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
If a writer knows what he or she is doing, I'll go along for the ride. If he or she doesn't... well, I'm in my fifties now, and there are a lot of books out there. I don't have time to waste with the poorly written ones.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A reader values quality in writing and prefers to invest time in well-crafted books over poorly written ones.
In this quote, Stephen King expresses the idea that a discerning reader seeks engaging and expertly written stories. As he reflects on his age and the abundance of literature available, he emphasizes the importance of quality, signaling that he has little patience for mediocrity in writing, which resonates with many who cherish the art of storytelling.
Themes
WritingLiteratureQualityReadingBooks
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion to highlight the importance of choosing quality literature.
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Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.
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That's the day's business. Thinking. Thinking and isolation, because it doesn't matter if you pass the time of day with someone or not; in the end, you're alone. He seemed to have put in as many miles in his brain as he had with his feet. The thoughts kept coming and there was no way to deny them.
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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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I’ve always believed that as an author, I do 50% of the work of storytelling, and the reader does the other 50%. There’s no way I can control the story you tell yourself from my book. Your own experiences, preferences, prejudices, mood at the moment, current events in your life, needs and wants influence how you read my every word.
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People in my novels always have terrible problems. If they are not terrible, I make them more terrible.
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