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Blogging Insights — New Format # 8

“If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Quote courtesy goodreads

Do you agree, and if so, how far ?

In my opinion, a writer/blogger should never write what is untrue (except in fiction, which is a given). At the same time, if there is a truth that can hurt someone, it is better left unwritten. Maybe it can be given a less offensive/sensitive form. I usually do not write about controversial topics on my blog. Maybe I am a scaredy cat, but I think this is so because I want to keep the mood light in my posts.

Again, do you agree with Stephen King?

Do let me know in the comments section or in a post of your own.

31 thoughts on “Blogging Insights — New Format # 8”

  2. I think sometimes it’s good to offend people, only because I think (and this is my own opinion). It makes me question what I’m willing to “put up with”, not just for myself, but with others too. There is a limit always though.

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  3. Yes, I guess the truth is not liked by many…in my real life some people don’t like me because I’m always honest…as for the writing world, I’m pretty much the same and I stay away from controversy too ☺️

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  4. I think King may be referring to truth in writing about human behaviour, as opposed to singling out the truths about individuals. I haven’t read King’s novels in a while, but that’s what I generally remember about his writing.

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  6. This question has come up so many times for me as I contemplate writing a memoir. Anne Lamott’s quote is used frequently as justification to speak the truth. “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” I never want to offend or hurt anyone’s feelings so I tend to veer away from controversial topics on my blog.

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  7. There are so many who confuse being polite and tactful with being dishonest (eg: false compliments said for the sake of not hurting someone’s feelings, reflexively saying, “Fine,” when someone asks how they are doing, etc.), and are willing to shun those who even hint at the actual truth in those situations, that I can’t help but feel that there is truth to what Mr. King says.

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  17. When you look at the full quote it makes a world of difference to the part quote ..

    “Reading at meals is considered rude in polite society, but if you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second to least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”

    ― Stephen King

    For me this means in essence that you should not be writing for others but yourself, don’t think about what the others think – of course one then has to ask could this, does this refer to fiction or non fiction writing? I think with fiction writing, you need to embellish and dance a little further from the centre than you might if you were writing non fiction – but ultimately, it is always about how confident you are with your writing on and in your writing.

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