Writing Advice from Pulp Fiction Legends
Your favorite authors know better than any textbook or online course
Stephen King advised in On Writing: “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write. Simple as that.” This makes perfect sense to me. My dad once showed me how to change a tire, and from then on I knew how to do it and, unfortunately, have had many chances to use that skill. It’s similar to writing. When we read fiction, we see, to an extent, the author using his skills. We peek into how he changes the tire, page by page. Wheel by wheel? Okay, maybe I have much more to learn about deploying metaphors.
Regardless of King’s opinions on other topics, the man earned his place as an American writing legend, and we’d be wise to listen to what he has to say about learning the craft. Here are some other gems from our favorite paperback powerhouses.
On details in prose
“The writer and the reader are involved in a creative relationship. The writer must provide the materials with which the reader will construct bright pictures in his head. The reader will use those materials as a partial guide and will finish the pictures with the stuff from his own life experience.” - John D. MacDonald
On beginnings and revisions
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” - Louis L’Amour
“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished; that will be the beginning.” - Louis L’Amour
On story ideas
"There are thirty-two ways to write a story, and I’ve used every one, but there is only one plot—things are not as they seem.” - Jim Thompson
On knowing your purpose
“Fall in love and stay in love. Do what you love, don’t do anything else. Don’t write for money. Write because you love to do something. If you write for money, you won’t write anything worth reading.” - Ray Bradbury
On writing yourself into a corner
“When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.” - Raymond Chandler
On the subconscious
"You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever it is it’s working on; then you can write a novel.” - James M. Cain
On speculative fiction
“I could never write about strange kingdoms. I could never do Harry Potter or anything like that. Even when I did science-fiction, I didn’t write about foreign planets and distant futures. I certainly never did fantasies about trolls living under bridges.” - Richard Matheson
On boring fiction
"My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.” - Elmore Leonard
What did your favorite authors advise on writing great fiction? Tell us in the comments.
I like the last one best.