Stephen King’s 20 Tips for Becoming a Frighteningly Good Writer

Posted by Jon in Writing | 101 comments

May 23, 12

Have you ever wished you could peer inside the mind of one of the greatest writers in the world and find out exactly what makes them tick?

Well… here’s your chance.

Stephen King has published 49 novels, all of them bestsellers. He has sold more than 350 million copies of his works. According to Forbes, he earns approximately $40 million per year, making him one of the richest writers in the world.

And now he’s going to tell you exactly how to become a frighteningly good writer.

Sort of.

In 2002, King temporarily abandoned writing horror novels, instead publishing On Writing, a little book chronicling his rise to fame and discussing exactly what he believes it takes to become a good writer. Since then, it’s become the most popular book about writing ever written, pulling in over 1000 reviews on Amazon and selling God only knows how many copies.

Here’s why:

The book is… magic.

I’ve read On Writing from cover to cover at least five times, and each time, I saw a noticeable improvement in my prose. For one, it teaches the fundamentals of the craft, which is something no writer should ignore, but it also sort of rubs off on you.

As you read through King’s life story, you can’t help but see that, to him, writing isn’t a chore. It’s an adventure through undiscovered worlds where no one knows what’ll happen next (not even him).

And it’s contagious.

You can’t read On Writing and not come away with a smile on your face. Where other writing books are focused on the mechanics of the written word, King shows you how to capture the joy of the craft. You’ll find yourself wanting to write, not because of fame or fortune, but because it’s fun, and there’s nothing else you would rather do.

Personally, it’s inspired me more than any other book I’ve ever read, and if I could recommend only one book to bloggers, On Writing would be it. But don’t take my word for it. Below, I’ve collected a monster list of my favorite quotes from the book, and I also wrote down some of my own thoughts on exactly how they apply to bloggers.

If you enjoy them, grab yourself a copy of On Writing over at Amazon (aff). You won’t regret it.

Here are the quotes:

The Sin of Originality (and the Truth about Building a Popular Blog)

Posted by Henneke in Mistakes, Standing out | 86 comments

Apr 30, 12

Note from Jon: This is one of the most shocking lessons you can learn as a blogger. We’re all trained to believe originality is essential for standing out, but the fact is, it can be dangerous, even deadly. In this guest post by Henneke Duistermaat from Enchanting Marketing, she shows you when originality is good and when it’s bad, and she also gives you a strategy for exactly how to do it right. Enjoy.

Okay, show of hands.

Who else is still searching for that perfect, original angle that’ll make you stand out?

Yeah, most of us are. The fact is, the blogosphere is a crowded place, and if you want to stand out, you need to be original.

Right?

Well, yes and no.

As it turns out, sometimes originality isn’t quite as important as we all think it is. Sometimes, it can actually hurt you.

Let me explain.

21 Warning Signs You Chose the Wrong Topic for Your Blog

Posted by Jon in Launches, Mistakes | 82 comments

Apr 13, 12

You’ve wondered, right?

Back when you started, you were just stoked to have a blog. You picked a topic that seemed interesting, fired up WordPress, and proceeded to write your heart out, certain you would eventually gather a following, and it would all prove worthwhile.

But now you’re getting a little worried.

You’re not getting much traffic. You’re not getting many comments. You’re not making any money.

Not that you haven’t tried, of course. You’ve done all the things popular bloggers say to do, like publishing great content and commenting on other popular blogs and getting accounts on Twitter and Facebook, but no matter how hard you work, no matter how many different techniques you try, none of it is working.

So you wonder…

Could you have screwed yourself in the beginning?

Could you have chosen a topic for your blog that never has a chance of becoming popular?

Could you in fact be wasting your time trying to keep your blog alive, when really the only sensible thing to do is junk it and start over?

Well… let’s find out.

How to Be Unforgettable

Posted by Jon in Engagement | 142 comments

Apr 02, 12

Can I tell you my worst nightmare?

