time. Here’s the full quote from Stephen King’s book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.
“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they're like dandelions. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day... fifty the day after that... and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it's — GASP!! — too late.”
Are adverbs the hellish creatures King claims? Not necessarily. But they are modifiers, so if you select words with more power and punch, you won’t need them.
Any writer knows they are driven by the need to write, rather than any claim to fame. If you truly love writing, you’ll do it whether anyone else ever reads it. Of course, getting published would still be nice.
You might be familiar with Thompson’s excessive drug use thanks to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but his writing style was beautifully succinct. Every word you write needs to carry its own weight. Otherwise, cut it. Especially those adverbs.
If even Hemingway admits to never mastering the skill of writing, what’s the point?
Keep learning. Keep seeking. You will never know everything there is to know about writing, but that’s why it’s magical.
It’s interesting that a quote from one of the original feminist authors uses male pronouns. But ladies, you can gain writing inspiration as well. You will, and should, insert a little autobiography into everything you write. This is what makes your work unique and valuable.
And nothing is as soul soothing as finding your flow and writing the almost perfect prose.
Writing is therapy, and Maya Angelou would know this better than almost anyone. This sentence taken from her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, speaks to the powerful stories she told. Don’t be afraid to pour out your emotions on the page.
Write about what scares you. It just might help someone else.
Stories are rhythm and flow. Not as loose as a song, but less structured than a textbook. Somewhere in there is your individual cadence. We won’t tell your English teacher if you throw a few rules out the window.