{"id":2559,"date":"2022-02-17T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingwriter.com\/blog\/?p=2559"},"modified":"2022-02-12T08:42:32","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T08:42:32","slug":"livingwriter-guide-writing-like-stephen-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingwriter.com\/blog\/livingwriter-guide-writing-like-stephen-king\/","title":{"rendered":"A LivingWriter Guide to Writing Like Stephen King"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

No reader in the horror novel scene would have missed a Stephen King in their bookshelf. An aspiring writer, wanting to break in the industry through suspense and fantasy, would love to know how Stephen King does his magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"writing<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, Stephen King recognized the influx of would-be authors wanting to follow his footsteps, so he published a memoir, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft<\/a><\/em>, which not just details his life but also his fond advice for writers. If you can\u2019t seem to catch that book anywhere, however, we\u2019re here to fill you in and teach you how to write like Stephen King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen King\u2019s Style<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen King\u2019s writing is quite unlike the styles of J.K. Rowling<\/a> and Brandon Sanderson, who are well-known plot-driven writers. King blatantly rejects the concept of a \u201cplot,\u201d and prefers to \u201cdiscover\u201d the story. King is what we call a \u201cgardener<\/a>;\u201d he doesn\u2019t plan his stories ahead as he finds those kinds of stories \u201cpredictable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outlined stories feel fake and forced, at least to Stephen King.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

King also finds outlining boring, and that you are also likely to lose the passion for the story planning for it instead of just putting it down to words. Outlined stories, he feels, are artificial and forced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For new writers, letting go of the outline, especially if that was what you have been taught by your English teachers, can be scary. However, if you are of King\u2019s people, who feel imprisoned and intimidated by a premeditated story, then you can heed a few of Stephen King\u2019s wise words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing like Stephen King: The Basics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen King identifies only three things in a novel: narration, description, and dialogue. We\u2019ll talk about each item, starting with the narration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Getting lost during a vacation can be a compelling enough situation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The lack of \u201cplot\u201d in King\u2019s checklist of novel parts can be obviously prominent, but King substitutes it for a \u201csituation.\u201d He says that most of his stories come out of putting a character or several characters into a situation<\/strong>. The concept is to watch how these characters weave themselves out of the situation. As an example, King defines the situation in a \u201cwhat-if\u201d question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n