This probably explains why his novel didn't do so well

Stephen King would disagree with #1, preferring to let his characters write the story rather than himself.

Totally agree with #2 though, always start from the end.

Too much formula! His little plan leaves no room for creativity. That explains why all of his children's books are the same.

I have to wonder how many great books would never exist if everyone followed #1. #2 probably makes sense, but #3 was weird and puts too many limits on the words you got in your story. #4 is really restricting and makes you see how very important adverbs can be. And with #5, this is writing, not football.

ETA: "Never" and "always" are adverbs. Mr. Stine should have removed them.

I always enjoyed Erin Morgenstern's confession: "I love adverbs. I love adverbs so much I want to get 'ly' tattooed behind my ear."

But dear goodness. No "was", "got" or "put"? How... how...?

So remove the verb "to be" from your vocabulary.

"Where exists Nate?"

"Oh, he stands over there."

What a horribly awkward thing to do.