Stephen King on the Craft of Short Story Writing 

Sure will glad to help: 1) Get ALONE anywhere and shut the door and hang a note on it "working". You must do this even if its for 30min. a day. 2) For that time set a goal either 30min. (as noted above) OR what I do is set a word limit 500 min. 3) READ! READ! READ! novels. 4) Get Stephen Kings book " On Writing" 5) Get the little book "The Elements of Style" by Stunk and White. 6) Have a light plot and just let the story develop on its own you will be amazed at the characters that just show up!

I like the guy who makes this interview. He posses the rare ability to shut the fuck up and let the man talk. Too many journalists just constantly bombard the interviewed with questions or flat jokes trying to shine and ruins the thought stream.

I appreciate that King shares his failures as well as his successes. Too many successful people forget their struggles and present their life as if it were charmed from the beginning. Even worse, some present their life as if they were always talented, but had to overcome great odds to show their talent to the world. Steve comes right and says that some of his worked was crap. He said his first few novels were so bad that he "didn't even bother revising them." I appreciate that, because I have been in that boat and I am motivated to continue developing my work knowing that even great writers produce duds.

For Sale. Baby shoes. Never worn. -Ernest Hemingway

wow, an interviewver that actually lets him speak

My favorite Stephen Hawking book is Harry Potter and the secrets of dark tower

I'm 16 and I recently decided to stop my novel after being away for a while and losing motivation and continued with short stories. My writing has become so much more polished after my experience with writing the novel and I stay much more concise and motivated with my short stories, I've really found my calling

I've been focusing more on flash-fiction between 500-1000 words, and it's ridiculous how much you can end up cramming into such a tiny space.

Steven King ... 69 years old ,hit buy a car in 1999 sustained broken bones in his right leg and hip, broken ribs, a punctured lung and a head injury.... still ticken....

I really needed this. I have been writing a short story for a while now and was afraid to post it online due to the fact that everywhere I researched, it said that short stories were not valued much. Well, if Stephen King says its worth it, no one is going to stop me now.

Night Shift was one of the first collections of Stephen King's that I've had the pleasure of reading. He doesn't write about death as much as the thoughts of others surrounding it. That's the wonder...

I’m currently working a 12 hour shift in a remote railroad signal box, it has 360 degree panoramic views. In front of me is the ocean and the sun is glinting on calm waters, behind me are mountains, I can see tiny white specs moving up and down the mountains (sheep). Either side are lush green meadows which produce vibrant beautiful colours from wild flowers in the summer time. The signal box is an old Victorian wooden building. The old pendulum clock is tick tocking in a very mediative rhythm on the wall. My dog is curled up asleep next to the old log burning stove . The wind is trying to make its way through the thin panes of glass which makes a beautiful haunting sound The resident Robin is outside on the steps eagerly pecking at the bread & biscuits crumbs I’ve thrown out for him. It’s a far cry from my last career in the city , I was well groomed and sharp suits , nice car and big house until one day ( 3 years ago) I saw the light after being forced to lay off some people at my company. It hit me hard & I just couldn’t live with myself anymore. I handed in my notice and walked out . The Universe came to my rescue and found this job for me, now I have long hair & beard and look like Grizzly Adams . I’ve taken up painting with water colours and I’m regularly bringing my paint pads here to work. I regularly have this channel playing in the background. The only person I see occasionally is an old farmer who drives by on an old open top tractor, he’s an old man with a flat cap, bright red face, his sheep dog between his legs with its front paws placed on the steering wheel . I call him “ Farmer Jones” although I’ve actually no idea what his real name is. He acknowledges me by raising his index finger off the steering wheel of his 1950’s tractor that has seen many many years of extreme mountain winters. Both Farmer Jones & his old sheep dog stare straight ahead without flinching. Where they go is a mystery as the the old drovers track goes on for miles way up into the mountains, they normally drive back past about 5.30pm and disappear back into the mountains in the opposite direction. He’s a tall man with 1970’s hair cut , kind of reminds me of an old Clint Eastwood stature . I’m sure he must have been a very handsome man in his day . I imagine the local girls hoping to catch his eye on a Saturday night at the old village hall dance. I’m guessing that there was once a Mrs farmer Jones but judging from the vacant stare of both him and his dog that they both experienced “ THE DAY !“ that life for them stood still” . Mrs Jones was getting ready to leave their old white washed mountain top farm to do the weekly shop in the local town , she’d been looking at a fancy catalog which had arrived in the post and had been looking at a beautiful summer dress that she wanted to buy for their daughter who’d got married some years before and had moved to the city suburbs with her husband and had recently had a child. As she was leaving she noticed a dead rat laying under the kitchen table . She thought oh thank god ‘Dylan’ the sheep dog finally killed that damn thing, it’s been raiding the pantry for months , he’s such a good dog considering his young age, I do love him . Mrs J got into the old car which took a few turns to start and slowly made her way down the old drovers track towards what can be loosely called a road , she glanced up at the mountains opposite her and saw Mr J and Dylan as specs in the distance rounding up sheep. She loved them both with all the love of a woman’s heart. She made her way along the road until arriving at a T junction of a main road , to the left was the local town however Mrs J turned right . ( if you asked her why she turned right on that particular day, all she could tell you is that …. All intention , meaning, thought , feelings just evaporated, “ I was a whispy summer cloud that drifts with absolutely no control , it came out of nowhere and yet I was connected to everything in the universe!! I just kept on driving , I wasn’t aware I was driving!!). Mr J & Dylan had arrived back many hours ago from the mountains as it was getting dark , he knew something was wrong as did Dylan , both fearing the worst . The phone line was down as usual but he’d managed to get the word out that Mrs J was missing. 3 days go by and Mr J looks at the open page in the catalog and think … You stupid man, I should have bought her something fancy !! I should have noticed, he wipes away a tear . Dylan noticed the rat he killed for his mama and had left it there so she could see she didn’t have to fret no more about it eating food from the parlour. Dylan thought .. it’s my fault she left I should never have left that rat in the kitchen. THE DAY !! Fast forward many years and that vacant stare is still there as they both go over that day forever . Mrs J found herself in the suburbs of a City she’d only visited once and followed a vaguely familiar road until she arrived and parked outside a vaguely familiar house. Marie her daughter was playing in the front garden with her new 1 year old child , something made her look up and notice an old beat up car parked on the road just in front of the gate. A female telepathy kicks in “ She knew “ she walks to the car and opens the driver door . The Female glance of eyes meeting for a split second carries more information than any Male could ever comprehend nor fathom. No words required, Marie took her mother by the hand sat her down at the kitchen table whilst she prepared the spare guest portion of the house . Mrs J stayed for a month until she left with a note to her Daughter “ Thank you “ !! . Mrs J these days is still with us but not with us . THAT DAY she dissolved back into the universe !! so Anyway, I’ve another train coming so I’d better go and pull a signal lever !!! I Look at the passengers faces as the train passes by, some have their heads in their phones , some stare emotionless out of the window , lost in their thoughts as life takes them on an individual journey of lost lioves, love, despair, anger , worry , contentment. It’s a journey we all must make …God speed to you all ❤️🙏🙏🤷‍♂️

