59 Stephen King Quotes on Life (WRITING)

Updated onDecember 1, 2023

Top 10 Most Famous Stephen King Quotes (BEST)

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others read a lot and write a lot. — If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

Get busy living or get busy dying.

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. — Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.

If being a kid is about learning how to live, then being a grown-up is about learning how to die. — If being a kid is about learning how to live, then being a grown-up is about learning how to die.

I think that we're all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better - and maybe not all that much better after all. — I think that we’re all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and maybe not all that much better after all.

That wasn't any act of God. That was an act of pure human fuckery. — That wasn’t any act of God. That was an act of pure human fuckery.

Humor is almost always anger with its make-up on. — Humor is almost always anger with its make-up on.

A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar.

Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. — Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

We are going to fight. We are going to be hurt. And in the end, we will stand.

14 Stephen King Quotes on Books and Reading

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”
Stephen King

Books are a uniquely portable magic.

Good books don't give up all their secrets at once. — Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.

If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. — If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.

Fiction is the truth inside the lie.

Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but taste completely different.

I'm one of those people who doesn't really know what he thinks until he writes it down. — I’m one of those people who doesn’t really know what he thinks until he writes it down.

Reading a good long novel is in many ways like having a long and satisfying affair.

A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger. — A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger.

For readers, one of life’s most electrifying discoveries is that they are readers—not just capable of doing it, but in love with it. Hopelessly. Head over heels.

If I have to spend time in purgatory before going to one place or the other, I guess I’ll be all right as long as there’s a lending library.

But writing is a wonderful and terrible thing. It opens deep wells of memory that were previously capped. — But writing is a wonderful and terrible thing. It opens deep wells of memory that were previously capped.

When a long book succeeds, the writer and reader are not just having an affair; they are married.

17 Inspirational Stephen King Quotes

“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well.”
Stephen King

It ain’t the blows we’re dealt that matter, but the ones we survive.

You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.

The scariest moment is always just before you start.

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free. — Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.

Anger is the most useless emotion, destructive to the mind and hurtful to the heart.

Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. — Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild.

Go then, there are other worlds than these.

Memory is the basis of every journey. — Memory is the basis of every journey.

The most important things are the hardest things to say.

The mind can calculate, but the spirit yearns, and the heart knows what the heart knows.

There is no bad time for good news.

Hearts can break. Yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we died when they did, but we don't. — Hearts can break. Yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we died when they did, but we don’t.

Sooner or later even the fastest runners have to stand and fight.

A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men.

Life is like a wheel. Sooner or later, it always come around to where you started again.

That’s your job in this hard world, to keep your love alive and see that you get on, no matter what.

6 Stephen King Quotes on Horror

“Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not. Time takes it all, 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.”
Stephen King

Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.

We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.

The road to hell is paved with adverbs.

The world has teeth and it can bite you with them any time it wants.

Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym. — Alone. Yes, that’s the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn’t hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym.

12 Controversial Stephen King Quotes About Life

“As a species we’re fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion?”
Stephen King

Give me just enough information so that I can lie convincingly.

We lie best when we lie to ourselves.

The three true ages of man are youth, middle age, and how the fuck did I get old so soon — The three true ages of man are youth, middle age, and how the fuck did I get old so soon?

FEAR stands for fuck everything and run. — FEAR stands for fuck everything and run.

Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty.

The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool. — The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.

Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman's got to hold on to. — Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman’s got to hold on to.

But sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions... True sorrow is as rare as true love. — But sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions… True sorrow is as rare as true love.

A person who doesn't learn from the past is an idiot, in my estimation. — A person who doesn’t learn from the past is an idiot, in my estimation.

It’s funny how close the past is, sometimes. Sometimes it seems as if you could almost reach out and touch it. Only who really wants to — It’s funny how close the past is, sometimes. Sometimes it seems as if you could almost reach out and touch it. Only who really wants to?

God grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the tenacity to change what I may, and the good luck not to fuck up too often. — God grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the tenacity to change what I may, and the good luck not to fuck up too often.

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Jeremiah Say

Overcoming depression and suicidal thoughts, Jeremiah Say found solace in quotes. After filling countless pages with resonating words, he moved his collection online to save trees and inspire others. Thus, GraciousQuotes.com was born. Jeremiah firmly believes in the power of quotes to swiftly spark inspiration during hard times. His blog is dedicated to uplifting others through these shared wisdoms. Discover more about Gracious Quotes or get in touch with Jeremiah.