Editing Stephen King Style

Stephen King, one of America's most prolific and best selling authors, is more famous for his bone chilling horror stories than as a teacher of writing.

However, his book, On Writing, is full of inspiration for writers of any genre. In it, King not only tells the story of how he started writing, the sacrifices and rewards of his literary career, and some of the demons he faced while becoming famous, he also shares some outstanding editing tips.

Try these:

1. Have courage. Use active verbs instead of passive ones.

Sentences should have power, action, and clarity. Otherwise, they are boring.

King believes that timid writers use the passive voice too frequently. Instead, make sure that you have a noun actually doing something in each sentence.

For example, compare these sentences:

Jack was planning to leave Irene for another woman, Stella, who was his secretary.

Jack and his secretary Stella eloped.

The first one uses the passive verb form. Who cares if Jack was planning something?

When he elopes, the story gets interesting. You want to know more. Your mind starts painting a picture and considering all the implications for Jack's career, future, and the people he discarded.

Action verbs create strong sentences.

2. Be direct. Make your point in fewer words.



3. Eliminate needless description.



4. Remove the word "that" wherever you can.



5. Never use a long word when you could use a short one.



6. Give your self time. Write your book, article or website all the way through before you edit.

Create your draft and put it away for at least a few days.

Then, read it out loud. Listen to the flow of the words. Cut anything extra.

Then, read it aloud. Remove anything that is extra, especially adjectives and adverbs.

When you edit, hone your words. Make them crystal clear, action packed, and direct.

Read On Writing by Stephen King. Translate his suggestions to your personal style.

Then, go write your masterpiece!

The Only Road to Everything You Want

One of my favorite authors, Tama Kieves, author of This Time I Dance, wrote a beautiful article that really spoke to my heart and soul. She gave me permission to reprint it here.

Wanted to share it with you in hopes that it would compel you forward on your writing journey.

The Only Road to Everything You Want

We commit to real change, and then we resist it. This cosmic dance has been going on forever in every ballroom since the beginning of time...

I've committed to write more this year. It's what I want. Now that I've said it, I know I will drag into my writing room, and it will feel as though I have to hoist a dead body out of the way, just to sit down and type out a sentence. I'll want to wash my hands, and then research how soap got invented, and then perhaps start a small organic soap company.... But I'll stay there and write instead.

There is a part of myself who will wheedle: "Maybe tomorrow. You'll feel better tomorrow." Then there's the one who's painted her toenails hot pink and stomps her imperial feet. "I don't want to do that," she bellows. Another part of me bargains. "I'll answer email now. I'll do the dishes. Okay, okay, I'll exercise!"

What is all that about? Therapists call it resistance. In spiritual traditions, they call it the death of the ego or the frightened self. But I'm thinking the technical term is: blah, blah, blah, something to ignore on the road to everything you really want.

In Buddhism, there is a classic story about Milarepa, a Tibetan monk who sought to meditate and find peace in a cave. You can think of it as his new year's resolution. Just when Milarepa gets all ready to keep his promise to himself, these unruly, foul demons arrive and disrupt his lovely peace-fest. But Milarepa didn't go ballistic and he didn't go limp either. As the tale gets told, he accepted his disruptive energies and invited them to tea. He stopped thinking things should be otherwise, and refused to reject the way things were. Then having stopped protesting the demons, they simply disappeared. Those fun-loving Buddhists always have great answers for our pain.

Natalie Goldberg, creative writing guru, makes a similar point. She talks about writing past your inner critic, not giving the critic any energy or pushback. Remember that old childhood retort, "I know I am, but what are you?" That wouldn't be a good strategy for an infinitely vicious and disturbed inner troll. She says fighting with your inner critic is like "wrestling with tofu." It's pointless, exhausting, and smelly in the end. So I'm guessing you can invite tofu to tea as well.

This year I've decided I'm going to write-- no matter what form resistance takes. I may have to walk past a screaming baboon, crusted barbed wire, or stay in a room with a foul odor. I may have to look in the mirror and confront cellulite and age and the breaking of past promises. But it's all okay. Because I'm on the road to freedom. There is only one road through this. I'll be gentle with myself, but I'll hold to my desires with both fists, all my breath, and the golden stallions of my yet untapped strength. I've fooled myself for far too long, saying it's easier not to make the commitment. Now I know I'll never live my full dreams without this commitment. Besides, resistance is the clear sign that I'm getting too near the gold mine or stash of real change. I must be afraid of something very big and explosively good. Ooh la la.