I’ve been writing for 12 years, writing novella-length stories for 10, and have written one full length novel. I’ve never been published and I’ve never tried to be published, even independently. I’ve just been enjoying the ebb and flow of it. There were hitches along the way, in 2016 I wrote maybe five or ten paragraphs at most. I was too busy working, drinking, and doing drugs. Got sober in 2017 and found my love for writing again, it helped me at a time when I was at my lowest and I’ll never forget that. I’m working on my first “real” novel right now. I don’t know where it’ll take me, if anywhere at all, and I suppose that’s the joy of it. All I know is the process is extremely meaningful and it really is a therapy of sorts.

Come to think of it,my favorite works by Stephen King have been his short story collections.

I think we've got to give a lot of credit to places like Reddit. Their NoSleep section is crammed full of fantastic short stories. They're all horror also so it fits my bill perfectly.

The green mile was one of his best works. The movie also was phenomenal.

I'm so happy that he mentioned Raymond Carver - My fav short story writer.

I'm working on a novel and a short story right now. I'm looking forward to when they are finished.

This man is my writing hero!

You definitely have a better chance of somebody reading your story if it doesn't take them 20 hours to do so

Brilliant writer.

As someone who primarily writes short fiction (short stories and chapbooks), I love this. Stephen King is a master with both short fiction and novels, and whatever you wish to write, you can learn a lot listening to him discuss the craft.

The plot is everything. Planning is almost everything (it can change as the story develops). The difficult part is taking your reader on a journey of discovery-about the protagonist and about themselves. Short stories are the tops.

Night Shift is his best collection of short stories by far.

Stephen King has had an extraordinary life and career and I want to pinch my nose when I read a couple of your remarks. A real craftsman.

I like the "Different Seasons" anthology. I've been rereading "On Writing" again. About half way through. Good for copywriters and always love the insights.

Just stumbled onto this site as I have been writing short stories for some years now. Many of which have never been completed. I come up with an idea for a story and put the scenario on paper. It will just sit there and the I come up with another story. I have at least 6 stories in their infancy. I'd like to get motivated to complete one. I have had to cease work due to health. I'm 60 and think that with all the free time I have now, I could pull my finger out and begin my adventure.

I always start out with "this would be a great novel" and it ends up being a short story is what happens to me. This is very motivating. Thank you for posting it.

