'Read a lot; write a lot"

 

"As a writer, one of the things that I've always been interested in doing is actually invading your comfort space.  Because that's what we're supposed to do.  Get under your skin, and make you react." 

 -  Stephen King

 

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in America and perhaps the world who has not heard of or read Stephen King.  His books have sold upward of 400 million copies; many movies have been made from his works; and he’s won dozens of major writing awards.  Among them are the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, and the National Book Award Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Born on Sept. 21, 1947 King continues to reside in his home state of Maine and along with his wife Tabitha is one of Maine’s greatest philanthropists.  The Kings annually contribute some $3 million to charitable causes.   

 

And, he has been unafraid to share his writing talents with others, including authoring the book On Writing, one of the best books written on the craft of writing.  

 

         

 

 His advice to would-be writers:  “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.   If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time or the tools to write.”