Whether you’re a horror enthusiast or prefer a gentler genre for reading, you must admit that Stephen King is one of the most prolific authors of all time. With more than 90 novels to his name, including sci-fi, fantasy, crime and more, several of King’s stories have been made into films. With this background, most writers would agree that King is a force to reckon with, as well as someone who no doubt has some valuable advice for budding authors.
Every writer must find his or her own unique voice. However, less experienced writers can always benefit from the insights and suggestions of those who have forged a successful path before them.
Stephen King says to avoid adverbs
In his own book about writing, Stephen King advised writers to avoid adverbs. Concision and clarity are goals to which all writers should strive. Overloading text with adverbs—or lots of adjectives, for that matter—adds to the word count but may detract from the quality of writing.
Take advice from Stephen King and avoid passive voice
This is one of the biggest challenges new writers encounter. You might not even realize how often you write in a passive tone until you start analyzing your work, searching for this specific habit. It sometimes feels more natural to say: ”Her hat was blown clear off her head from the gust of wind that plowed through the trees.”
According to King and other writing experts, however, it’s best to use an active voice. In the sentence mentioned in the previous section, an active tone would look like this: “The gust of wind that plowed through the trees blew her hat clear off of her head.” Take a close look at the most recent things you’ve written to see if you have developed a passive voice habit.
Always take a break for several weeks after your first draft
Stephen King has said that he is diligent about taking a 6-week break after he completes a first draft on a book. While not all writers have the ability to indulge in time off like this, the point is to walk away for as long as you can before you begin making revisions.
Taking a break after your first draft enables you to come back to your manuscript with a fresh perspective. You’re more likely to notice things when reading your story after a break than you might be if you were to move right into the revision phase after completing your first draft.
Take what you can from King’s advice and make it your own
Maybe you don’t need six full weeks as a break in between your first draft and revisions. Or perhaps you believe that a passive tone sounds better than active voice in a certain part of your story. And, maybe you like to sprinkle a few descriptive words into your text on occasion. This is all fine!
The most important lesson that budding authors can learn is to take the advice of experienced writers under consideration and then put it to good use as they see fit while always developing their own unique style. YOU are the only writer who writes exactly like you do. Find your voice, and let it shine.