Thank u for your life's work. And thank u for deciding not to give up or retire. We luv u, Stephen King!

When writing a novel I think writing short stories are really a good idea when you get tired of the novel. I’ve been writing a novel which is mainly about a bounty hunter which hunts her bounty across the Louisiana swamp but sometime I get tired of it so I go and write a short story, not seriously usually, just changing up

This is humbling yet inspirational. I myself am in the midst of writing a short story

I love Stephen Kings writing style. Brilliant man!

King's right. I wrote some very good short stories when I started and won prizes with them. But that led me to believe that the only way to make a living out of writing was to extend myself and focus on the long form. It took me many years of failure with the novel - failure which virtually made me decide to give up writing altogether - to realise that I should have stuck with what I did best. Some of the best writers who've ever lived - Chekhov, Carver, Mansfield, Trevor, Alice Munro - have stuck with short stories (and plays in Chekhov's case). It's not about realising your limitations, but realising your strengths. Unfortunately, because it's the successful novel that usually leads to fame and financial independence for writers, many writers turn to it when they really should ignore it. Forget about money, fame, ego, big houses and fast cars. Focus on being read!

Nice job by the interviewer - he asked just a couple of succinct questions and had the poise to shut up and listen. No interrupting, no forced humor about "the King of Horror" or "I'm your number-one fan." And I feel like King appreciated the chance to give thoughtful replies and not having to yuk it up.

I've never written a short story before, never been that good at it, but I've finally decided to do it and that it will help my writing a lot. It's just a very daunting task, doing something I've never done before -so trying to get all the advice I can.

I adore this man and his work, he is such an inspiration.

In my childhood and teenage years I always used to be an on and off writer. I’d come up with certain ideas for plots and characters, devote myself to briefly writing them, and then shortly lose interest afterwards from my own constant criticism of my work. I still do write as a hobby during my free time when I’m not working at both my jobs. Recently though I’ve been a little more serious and have completely devoted a lot more of free time to actually finishing my own writings. When I write now I usually find it best that you’re pacing your stories. That can take a good amount of time with occupying the majority of the overall writing for the work. It is necessary though in order to not throw a ton of ideas on the reader, audience all at once and make them feel lost, or develop disinterest in the piece. It helps with further establishing the scenes, characters, and elements that you wish to incorporate into the story and make it enjoyable to the individual looking into. That, and it makes people gain a certain connection to a great amount of the aspects there in. I know that since I’ve been doing a bit of writing myself and have managed to publish two books, “Lost Case Encounters” and “Tales Of Alandria: Bridging Of Worlds”. Each time I devoted myself to writing out the scenes in each chapters for the books I always wanted to put great amount of meticulous detail into them to really flesh everything out for the readers, make them feel that the events are unfolding before their very eyes.

Started a horror short piece tonight, taking a brief break, and found this video helpful. Thanks!

I still remember a story from Reader's Digest titled: "Before He Was Stephen King". After numerous attempts he finally made it. He held the evidence for his wife standing in the kitchen to see and they danced together slowly with delight.

Any coaching I can get from listening to Stephen King I appreciate. The man is an expert in his field.

Thanks for sharing this! Stephen King is a great storyteller.

As an aspiring writer I would love to write a novel but when I begin to write I take ideas, and feelings I have begin a story and instead of a novel it's a short story. I have so far written two short stories and it's really enjoyable to me. It's freeing to me to be able to write multiple short stories than say one long piece of work. Though hopefully I can grow and write a story that's engaging enough to be worthy of being a novel.

Still so humble after so long.

I love Mr. King! He's been such an inspiration to myself and other aspiring authors. :)

A living legend. Listen to everything this man says very carefully; you won't get truer wisdom anywhere else. And read "On Writing". If you're a writer and haven't read it yet, shame on you.

+David Arndt Jr. - You also have to take into account that not every page will have the same word count. Pages with mostly dialogue will have a lower word count than one that is mostly narration.

Sad they stopped publishing short stories. I wished they would start back. Love, respect, and positivity always. Neita James,:-)

I watched this in 2013 in school. Inspired me, now in 2024 I still remember it.

It's incredible . .1.3K subscribers ... and there he is ....

The interviewer asks pretty good questions. Well done.

You've got to admire how humble King is. And yes, not that I've read them all, but I've read a lot, very few writers get anywhere close to Raymond Carver when it comes to short stories.

Kings best work is his short stories. My fave is Different Seasons of all his books, altho they are novellas. But Skeleton Crew n Night Shift are amazing

Always amazing!

I feel I can gain some insight and useful perspective from this, Stephen King and all his renowned reputation or otherwise. What he touches on is true: short stories don't always get the recognition they truly deserve.

As a published horror writer myself, I LOVE writing short stories. Only trouble is, they are very hard to sell as book collections.

