Final Lessons from Stephen King

I finally finished reading Stephen King's On Writing this week. Here are some quotes that stand out to me from the last third of the book:

• "Good fiction always begins with story and progresses  to theme; it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story... once your basic story is on paper, you need to think about what it means and enrich your following drafts with your conclusions. To do less is to rob your work (and eventually your readers) of the vision that makes each tale you write uniquely your own."
• "The truth is most writers are needy.  Especially between the first draft and the second, when the study door swings open and the light of the world shines in." (King advocates two drafts and a "polish". The first draft is private. The second draft is to be read by a few close friends.)
• "Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft - 10%... What the Formula taught me is that every story and novel is collapsible to some degree.  If you can't get out ten percent of it while retaining the basic story and flavor, you're not trying very hard.  The effect of judicious cutting is immediate and often amazing..."
• ...the larger the work [of writing] looms in my day --the more it seems like an I hafta instead of just an I wanna-- the more problematic it can become.  One serious problem with writers' workshops is that I hafta becomes the rule...  When, on the other hand,  making sure the kid gets to his basketball camp on time is every bit as important as your work in progress, there's a lot less pressure to produce."

I can relate to both the part about writers being needy and the part about the I hafta syndrome. I can become somewhat "needy" when I have others read my work with a critical eye. And on those occasions when writing becomes a hafta for me, then my production level invariably suffers.

One idea that motivated me from the last third of On Writing is the way King emphasizes that the first draft of a book should be written quickly to guarantee the story flows well. The subsequent drafts are where the "perfecting" of the writing is done. I tend to try and make things "perfect" as I go. I am going to give King's way a try and attempt to get the first draft of Spacemouse 9 finished quickly rather than going with my usual practice of slowly writing one perfect chapter at a time. Wish me luck!