Writing Advice From Stephen King
It may not be the actual writing that you struggle with, it may be just starting the engine. You won't go anywhere if you don't have the keys, if there's no gas in the car, if you're too scared to get behind the wheel.
Plan your trip accordingly and make sure to bring a lot of snacks.
"You have to cut out the unimportant background chatter."
Mommy.
Mommy!
MOMMY!!!
I've tried writing while my daughter is awake and it doesn't work. I get pulled in and out of my writing too much, I can't focus, and my head feels like someone gonged me.
Likewise when my husband is home. It’s as if he has an alert that tells him I’m writing.
He wants to sit next to me and asks me what I’m doing, what am I writing about.
When I tell him I’m not supposed to tell him he says that means I’m writing about him.
Then no writing gets done because I have to read to him whatever I’m writing to prove to him I’m not writing about him.*
So, I have to eliminate distractions if I want to write. I have to wake up before the sun and tiptoe around the house, find a cozy spot, hopefully not too cozy that I fall asleep.
And pray I don’t wake the writing saboteurs that follow me everywhere.
"Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work."
It's true, when I sit down to write I have nothing flowing so I turn the tv on. That's much easier.
But if I sit for a little while longer then ideas start coming so fast and furious that I can't even get them all down. If I went about my day and waited for something to strike me then I may never write.
"The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better."
What do I write?
What do people want to read?
I'll never be as good as her.
Why should I bother?
