"Read Terrible Books" Stephen King's Advice for Writers

On the value of reading terrible books, the importance of a diverse reading diet, & tips on finding time to read

Oct 25, 2024

“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 those two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.”

This popular quote from Stephen King's On Writing is often shared online by writers, but those who haven’t read the book are missing out on King’s deeper reasons why reading is essential for anyone serious about writing. These include points like:

The importance of reading bad books
Why having a diverse reading list matters
Tips for finding time to read

…And more.

For further insights, check out Overcoming Fear as a Writer, 10 Writing Tips from the Original “Mad Man”, and 8 Writing Tips From John Steinbeck.

If you press this button, all your dreams will come true.

One learns most clearly what not to do by reading bad prose—one novel like Asteroid Miners is worth a semester at a good writing school, even with the superstar guest lecturers thrown in.

The book Asteroid Miners (not the actual title) was one of those moments for Stephen King. Just as people remember their first romantic experience, writers often remember the first book that made them think, “I can write better than this; in fact, I already am.” Realizing this can be a powerful motivator. For aspiring writers, knowing their work is on par with, or even better than, published material brings confidence to keep going.

The Lessons of Good Writing

Good writing, on the other hand, teaches the learning writer about style, graceful narration, plot development, the creation of believable characters, and truth-telling. A novel like The Grapes of Wrath may fill a new writer with feelings of despair and good old-fashioned jealousy—“I’ll never be able to write anything that good, not if I live to be a thousand”—but such feelings can also serve as a spur, goading the writer to work harder and aim higher.

Being swept away by a combination of story and skill is an essential part of becoming a writer. King believes that experiencing this awe-inspiring combination is key. A writer cannot hope to captivate readers if they themselves haven’t felt the impact of great writing.

The Value of Diverse Reading

So we read to experience the mediocre and the outright rotten; such experience helps us to recognize those things when they begin to creep into our own work, and to steer clear of them. We also read in order to measure ourselves against the good and the great, to get a sense of all that can be done. And we read to experience different styles.

King believes in reading widely to stay sharp and to recognize both the pitfalls and possibilities in writing. Exposure to various styles helps writers see what is possible and to evaluate their own work against a wide spectrum of writing.

To See this in practice check out: Susan Sontag’s 15,000 Book Personal Library

Embracing Influences

You may find yourself adopting a style you find particularly exciting, and there’s nothing wrong with that… You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) your own work as you do so.

When King first read Ray Bradbury as a kid, his writing mimicked Bradbury’s “green and wondrous” style. Later, he took on the “clipped and stripped” approach of James M. Cain and the “luxurious and Byzantine” prose of H.P. Lovecraft. These different styles mixed into what King calls a “hilarious stew,” a process he sees as crucial in finding one’s unique voice. Reading widely is essential to this growth—it doesn’t happen in isolation.

Finding Time to Read

I take a book with me everywhere I go and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in. The trick is to teach yourself to read in small sips as well as in long swallows.

Stephen King views reading as the core of a writer’s creative life. He fits it into every part of his day—during meals, in waiting rooms, even on the treadmill or in the car through audiobooks. While some may find his constant reading strange or even rude, King argues, “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered anyway.”

Avoid TV

Most exercise facilities (at home as well as outside) are now equipped with TVs, but TV—while working out or anywhere else—really is about the last thing an aspiring writer needs. If you feel you must have the news analyst blowhards on CNN while you exercise, or the stock market blowhards on MSNBC, or the sports blowhards on ESPN, it’s time for you to question how serious you really are about becoming a writer.

He warns against the pull of television, which can consume valuable reading time, and suggests that turning it off can improve both your writing and your overall quality of life. In King’s view, breaking free from TV’s distraction is an important step toward a more imaginative, engaged life.

Once weaned from the ephemeral craving for TV, most people will find they enjoy the time they spend reading. I’d like to suggest that turning off that endlessly quacking box is apt to improve the quality of your life as well as the quality of your writing.

The real importance of reading

The real importance of reading is that it creates an ease and intimacy with the process of writing; one comes to the country of the writer with one’s papers and identification pretty much in order. Constant reading will pull you into a place (a mind-set if you like the phrase) where you can write eagerly and without self-consciousness. It also offers you a constantly growing knowledge of what has been done and what hasn’t, what is trite and what is fresh, what works and what just lies there dying (or dead) on the page. The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor.

To King, reading is more than just a pastime; it’s the foundation of the writer’s mindset. Constant reading helps a writer settle into a creative space with confidence. It reveals what’s fresh versus what’s tired, what works versus what falls flat, and gradually builds a writer’s skill.

If I had a nickel for every person who ever told me they wanted to become a writer but “didn’t have the time to read,” I would say: you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

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