On Writing
Stephen King
Summary
Writing advice and the memoir of a legendary fiction writer
Rating: 4/5
Notes
To write is human, to edit is divine
Good story ideas seem to come from nowhere. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but recognize them when they show up
When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not a story
Writing is a lonely job. Having someone else who believes in you makes all the difference
Life isn’t a support system for art; it’s the other way around
You must not come lightly to a blank page
Use the first word that comes to your mind if it’s appropriate and colourful
Avoid using a passive tense
The adverb is not your friend
Good writing if often about letting go of fear
To be a good writer, you must do 2 things: read a lot and write a lot
If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write
You need to write consistently every day
Eliminate all possible distractions in your writing room
Write about anything you want as long as you tell the truth
The key to a good description begins with clear seeing and ends with clear writing that employs fesh images and simple vocabulary
Some people don’t want to hear the truth but that’s not your problem
Once you’re finished a piece of work, relax. Don’t go back to it for a few days
2nd draft = 1st draft minus 10%
The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better
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Make Something Wonderful
Steve Jobs
Summary
The life of Steve Jobs in his own words
Rating: 5/5
Notes
Make something wonderful and put it out there
‘You appear, have a chance to blaze in the sky, then you disappear’
When you’re a stranger in a place, you notice thing you don’t otherwise (Jobs after India trip)
Whenever you start with nothing, always shoot for the moon. You have nothing to lose.
You never achieve what you want without falling on your face a few times
Never be afraid to fail. You never achieve what you want without falling flat on your face a few times
We are never taught to listen to our intuitions, to develop and nurture them. But if you do pay attention to these subtle insights, you can make them come true
Creativity equals connecting previously unrelated experiences and insights others don’t see
Believe that some of what you follow with your heart will come back and make your life richer. And it will. And you will gain even firmer trust on your instincts and intuitions
Make your avocation your vocation. Make what you love your work.
The journey is the reward. The reward isn’t in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it’s in crossing the rainbow
To find A+ talent, if experienced, look at their track record and results
The world we know is a human creation and we can push it forward
The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do (read whole ad ‘here’s to the crazy ones)
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit - Aristotle
Hire people better than you are
You can’t plan to meet the people who will change your life
It’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward, but they make sense looking backwards so you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people no smarter than you
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