Status Updates From On Writing: A Memoir of the...

7: write dialogue how people speak. It takes practice and listening to how people actually talk.

6:
When writing descriptions, say what you see then get on with the story. It’s easier to over describe than under describe.

In these sections, King talks about characters and symbolism. It was interesting to read his thoughts on the two main characters of The Dead Zone (a top 2 King book for me), and a bit funny to look back on. Greg Stillson, the antagonist of that book, is a Trump-esque politician that King created in the 1970s, but this book was written in the 90s, so the closest comp for King was wrestler turned governor Jesse Ventura

Plotting is a big no-no. Be a “pants-er” (I always felt this was the right way to write but unfortunately followed advice of unknown authors with Youtube channels)

Write about work/jobs. Write about what you know.

Need a routine. Try to stick with amount of time writing rather than words written. But I should be getting around 1,000 words per day. Allow yourself one day a week off of writing at first. But see this as urgent. The book NEEDS written. It’s not a want. There’s a deadline to where you will fizzle out and it is usually within 3-4 months. Write fast.

Write every day unless you want to forget your story. 10 pages a day is too high, but 2 pages a day is realistic. That puts finishing a first draft at about 6 months.