“When you write you tell yourself a story. When you rewrite you take out everything that is NOT the story.”

— Stephen King

Variant: When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story,” he said. “When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story.
Source: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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American author 1947

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