I’m gonna be honest, I dislike Stephen King’s writing. I understand that he’s the originator of many elements that have defined generations of writers after him, and I don’t mind the creativity of his stories. But his writing style is not for me.

But I did find his “On Writing” book interesting, and in particular, his notes about creation, and leaving your work to sit in a drawer for at least six weeks after you’ve completed a revised first draft.

As per King:

“[After six weeks] take your manuscript out of the drawer. If it looks like an alien relic bought at a junk-shop or a yard sale where you can hardly remember stopping, you’re ready. Sit down with your door shut, a pencil in your hand, and a legal pad by your side. Then read your manuscript over.”

The idea is that this creates enough distance from the passion that you had in that first draft stage to enable more objectivity in your re-reading, which will then better enable you to see errors and issues that you may have been too attached to acknowledge otherwise.

The more your story reads like someone else wrote it, the better. And ideally, that someone else, you find, is actually a good writer, and has come up with some sequences that impress you.

Which can give you some encouragement, while also enabling you to review your work with a more critical, analytical eye.

And sure, that might also mean that you read some parts that hurt your head as you try understand what the heck you were thinking.

But if you know this, if you notice issues, if you get slowed in your reading process, if you get bored, chances are that your audience will as well.

Forcing a level of distance from your work will improve your assessment, and ultimately your writing as a result.