Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, toss it. Toss it even if you love it.
Stephen KingRead
Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it right — as right as you can, anyway — it belongs to anyone who wants to read it. Or criticize it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Create in solitude and share with the world.
This quote emphasizes the importance of the writing process as a dual phase: the initial creation should be intimate and personal, done in solitude, while the subsequent sharing requires openness to feedback and criticism from others. Stephen King highlights that once a piece is complete, it transforms from a private endeavor into a public experience that invites engagement and commentary from readers.
Themes
WritingCreativityProcessFeedbackStorytelling
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, this quote can inspire participants to create freely before sharing.
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Late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking on my door. I wanna go out, don't know if I can 'cuz I'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man.
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