Write a GREAT Book! 45 horri昀椀ed—but the issue is a little more complicated than it might seem. As a commercially oriented writer, your 昀椀rst job is to connect with the widest possible audience. 吀栀at con- nection begins with your readers’ sense that you’re one of them. Complete originality of thought and expression is something to be prized in writing based on complete self- expression. But when writing is your business, you’ve got to meet your customers—that is, your readers—where they are. At the end of the day (there’s a stock phrase!), using the language that you hear every day can be an e昀昀ective tool for connecting with everyday people. Just make it a choice, not a re昀氀ex. A Writing Secret from Stephen King As a writer, you must learn discipline. At the same time, you have to learn the di昀昀erence between discipline and drudgery. How can you make the act of writing enjoyable, so that you want to do it every day? What’s the di昀昀erence between procrastination and creative time wasting? Stephen King has described writing as “a great way to pass the time.” 吀栀at may sound like a humorous com- ment from someone who has probably sold more books than anybody else alive. But I think he really meant it. King spoke of how he would write late at night while lis- tening to Bruce Springsteen songs cranked up to a high