Quotessence
Home / Authors / Stephen King
Stephen King

Stephen King Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllStephen KingWritingIfsThinkingPeopleKnowsWorldStoriesMenWantWayBookHorrorSometimesLittlesLifeBelieveDark TowerIdeasWells

Famous Stephen King Quotes

“there are lots of would-be censors out there, and although they may have different agendas, they all want basically the same thing: for you to see the world they see...or to at least shut up about what you do see that's different. they are agents of the status quo. not necessarily bad guys, but dangerous guys if you happen to believe in intellectual freedom.”

IfsWorldWantBelieveMayDifferentHappensWould BeGuyDangerousIntellectualAgentsAgendasShut UpStatus QuoBad GuysIntellectual Freedom
Author:Stephen King
Create image

“Guys, gals, now hear this: No one wants to take away your hunting rifles. No one wants to take away your shotguns. No one wants to take away your revolvers, and no one wants to take away your automatic pistols, as long as said pistols hold no more than ten rounds. If you can't kill a home invader (or your wife, up in the middle of the night to get a snack from the fridge) with ten shots, you need to go back to the local shooting range.”

IfsWantNeedsLongSaidHomeNightGuyWifeMiddleTenShotsRoundsLocalsShootingRangeHuntingRiflesMiddle Of The NightPistolsSnacksFridgesInvadersGalsShotgunsRevolverShooting Range
Author:Stephen King
Create image

“Writers remember everything...especially the hurts. Strip a writer to the buff, point to the scars, and he'll tell you the story of each small one. From the big ones you get novels. A little talent is a nice thing to have if you want to be a writer, but the only real requirement is the ability to remember the story of every scar. Art consists of the persistence of memory.”

IfsWantLittlesArtRealStoriesBigsRememberHurtMemoriesAbilityNovelNiceTalentMiseryPersistenceScarRequirementsNice ThingsRemembers Everything
Author:Stephen King
Create image

“Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not. Time takes it all, time bears it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again.”

WantEndsSometimesTimeLosesDarknessSadnessLonelinessBearsSadAll TimeBeing AloneWide AwakeOne Tree Hill VoiceoverOne Tree Hill OpeningShort One Tree Hill
Book:The Green Mile: The Complete Serial Novel
Create image

“You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair - the sense that you can never completely put on the page what's in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.”

WorldWayWantWritingMindHeartEyeGirlNamesReadyDespairApproachPagesLet MeAssExcitementKicksChanging The WorldBlankHeart And MindFistsKick AssNervousnessBlank PagesHopefulness
Book:On Writing
Create image

“What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did? There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, but because you think I should be. I look back on the way I was. A young, stupid kid that committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him. Tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left.”

ThinkingKnowsMenWayWantFeelsShouldTryingLooksLongI CanKidsYoungLeftGoneCrimeStupidRegretTerribleSorryCommittedRedemptionOld Man
Author:Stephen King
Create image

“So okay - there you are in your room with the shade down and the door shut and the plug pulled out of the base of the telephone. You've blown up your TV and committed yourself to a thousand words a day, come hell or high water. Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want.”

WantWritingWellsBigsWaterAnswersRoomsHellDoorsTvsThousandOkayDown AndCommittedDamnShadeTelephonesPlugsBig QuestionsYour Room
Book:On Writing
Create image

“I would say plotting is the most difficult thing for me. Characterization is only hard because sometimes I feel I get so interested in it that I want to talk too much about the characters and that slows the story down. So I say, "Hey, people want to find out what's going to happen next, they don't want to listen to you spout off about this or that person." But I think even the bad guy deserves to tell his side of the story.”

PeopleThinkingWantFeelsWritingPersonsSometimesHardCharacterStoriesHappensGuyNextDifficultSidesToo MuchDeserveHeyBad GuysDifficult ThingsCharacterization
Book:Bare bones: conversations on terror with Stephen King
Create image