I have spent a good many years since―too many, I think―being... - Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

"Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open."

"If you're just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than strip your television's electric plug-wire, wrap a spike around it, and then stick it back into the wall. See what blows, and how far. Just an idea."

"Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work."

"The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor."

"Some of this book—perhaps too much—has been about how I learned to do it. Much of it has been about how you can do it better. The rest of it—and perhaps the best of it—is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you're brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up."