What's the one thing you can do this year that would make every difference in the world to you? What calls to you right now? What would you regret not discovering, beginning, doing or finishing, yet again, for another year? That's your road to freedom. That's the pathway to everything you want. Your monkeys are out there. But so are the angels. That's where you'll meet your white hot truth and freedom. Everything else is a secondary version of your real life.

I see now that resistance doesn't matter and will always be part of the turf. Resistance will take many faces. My feeling of failure doesn't matter. My fear and shame and even all my "reasons" don't matter. There is only one road to what I want. I can get on that road or not. My dreams aren't going to change.

This year I'm going to take that road. It's my year to do it.

I might have to crawl or step over broken glass and hidden rattle snakes, I don't know. And I don't much care now. It's the only next step I can take that points me in my true direction. I'll bring snacks, bribes, amulets, faith and self-mercy. But I'm going, baby. I'm taking the road to freedom. I hope I see you out there....

Yours in the dance,


Copyright 2008 Tama J. Kieves. All rights reserved.

The Bullets Every Author Needs

Whether your book is published, half-way written, or just in the visioning stage, this brainstorming technique is certain to be beneficial in many ways.

Set aside 30-45 minutes and get rid of all distractions. Turn off your email and instant messaging, let your machine answer your phone, and ask your loved ones to give you some uninterrupted time.

Grab a piece of paper or open a fresh document on your computer. Select the method that allows you to write quickly and easily.

Tell yourself that you are going to focus and write a list as quickly as possible. This will alert your brain and put it on notice to produce it's best thinking.

Then, quickly, write down 10 benefits readers will get from your book. Write them in a bulleted list, just one phrase or sentence. Don't worry about spelling, grammar, or repetition. Focus on writing quickly.

Write 10 more. Then, do 10 more.

Keep writing until you find that you can't think of another thing. You want to have a minimum of 25 bulleted benefits but 50 is even better.

When you're feeling complete, congratulate yourself on your efforts.

Next, start to organize and edit your bullets. You will find some that repeat, some that sound blah, and some that are fantastic. Polish this list until you love it.

You will use this bulleted list in many ways, including

• keeping on track in your book by ensuring all the bullets are included in the text


• creating compelling copy for your back cover


• giving it to your web designer for use in your website copy


• using it to create any marketing materials like press kits, flyers, or postcards


• pulling out 3-5 bullets and creating an article to post in on-line article directories


• developing a teleclass or live seminar with some of the points


• writing press releases and media pitches


• crafting blog posts


• etc, etc, etc

As you can see, there are many, many ways to use this list of bulleted benefits of your book. Doing this exercise is fun, energizing, and extremely practical.

Plus, it reminds you to keep the focus on your serving your reader and creating a book that provides lasting value to everyone who reads it.

Does Your Writing Stick?

While traveling, I read an outstanding novel by Jodi Picoult called Harvesting the Heart. In the book, a young wife from a troubled background suffers postpartum depression and runs away from her husband and infant son for three months. When she returns, her angry husband refuses to accept her back into the family.

The women buys a sleeping bag and camps out on the front lawn, sleeping under a hydrangea bush.

I could not get that image out of my mind. For some reason, the fact that it was a hydrangea bush made the picture hauntingly clear in my imagination.

If you read novels, and every writer should, you will notice that great writers don't describe everything in a scene but share a few crystal clear details that anchor the story in your mind. In this book, the hydrangea bush was the anchor detail. The color of the sleeping bag, the face of the wife, even the appearance for the house was left to the reader's imagination. By identifying the hydrangea bush, the author made the scene believable but did not bore or distract the reader with too much extraneous description.

Non fiction writers must do this as well. Best selling non fiction authors use this same anchoring technique in the stories they tell to illustrate key points.

As you write your book, pay close attention to the stories you tell. Notice how much description you use. Cut out everything that is unimportant.

Anchor each story with one striking detail. When your book is crisp, clear and engaging, people relish the experience of reading it as much as they enjoy the information presented.

That's the recipe for a successful book in any topic area.