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Quotes of the Day for 21 September 2004 - Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King was born at Portland, Maine on this day in 1947. When Stephen was very young, his father stepped out to get a pack of cigarettes, and has not been seen since. He started writing at age eleven, working with his brother Dave to turn out a mimeographed newspaper they sold for a nickel. He his first story published in a magazine when he was still in high school. After graduating from college he attempted to write, but was unable to find a market so he fell back on teaching for $6,400 a year. He started to write a story and threw it away in disgust, and only continued when his wife Tabitha found it in the trash and insisted he keep at it - that was Carrie, the paperback rights alone brought him $200,000 and he quit teaching. In 1999 he was hit by a passing van and only lived because of heroic efforts at the trauma center and a long series of surgeries. In addition to the horror titles he is best known for, I find his "On Writing" to be an important addition to my bookshelf. Alas, he has sai that he will retire as soon as his current projects are completed. These quotes are about his craft.

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.

The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them.

When asked, "How do you write?" I invariably answer, "one word at a time."

We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.

If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write.

I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.
     - All from Stephen King

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