I read about his short fiction in wikipedia. I myself have 2 Amazon collections. I write novels but find myself doing a ton of shorts several months before i tackle the next. i did two collections - 'the hardest why hold back?' and 'Adventure season.' In amazon.

I'm reading "The Body" right now, it's amazing!!!

Great little talk.

Lmao that Joel Osteen book in the background.

The interviewer looks so nervous. I would too if i was interviewing this great man

Publishing my novel soon in 2 months :)

King introduced me to Euel Arden - i thank him for that.

Stephen King on the craft of short story writing: "It's a difficult craft." THANKS. Is your channel always so articulate?

Raymond Carver - The Bath .... what a talent that man was, unbelievable ability.

The fact he realized his first two novels were not even worth revision teaches a good lesson.

Good interviewer. Kinda knows the craft.

This book freed my pen! I just finished my first novel "6 Miles With Courage" Stephen a hundred times thank you! I got it I have seen the rabbit in the cage with the number 6 painted on it.

If there was anyone of whom I had the honor to sit and talk with about life.. it is, King.

Everytime i hear stephen king talk in interviews is like im reading a book.

Girl who loved Tom Gordon in the background!! I loved Patricia McFarlene

How are your short stories so good? They're the best!

Awesome!

thanks

Wow! Stephen King said his short stories were bad. This gives me hope and says to never give up!😊

His short stories are better than his novels

King is amazing

SK is the best. I recommend Quitters Inc.

King is a master writer no matter the length or genre. Shorts have been my fave to read or write since I started raising kids. Obvious reasons. LOL

N. H. II- Humble Poems 1-5, N. H. II- Poems of Courage 1-5, and N. H. II- Poems of Mercy 1-5 are on RU-vid, and here is a link to a fictional story based on the Salem Witch Trials: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SIJOQpdNBhk.html

shortest story ever published: For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.

I have to ask one more question. Is your book professionally published or are you self-publishing? What do you think would be good for a debut novel, and if you're doing it professionally could you give me some info on how to get a literary agent and what I need to do to get professionally published. Thanks!

Some people are into model making and others do crossword puzzles. I write short stories of mystery and imagination, initially for my own enjoyment. Writing short stories isn't easy for me, and I have to work hard at it. If I was qualified to give advice, it would be: choose the three act structure. Avoid unimportant information (too much backstory etc). Kill "babies" as often as it takes, and speed up the reading experience with active voice as opposed to passive voice. My motto is: get in; activate the fuse; and get out.

To anyone who hasn't already, please read Different Seasons. Four novellas in there, one is good, one is really good and two are downright brilliant.

I didn't think Misery had started out as a short story,Stephen. I'd read part of it and I love the movie. Kathy Bates is good. That's why she'd got an OSCAR for best acting in a lead role.

My mom has all the books except 2!!

The other consideration that I'm surprised wasn't covered here is the fact that there simply aren't that many markets left for short stories anymore, and what few remain are very difficult to get published in, and most don't pay very well. Stephen King can bend the rules to a large extent because publications who might not even ordinarily run fiction will make room for a SK story, and pay top dollar for it. In the early 1970s, when he was publishing in men's magazines that were considered "ghetto" markets, those still paid on average about $250/story -- the equivalent of like $1,400 today. Even just selling 3-4/year, as he was, amounted to a pretty decent side gig. Of course, even then, general and genre fiction in periodicals was drying up -- it was gone from the men's mags after about 1982. Today, as I said, only a few big names (New Yorker, Atlantic, Playboy) publish mainline fiction, and the genre mags (F & SF, Asimov's), and that's about it. The opportunities for selling short stories are much, much more bleak than they were in the 70s or earlier decades.

Interesting that some of King's novels started as short stories, including Misery.

Why is there a Joel Osteen book on display in the background??

He knows his stuff, does our Steve.

Anyone know when this interview was or when this interview was posted?

The Gingerbread Girl is an absolutely fantastic story.

King is one of the elder gods, right up there with Stan Lee, Bob Ross and Jim henson

Stephen King has such a cute smile

Kelly Link is a pretty good writer (published by Random House) who specializes in short fiction. Not all writers turn to the novel. ;)

Long live the short story!

I'm months away from 30, never perused further education after leaving school but I've had a multitude of ideas and characters buzzing around my head, is it worth getting into writing? Or should I accept that the window has closed?

The Shining is my fav along with Pet Sematary Both scared the crap out of me .

I've written many short stories but still haven't made any real attempt at a novel - feels very intimidating. So I'm not sure why writers say that short stories are harder to write. Need to get back into it and try more shorts, and perhaps something longer.

I prefer short stories over anything. I love it when a story is short and straight to the point.

I'm sorry but I have to point out how funny it is that the interviewer looks almost like Stephen King