Re: Stephen King's 10 tips to successful writing

> in a snowstorm dressed in Bermuda shorts and a tank top?  If you like science
> fiction, read the magazines.  If you want to write confessions stories, read
> the magazines.  And so on.  It isn't just a matter of knowing what's right
> for the present story; you can begin to catch on, after awhile, to overall
> rhythms, editorial likes and dislikes, a magazine's entire slant.  Sometimes
> your reading can influence the next story, and create a sale.
> 7.  Write to entertain.
>      Does this mean you can't write "serious fiction"?  It does not.
> Somewhere along the line pernicious critics have invested the American
> reading and writing public with the idea that entertaining fiction and
> serious ideas do not overlap.  This would have surprised Charles Dickens, not
> to mention Jane Austen, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Bernard Malamud,
> and hundreds of others.  But your serious ideas must always serve your story,
> not the other way around.  I repeat: if you want to preach, get a soapbox.
> 8.  Ask yourself frequently, "Am I having fun?"