I’m lying in bed in a nursing home, sick and dying, gasping for breath, knowing that any minute now I’ll be passing into the great beyond. And I’m scared, really, really scared, because I’m all alone, and I don’t know what’s going to happen, and oh God, it hurts so much…

But then it stops. My body goes limp, my last breath rattles from my lungs, my bowels release, and the heart monitor beside the bed flat lines, loudly proclaiming the end of the great and mighty Jon Morrow.

A few moments later, a nurse walks into the room, checks my pulse, and looks at her watch. She writes down my time of death on a form, pulls the sheet over my head, and goes back to her office, where she calls the morgue. A day or two later, I’m cremated with five other bodies, all of us too important to even get our own urn.

And the worst part?

The next day, the sun comes up. The birds are singing. People eat breakfast, go to work, attend meetings… and nobody even notices I’m gone. The great wheel keeps on turning, and for better or worse, I’m forgotten. Goodbye cruel world, nobody gave a damn about me after all.

Scary, isn’t it?

Just writing it down gives me the willies.

It’s not just dying, although that’s certainly gruesome. It’s being forgotten. Down deep, I believe all of us have a primal need to be remembered, to pass something on to future generations, to leave some mark on the world saying, “I was here.”

If we’re being honest, I think maybe that’s one of the reasons many of us start blogging. There’s something immensely comforting about knowing your thoughts are out there for the whole world to read. You could kick the bucket tomorrow, but your words will live on, teaching, inspiring, and taking root in the minds of readers for generations to come.

Or at least that’s the idea.

What really happens, of course, is that you pour your heart and soul into a post, and no one seems to care. No comments, no links, no nothing. Come on over, friends, and check out my blog. We’re watching my ideas die in real time. Yuk, yuk, yuk.

And it’s disturbing.

When you pull up your blog, and you see it says “0 comments” next to every post, you feel like nothing has changed. Once again, you’re slipping through the cracks, passing into oblivion, one more nobody with a stupid little blog, God save your soul.

The good news?

It can change. You just have to realize your writing by itself isn’t a magic key to immortality. If you want that, you have to be unforgettable. You have to touch people so deeply, connect with them so powerfully that your ideas are burned into their minds.

Here’s how:

Why Posting Every Day is a Silly Strategy (And What to Do Instead)

Posted by Jon in Mistakes | 193 comments

Mar 27, 12

Note from Jon: This is a guest post by Dries Cronje from Productive Entrepreneur. If you’re like me, you often turn your nose up to guest posts on popular blogs, because most of them are by beginning bloggers who are still learning their chops, and so the posts kind of suck. Not so here. I couldn’t have said this better myself. It’s a freaking awesome post, and I encourage you to read every word of it.

Someone, somewhere, told bloggers to post every day.

So you do. And you give it your best shot.

But posting daily just doesn’t work for you. You don’t meet your traffic and income goals, you don’t get a flood of visitors, and your subscriber numbers stagnate.

Now you’re doubting your ability to be a successful blogger, and you feel like a sweatshop worker, working super-hard with no real reward.

The post-every-day strategy takes all the fun out of blogging.

Deep down, you suspect this strategy is downright dangerous. And you’d be right for the following reasons:

14 Devious Tactics for Getting More Comments on Your Blog Posts

Posted by Jon in Comments, Engagement | 91 comments

Mar 20, 12

You have a lot to be proud of, you know.

Most folks who start a blog quit within a few weeks, their dreams of fame and glory crushed by a cold and uncaring world who doesn’t give a damn what they think.

But you?

You hung in there. You kept writing. You’re even managing to get a little bit of traffic.

And you’re pleased with your progress. Rightfully so.

The only problem:

You’re not getting many comments.

The 7 Dumbest Mistakes You Can Make When Launching a New Blog

Posted by Jon in Launches, Mistakes | 267 comments

Mar 12, 12

So, let me guess.

When you started blogging, you probably plunked your butt down in a chair, rifled out some thoughts on your trusty keyboard, and punched “Publish,” right?

After all, that’s what blogging is about. It’s the place where you write, and the world gathers to listen.

It’s supposed to be simple. It’s supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to be fun.

But is it?