小说与文学2018nytimes.com编辑精选
斯蒂芬·金：小说家会“太多产”吗？（2015）
Stephen King: Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (2015)
导读
斯蒂芬·金在《纽约时报》撰文回应“多产是否等于低质”的质疑：他认为作家不该因写得快而羞愧，持续写作本身就是手艺的精进。对写作者而言，这篇讨论直指一个核心焦虑——产量与质量的关系，以及“什么时候该发表”的判断标准。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
把写作当成日常手艺而非等待灵感的仪式，持续产出才能磨出稳定的笔力。
- 02
区分“写”和“发表”：可以对发表标准苛刻，但不必因此压低写作量。
- 03
作品有瑕疵不会抹掉杰作的价值，不必因怕写出平庸之作而停笔。
- 04
动笔前先问自己“我有没有非说不可的话”，有则写，无则不必硬凑。
HN 评论精选
好人物不因性别而扁平，有缺陷、动机与恐惧，世界也不必讲理——这是让读者产生归属感的关键。
金是我成长过程中最喜欢的作家。我六年级读《凶火》，之后一路读了他二十来本书，直到高中毕业。我就是那个总把鼻子埋在平装本里的孩子。他的书像老朋友，随便走进一家图书馆或书店，我就能钻进缅因州的某个小镇。有些书我记得更清楚，有些结局让我 frustration（比如《手机》），但多数时候我觉得自己像个搭便车的幸运乘客，被允许进入他的想象世界。不只是想象力，更是他作为人的经验，那才是我真正渴望的。说我从他的书里学到很多关于人性和社会的道理，听起来有点好笑（毕竟我是2000年代读的，很多书写成于二十多年前），但确实如此。他笔下的女性角色从不因为性别而显得愚蠢、浅薄或无聊。人物有缺陷、有动机、有恐惧，周围的世界往往既不友善也不讲理。我能与之共鸣，成长中我需要这种共鸣。
sudosteph查看英文原文
King was my favorite writer growing up. I read "Firestarter" in 6th grade, and then continued working through about 20 or so more of his works until graduation from HS. I was "that kid", always had my nose buried in a paperback from the library, usually one of his. His works were like familiar friends to me. I could step into nearly any library or bookstore and find myself absorbed into some small town in Maine, or perhaps a more fantastical setting in some cases. Some books I remember better than others, some left me frustrated at the end (looking at you "Cell"), but mostly I just felt like I was a hanger-on, privileged to be hitching a ride into King's imagination. It wasn't just his imagination though, it was his experience as a human that I think I really craved. It sounds sort of funny to say I learned a lot about human nature and society from reading his books (and reading them in the 2000's no less, 20+ years after many of them were written), but I did. His characters were never stupid or shallow or boring just because they were female. His characters had flaws and issues, motivations and fears, and the world around them was not often a nice or sensible place. I can relate to that, and I needed to relate to that growing up. I don't read his books as often now, but I do love the man and his works for how much they mean to me. I never regretted reading any of them (even ones I may not have finished). I'm glad he doesn't regret writing them either. Favorite quote from that piece that I think applies to many of us, in any creative field: > But I also understand that life is short, and that in the end, none of us is prolific. The creative spark dims, and then death puts it out. William Shakespeare, for instance, hasn’t produced a new play for 400 years. That, my friends, is a long dry spell.
另一种值得尊重的路径：只在有真正想说的话时才发表，用极少的作品守住极高的标准。
我不反对金的论点：多产作家当然可能写出伟大作品，历史上很多人做到了。但我总觉得，那些写出伟大作品、然后在无话可说时干脆停笔的作家有种特别的东西。差作品不会削弱好作品，但只产出精品、别无其他的作家似乎对技艺有特别的感受力——他们对自己要说的话如此自信，以至于往世上传任何不够出色的东西都会让他们反感。这让我觉得他们格外特别。就像比较丹尼尔·戴-刘易斯和金·凯瑞：前者作品极少，但几乎每个角色都惊人，那是我记住他的方式；凯瑞演过《楚门的世界》，可我也记得《圣诞怪杰》和《变相怪杰》，这多少破坏了一点感觉。
Barrin92查看英文原文
I don't disagree with King's thesis that a prolific writer can, of course, produce great works and many have done so, but I also can't shake the feeling that there is something special about authors who produce great works and then quit when they don't have anything else to say. bad works don't diminish great works, but it feels like authors who only produce works of great quality and nothing else have a special feel for their craft, it seems like they are so confident in what they have to say that they'd be repulsed by just putting anything out that isn't remarkable, and that at least to me makes them special. It's like comparing Daniel Day-Lewis and Jim Carrey. The former has taken on roles in remarkably few films, but pretty much every role is amazing and that's what's stuck in my mind when I see him in a film. Carrey also has participated in films like the Truman show but then I'm also reminded of the Grinch and the Mask, which just ruins it for me a little bit.
关键区分：写作量可以大，发表门槛应当高——只在有话要说时才公开。
我不是发表过作品的作家，但我一直认为“严肃”作家并不是写得少，而是发表得少。发表得少，是因为他们对写作和艺术的标准比定期发表的小说家更高；而且正如另一位评论者所说，他们只在有话要说时才“开口”（也就是发表）。我们不也更看重那些说话节制、字斟句酌的人吗？
magpi3查看英文原文
I'm not a published writer, but my thought has always been that "serious" writers don't write less. They just publish less. And they publish less because they have a higher standard for their writing and their art (if I may use that word) than novelists who publish regularly. And (as Barrin92 also noted elsewhere on this thread), they only speak (meaning publish) when they have something to say. And don't we all take people who speak sparingly and choose their words carefully more seriously?
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